Journal #19

Journal #19: Post the thesis statement you have revised and are confident with in a new post.

My thesis: Camus disproves societies notion that power brings happiness by contrasting society and meursaults reactions to the loss of power, this shows that power is not essential to attaining happiness.

I think my what is that he disproves societies notion?

Journal #18

Journal #18: Personal response to The Stranger + what literary value do you ascribe to the novel (what makes a book a great work of literature and does this book achieve that)

My personal response to the The Stranger is a littled mixed. Im not going to sugar-coat it, i thought the book was terrible the first time through. The plot was so dull and flat and unattractive, things happened for no reason and as i read it i wondered "What must've happened to Meursault to make him think this way?"
I think the reason i couldnt enjoy this book from just a reading perspective was because Meursault was so consistently boring and unpredictable, that it became predictable and I even expected him to do things for no reason. I guess this book is popular for its literary merit and not its leisure reading value, so Ill just go back to Eragon for that.

The second time through, I began to recognize more of the recurring elements of the book and see some patterns to Meursaults behavior. I started to put it together more and understand it from a philosophical viewpoint, especially after having class discussions. I think the book has good literary/classroom value because of the point that its making, but personally I didnt really like it.

Journal #17

Journal #17: On your own blog post your topic and 15 quotes that connect to your topic (these quotes can connect thematically or by technique). Once collected and analyzed, write a thesis statement.

Topic: Power and its importance to society

Quotes:

Salamano:

“You can see them in the rue de Lyon, the dog pulling the man along until old Salamano stumbles. Then he beats the dog and swears at it.” (26)

“Once the dog has forgotten, it starts dragging its master along again, and again gets beaten and sworn at.” (26)

“I noticed old Salamano standing on the doorstep. He looked flustered. When we got closer, I saw that he didn’t have his dog. He was looking all over the place, turning around, peering into the darkness of the entryway, muttering incoherently, and then he started searching the street again with his little red eyes.” (37)

“He asked me if it was a big fee. I didn’t know. Then he got mad: ‘Pay money for that bastard – ha! He can damn well die!’ (37)

Raymond:

“So I let him have it. He went down. I was about to help him up but he started kicking me from there on the ground/ So I kneed him one and slugged him a couple of times.” (28)

“I’d smack her around a little, but nice-like, you might say. She’d scream a little. I’d close the shutters and it always ended the same way.” (29)

“I realized that she was cheating on me.” (28)

“He wanted to write her a letter, ‘one with a punch and also some things in it ot make her sorry for what he’s done.’ Then, when she came running back, he’d go to bed with her and ‘right at the last minute’ he’d spit in her face and throw her out. (30)

The Chaplain:

“For the third time I’ve refused to see the chaplain. I don’t have anything to say to him; I don’t feel like talking, and ill be seeing him soon enough as it is.” (103)

“As for me, I didn’t want anybody’s help, and I just didn’t have the time to interest myself in what didn’t interest me.” (111)

“At that point he threw up his hands in annoyance but then sat forward and smoothed out the folds of his cassock. (111)

“Then, I don’t know why, but something inside me snapped. I started yelling at the top of my lungs, and I insulted him and told him not to waste his prayers on me. I grabbed him by the collar of his cassock.” (114)

“His eyes were full of tears. Then he turned and disappeared.”(116)

Meursault:

“I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again.” (117)

“I realized then that a man who had lived in prison only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored. In a way, it was an advantage.” (75-76)

“I had ended up making friends with the head guard” (74)

“if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowering overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it.” (73)

Thesis: Camus contrasts Meursaults attitude to losing power with the attitudes of society (Salamano, Raymond, the Chaplain) to show that having power is not a necessary part of life.

(Very tentative. Could use a ton of work and rewording fosho.)

The Chaplain, Raymond and Salamano all exert power and react negatively to their loss of power throughout the book, while Meursault loses his power of freedom when he is imprisoned but seems indifferent and not as upset as the others. I think Camus uses this contrast in reactions to say that power isn’t everything and that it is not necessary to live a decent life.

Journal #16

Journal #16: 5 Questions

1.)  Why do you guys think Camus uses the weather, such as the sun, or sunlight, or the heat from the sun frequently? I feel like it has some significance because it is used so often.

2.) Do you think Meursault is really an indifferent, irrational and thoughtless person? A lot of people said that during one of our discussions and Wecker said that maybe we weren’t giving him enough credit and maybe there was more to him then what was on the surface.

3.) If we have to look somewhere other existentialism or absurdism, how else can Meursaults indulgent and seemingly pointless lifestyle be interpreted?

4.) What could Camus be trying to do by making Marie so foolish and naïve, or even including her in the story at all? She falls for Meursault even when it is clear that he has no romantic interest in her and only wants her for her body and the fact that she is there does nothing to contribute to the “life is pointless” theory.

5.) Throughout the story, Meursault seems to be embroiled in lots of drama; the old man that loses his dog, Raymond beating his mistress, the death of his mother. Could each of these situations be coming together to say something?

Journal #16: 5 Answers

Megan Davis:

#5 Is the idea of Meursault's forehead burning and his "veins pulsing" used to signify a change in him?  Do they represent something else?
Camus uses the idea of Meursault's forehead burning and his "veins pulsing" to display how instinct and feeling plays a large role in his decision making process. He does things because he wants to and not because they make sense.

Matt Merckling:

#4 Why does Albert Camus use words that suggest a routine when describing the events in the book?
Camus uses words that suggest a routine to stress the reasons for why Meursault is indifferent about his life. The monotony of his life may be the reason that he believes there is no reason for existing.

