The Rebel - Definition

In the book-size essay Camus treats both the metaphysical and the historical development of the revolution in modern society. He tries to relate figures like Marquis de Sade, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Karl Marx in one big picture of men in revolt.

One of the main points is that the urge for revolt always comes from an urge for justice. Another theme is the idea that once a revolution gets established it will become more tyrannic than the original government because the ideal of an utopia justifies everything.

The writing has a rather complex structure, the trademark of French philosophy, making it difficult to read it as a continuous story.