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Like Sinking Ships

“A Dustland Fairytale” is a song by The Killers on their Day and Age album, it is defiantly poetry there is a meaning behind all of the fancy language and it must be read over more than once, like our readings tell us to do. This song was written by of one of the band members about his childhood. It starts with his parents meeting and how their lives had many issues and he says at one point in the song:

I saw the ending when they turned the page, I threw my money and I ran away

He knew that things would end badly so he left so as not to deal with it (a little like Meursault and his sleeping). He still feels that his dreams and those of his mother’s were ruined by his father:

Castles in the sky sit stranded, vandalized. The drawbridge is closing.

The castles are to symbolize their dreams and by saying the drawbridge is closing it shows that there was no way to get to their dreams anymore.  There is no way out of the situation it ultimately shattered the dreams of those involved.

There is also a lot of use of simile in this song for example: 

And the decades disappear

Like sinking ships but we persevere.

The ships sinking like time passing makes the events all seem very dramatic and life changing though they are said with no stress on them.  The use of this particular simile is rather fascinating, it has a great impact and it said beautifully.

Now, I was never really sure what this song was entirely about, it is kind of hard to figure out the significance of the lyrics.  I did a little research on the song and apparently it is about how one of the band member’s parents met and his father being an alcoholic.  Eventually he overcomes the alcoholism by joining the Mormon Church and wants the family to move to Utah but he wants to stay where he is in Nevada.  Later his mother develops cancer and dies.  That’s not exactly what I thought it was at all but the complexity of language in this song is really amazing, and analyzing it was very interesting. 

Edna, Meursault, and the Sun

Before Edna’s suicide (intentional or not) a particular line jumped out at me. She commented that she did not notice “anything special except that the sun was hot” (114). I immediately thought of Mersault’s comment about the sun’s heat, describing it as “cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead” (Camus 59). In both of these novels, the sun has been a central element in an ending of sorts. While Edna’s comment about the sun came at the end of the novel itself, Meursault’s came when his life as a free man was coming to an end.

While Edna was going to the beach while despondent, the sun was the only thing she noticed. While Meursault did not explicitly state the same thing, the sun was frequently in his thoughts and drove him to commit murder.

Coincidence? I think not.

The sun is an important motif in both novels, and although the novels were written during different time periods, the sun plays a similar role in both.

Matthew is no Meursault

This is a bit late to be posting about Trust, but here goes.

One of the questions on the viewing guide for Trust was, "Is Matthew an existentialist?"  My answer, in a word: no.  Existentialism demands the acceptance of one's life.  Meursault certainly does this.  Whether refusing an offer to move to Paris or contemplating his inevitable death, Meursault rarely thinks what could have been, and so is content.  Matthew, however, thinks entirely differently.  Where Meursault is happy, Matthew is depressed.  He carries a hand grenade with him at all times, in case his despair ever becomes too much.  The grenade is not an idle threat, either, as he proves at the end of the film.  In addition, Matthew subscribes to common morality.  He despises the gas station attendent who attempts to rape Maria.  He thinks Maria's mother is immoral and sadistic for treating her daughter so poorly.  Overall, Matthew absolutely is not an existentialist.

Bohemian Rhapsody is Existentialist

Okay, this sounds a bit far fetched, but after thinking about the bits of pop culture that most remind me of Mersault's epiphanies about the purpose of life, if any, I ended up, once again, at the mercy of the ever-incredible Freddy Mercury. Here are they lyrics:

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go
Little high, little low
Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooo
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters

Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/q/queen-lyrics/bohemian-rhapsody-lyrics.html ]
Goodbye everybody - I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooo - (any way the wind blows)
I don't want to die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all

I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango
Thunderbolt and lightning - very very frightening me
Gallileo, Gallileo,
Gallileo, Gallileo,
Gallileo Figaro - magnifico

I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come easy go - will you let me go
Bismillah! No - we will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go - let him go
Bismillah! We will not let you go - let me go
Will not let you go - let me go (never)
Never let you go - let me go
Never let me go - ooo
No, no, no, no, no, no, no -
Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me
for me
for me

So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye
So you think you can love me and leave me to die
Oh baby - can't do this to me baby
Just gotta get out - just gotta get right outta here

Ooh yeah, ooh yeah
Nothing really matters
Anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me

Any way the wind blows...

