The last line of Camus’s famous essay is: “We must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
But why must we? He is condemned to roll a boulder up a hill, repeatedly.
What pointless exertion.
What futility.
Just like most people’s lives.
Here is my reading of Camus’s classic text, with explanation:
Related: The full Philosophers, Explained series, including Kant, Aristotle, Rand, Descartes, and more.
So, it is the Gods that make Sisyphus’ task a tragedy — an imposed task with an unchosen approach for dealing with the task. His scorn for the Gods, a defeat of their intent, his triumph, is his acceptance of the task and confidence that he is up to it. “This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile.” The task, even though he cannot avoid it, becomes his choice.
The purposelessness (“absurdity”) of the universe is overcome by humans’ choosing personal goals and rational approaches — resulting in achievements and self-esteem — satisfactions while we live. Creators of self-made souls and joys. The absence of an afterlife ruled by Gods frees humans from fear of imposed obligations. Further, the guiltless possibility of suicide offers the comfort of release from too great burdens. The “absurdity,” in this sense, is security and justification of credit.
Helen Keller is a noteworthy example. Anne Frank, Fredrick Douglass, Ayn Rand, etc., etc., etc.
(Absurd is, of course, not a proper concept to apply to the inanimate.)