Return to Tipasa Summary and Analysis

Camus recounts a trip he made back to his hometown, Tipasa, which he has only visited once since the end of his youth—marked by his departure for war in Europe during World War II. For Camus, Tipasa represents his lost innocence which existed prior to any moral code or complex philosophy, which innocence was lost definitively during the war. He returned once to Tipasa, immediately after the war, but was unable to rediscover what he had lost. After fifteen years and much contemplation, he realized the value of what he had lost. By losing that keen perception of beauty that he had enjoyed while a young man in Tipasa, he also lost the ability to effectively fight for justice, since beauty and justice, while not the same, are mutually dependent upon one another. When he...