Read from Sartre's "Existentialism,"  Textbook, pages 424-427; watch the video on Camus Camus' The Plague (Links to an external site.). 

Explain in your own words, "existence precedes essence." What is the particular context in which this evolves? 

What does Sartre mean by "Man is condemned to be free"?

With regard to Camus' The Plague, would you agree that "Camus' view of human nature was less cynical than Sartre's and more concerned with the value of benevolent reconciliation between individuals" (Textbook, p. 428), or is the situation he describes just as absurd and arbitrary?