Tania Predovic:

1)Does Camus start the novel off with Maman's death so that we gain perspective on who Mersault is? What view of Mersault is he trying to project?
Camus starts the novel off with Maman's death to introduce Meursault as an emotionless person. He uses Maman's death as a situation in which Meursault can express his true personality.

Tate Bankston:

2) Does the symbolism of the cigarette represent freedom from society?
     (Also the motif of sleeping/tiredness)
Camus probably uses the cigarette as a symbol of Meursaults indulgence. One of the few things that Meursault does that shows that he is still human is enjoying the pleasurable things in life, such as the cigarettes.

Tanner Bean:

Is Camus trying to say something by Meursault's repititous life? if so, what?
Camus uses the repetitions and monotony in Meursaults life to express the fact that no matter what you do, the result will be the same and that trying to do anything different is futile.

Journal #15

Journal #15

I think that Camus made two parts to The Stranger because each part represents a completely different phase in Meursaults life. I think Camus does this to show that although Meursault’s life has taken a drastic turn that would make anyone breakdown, Meursault is still completely indifferent and quickly adapts to the major changes and continues living his life as if nothing had happened. I feel like this further cements a defining part of Meursaults personality and his irrational thoughts and actions.

An instance where part one and part two of The Stranger parallel each other are, towards the beginning of both parts, Meursault is put in a situation where he refuses to shoulder the blame. In part one, he has to leave work to be at his mother’s funeral and tells himself that it isn’t his fault for missing work when his boss yells at him. Similarly, in part two he kills the arab and while in the prosecuting process, he denies the blame as well, although indirectly, by “forgetting” that he is a criminal. The fact that he couldn’t believe he was a criminal or maybe even refused to believe it, shows that he doesn’t feel he is to blame for the death of the arab.

The second similarity I saw was simply the way that Meursault reacts to adversity. When his mom died and when he was put in prison, the style of the narration are not urgent of stressed, but rather nonchalant and give the reader a feeling that Meursault does not mind the predicament he is in. When his mom dies, he refuses to look at her body, doesn’t cry and seems overall emotionless about the loss. When he is put in jail, he seems to concentrate more on how he has adapted to not having cigarettes, rather then the fact that he is about to be put to death.

Journal #14

Journal #14

6 Stranger Questions:

1.) Why does Meursault sometimes leave Marie’s side? Its contradictory to what he has been doing throughout the book, which is indulge in things he finds pleasurable and not think about things that he doesn’t feel is important.

2.) Why does he hesitate to indulge in Marie? He never thought about things like that before.

3.) On page 53, Meursault demonstrates a sense of honor and fairness by telling Raymond that he should fight the Arab hand to hand rather than with the gun, why does he suddenly care?

4.) On page  55 when he says that he sees a steamer on the horizon, is he hallucinating?

5.) What is it about the sun that drives such emotion in Meursault?

6.) Why does Meursault commit the cowardly act of shooting the Arab, when he himself told Raymond not to use the gun and to fight a fair fight?

Journal #13

Read chapters 4 and 5

Journal #3: Personal Philosophy

You will demonstrate your understanding of the importance of one's world view by scrutinizing your thoughts on how the world works and indentifying guiding principles for your own philosophy.

establishes and introduces your philosophy

i. Give it a name

ii. It should connect to your principles

iii. Be creative

iv. Make it meaningful

Identify seven to ten guiding principles

i. These should be clear and thoughtful – no clichés

ii. These can be in bullet form and should be short and concise.

Explain from where your principle developed

iv. Clear explanation of why you find the principle important

Herdism

The ideas surrounding Herdism are having a defining quality about yourself. You should always have

something that allows you to stand out from the rest of the "herd" such as being the best at something or

having done something that no one else has. Herdism is the idea of not leaving life on a bad note, doing

something meaningful or something that changed the world before kicking the bucket.

1.) Never settle for anything that your not the best at.

2.) Being satisfied doesnt get you anywhere.

3.) Don't become part of the "herd" or common people.

4.) Be on your own level, not the level of everyone else.

5.) Plan ahead, do the boring stuff now, and reap the rewards later.

6.) Avoid peer pressure, always do what you know will make you better.

7.) Eyes on the prize, setbacks will happen, learn from them and keep going.

I guess if i could sum up this philosophy, its sort of like having an inferiority complex, be the best and dont let

anyone beat you. Have something that makes you more than the ordinary, average human being and take

pride in the fact that you have it. This is important because not nearly enough people are ambitious, they just take what they have and accept that its all theyre going to get. I think if more people stroved to be the best that they could be then then world would be a better place.

Journal #12

Journal #12: Part one: According to your work today in class, which translator would you argue has the most literary value and why? What elements of the text are you valuing by the decision you made?

Part two: According to the above meanings for the work "e'tranger", what title would you assign the English translation of the text and why. Go as far as to cite specific examples from the book that support your decision.

 

According to my work today in class, I would argue that Matthew Ward has a better translation because it is more authentic and matches what Camus wouldve wanted better. I feel like Gilbert tried to alter what was really being said just to make it more natural for the American readers. Things such as changing the kilometers or metric system, which France uses to the mile, which Americans use. Another thing is at the beginning of the book when Meursault refers to his mother as Maman in Wards translation and Mother in Gilberts. The two words are completely different things and make the reader feel completely different. Maman has a more affectionate tone while mother sounds very generic.

 

I would assign the english translation of the text the title "The Stranger". I wouldnt change it because i feel like it fits better then the foreigner or the outsider. Meursaults lack of a real relationship with any of his "friends" and even really with his own mother makes it seem as though he is a stranger to them all. His indifferent attitude throughout the book is much the same as a stranger would have. If i didnt know someone, or was a stranger to them, i would most likely be indifferent to their troubles and such. I feel like its better than foreigner because that makes it sound like he just came over from another country, while outsider just doesnt fit as well for me.