Introduction This essay is about me. Everything is based on my beliefs and how I interpret certain experiences. Throughout this essay, I want to synthesize my interpretations from my experiences and answer the question: “How do different aspects of my knowledge shape my understanding of the meaning of life?” To do this, I want to put each piece of knowledge on a spectrum between the universe being absurd, or the universe having meaning. In my experience, there are no better books to reference this with than The Stranger, by Albert Camus, and The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. The Stranger For nothing, I want to base my views off The Stranger. The Stranger stars Meursault, a completely apathetic narrator. I want to focus on the ending scene, because this is where the philosophy of the book truly comes to life. In this scene, Meursault is sitting with the Chaplain. Although the Chaplain is rambling on about religion, Meursault still keeps his original viewpoint. He rejects the idea of highe...