The Myth of Sisyphus discusses the punishment bestowed upon Sisyphus by the Gods. Sisyphus had stolen the Gods secrets, one of which being Egina stolen by Jupiter. He knew of the capture but would only talk about it if Espopus, the father of Egina, would give water to the citadel of the Corinth. Sisyphus also wanted to test his wife’s love so he requested to be sent to Earth from the Underworld to chastise his wife while he was in the Underworld. However, once he was on Earth he did not want to return to the Underworld because Earth was so beautiful. After spending a couple of years on Earth, Mercury snatched Sisyphus back to the Underworld where his rock was waiting for him. The Gods had punished Sisyphus for his betrayal by condemning him to roll a boulder up to the top of a hill and when the rock rolled back by its own will, he was to push it back up the hill. He was sentenced to do this all day, every day, for the rest of his immortal life.
Sisyphus is an icon of Camus’ study. The Myth of Sisyphus can easily be related to the aspects of every day life. On the other hand, it is to be determined just how relatable the Myth of Sisyphus is. His hate for the Gods and his love of life won him his punishment of undying torment. The torment of never knowing when the punishment will end can be compared to the everyday life of an average person. They wake up every day just to follow the same routine they did the day before. They get out of bed, get all prim and proper, grab a cup of coffee and leave for work. They slave all day long for the American Dream but have nothing to show for it. Yes they get paid, have their little monuments, franchises and billion dollar companies but does that not reflect society instead of the individual worker themself? The society creates monuments for future generations to enjoy and observe a story, but who created the monument to tell that story? How many monuments can you think of where you can say “Oh, John Smith made that.”? Not very many, if any at all. People feel inner satisfaction from accomplishing something of a rare occasion. Whether they get recognition or not, they follow the daily routine to provide what society needs and wants. It can be a construction worker, teacher, janitor, firefighter, mother, policeman, chef, father, bank teller, designer, there are so many individual jobs done on a daily basis. But how many are done for the sheer passion of the work?
There is a part of society that does what they do everyday in order to get by and make ends meet. Working everyday for a job you really don't care about is like rolling that stone up the hill day after day. You give your all, get the job done, leave satisfied and return disappointed to do it all again, just like walking back done to the base of the hill to push up the stone again. When you think of what needs to be done, chances are it will take longer to do. If you wallow about needing to sweep & mop the floors again, or mark a pile of papers, or read 100 pages of a textbook it will take longer then just doing it. Sisyphus would need great motivation to keep rolling the rock up the hill day after day. Of course there would be days of great disappointment to still be doing the same thing as you were days ago, but he continues to push that rock up the hill. Just like we awake on a daily basis and stride off to work to do what we need to do, but it is up to us in the way we approach the task at hand. We can be sullen and angry about our miserable lives and allow the melancholy feeling to seep into our minds. Or, we can look at the bright side of our chosen path and live every day to the fullest even if it is the same as the day before because there will be new things to learn and explore every day.
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