The American Sisyphus

A few courageous AP English students endeavor to understand just what exactly it means to be an American Sisyphus.

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Sisyphus was known in Greek mythology for his unusual punishment in the Underworld--he was to roll a massive boulder up a hill, only to watch helplessly as it rolled back down, forever obligated to repeat the action.

Albert Camus later interpreted Sisyphus as a heroic figure, representative of the absurdity of the human experience. The search for meaning in life, he argues, is pointless (perhaps even absurd) in an unintelligible universe. Camus draws parallels to the Sisyphean struggle, concluding that "the struggle itself [...] is enough to fill a man's heart."

What, then, does it mean to be an American Sisyphus?