The Limits of Violence: Camus's Tragic View of the Rebel

Authors

Alfred Schwarz, Wayne State University

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, the first paragraph of the essay follows:

When Camus became a culture hero of the young in the 1950's, his impact on their political imagination was bracing, but it was impractical, remote from the actualities of public and private life in this country. The Rebel (L'Homme Révolté, 1951) was the most interesting textbook of modem history and political and moral philosophy to pass through the hands of the student generation. It was the first book in the post-war years to begin the process of politicizing the more intelligent and activist minds among them, and on the whole the effect was salutary at that time. Still, Camus's lessons on the development of state terrorism and individual nihilism were only textbook situations for his American readers, to be earnestly discussed but hardly touching them as terrifying possibilities.

Recommended Citation

Schwarz, Alfred (1972) "The Limits of Violence: Camus's Tragic View of the Rebel," Comparative Drama: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/compdr/vol6/iss1/3