At the beginning of the song, he is questioning the purpose and the reality of his life. Who is he to deserve sympathy for his crime? He decides that he doesn't need pity, because in the end nothing matters to him. By returning to the idea "any way the wind blows" he is creating a special emphasis on this point.

He then goes on to sing to his mother about how he murdered a presumably innocent man. While Maman was dead when Mersault killed the Arab, the ties here are unignorable. The difference, I think, is that while Mersault seemed wholistically apathetic about his crime and its consequences, Freddie feels remorse, and seems to be taking his sentence like a martyr. It's all a bit dramatic, yes, but then if it wasn't, it wouldn't be Queen.

This song does beg the question, "how would Maman react if she were alive to witness Mersault's crime?" And I believe, she would be equally devastated, and Mersault, too would have to console her, ask her not to cry and beg her to return to her life without him as if nothing mattered. Had Maman not died in the beginning of the novel, perhaps Mersault would not have come to the epiphany at the end of his life that made him so comfortable with his impending death. Perhaps life would not have mattered at all to him, just as Freddie's doesn't seem to matter.

The song progresses through Freddie's shock and anger over his sentence, and eventually ends with the idea that life is as random as the wind, and whichever way this wind blows, nothing matters to him. It's hard to determine to what extent life mattered to Mersault in the end, however, I think both of these stories demonstrate a general apathy towards the parts of life that don't matter in the scheme of death.

Bottom line: Queen is awesome!

The Strangeness of Absurdity

Absurdism essentially states that the world is so utterly nonsensical that there is no meaning in it anywhere. There is, essentially, no logic, no governing order, and no rationale.

Albert Camus’, The Stranger, thoroughly reflects Camus’ personal philosophical standpoint as an absurdist. Meursault, therefore, thoroughly represents Camus’ unusual perspective on life as he questions its logistical meaning and to whether or not there exists rational explanations to the chaos and nonsense of the world.

In short, Camus carefully exemplifies that there is no sense to life; there is no certainty or truth – and there is, essentially, no sense in pursuing such impossibilities.Through Meursault, Camus proves that life can be meaningful despite its having no rational order.

The Stranger embodies Meursault’s absurd outlook on life; his emotional indifference and detachment to human beings and his passive alienation, in return, from the rest of society. 

But how strange are these views of absurdism? How close are our views to those of Meursaults?

Marie

While many people argue that Marie is sort of a hindrance to Meursault, I give her credit for staying with Meursault as long as she did. Marie brings up the ideas of love and marriage to Meursault on several occasions. Each time Meursault responds with indifference saying that it doesn't really matter, which for him is true but for Marie, it is not. Meursault disregards the idea of love and marriage as social inventions with not real meaning, which must have been difficult for Marie to understand and accept. One can tell that she holds these values in high esteem because she continues to ask Meursault about them, but after Meursault's indifferent response, she takes a second, and then seems to shake it off and move on. If she were bent on the social values she would have felt broken down by the fact the Meursault didn’t "love" her. Instead she seems to linger on the topic but she does get over it, which adds a dimension to Marie that I think many people are missing. She doesn't understand why Meursault rejects these concepts but she comes to accept him for who he is, which is an honorable concept even if she isn't an "existentialist."

Meursault's Existentialism

    Meursault exemplifies existentialist principles when he rejects social norms. An example of his repudiation of society’s values is his indifference to the job promotion in Paris. After Meursault’s seeming indifference to what his boss thought was something Meursault should have been excited about, the boss says that Meursault lacks ambition. What is interesting is that Meursault says on page 41 that he had “lots” of ambition when he was a student but “[he] learned very quickly that none of it really mattered.” It brings up the question: what changed in Meursault’s life that caused this drastic change in belief? But, even in ignorance of the answer to the preceding question one can gather that Meursault has surmised the fallacy in the values that others hold in high esteem.

    However, he does not understand why "nothing matters" until the end of the novel when he has an epiphany. On page 121 he says “I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn’t done that.” Meursault essentially says, whatever one does in life does not really matter. On the next page when he thinks about how Maman had taken a fiancé before she died, Meursault says, “And I felt ready to live it all again too.” He no longer dreads his execution. Instead, he simply lives life, realizing that nothing else in life matters because the meaning of live can be found in life itself. In the end, Meursault is content with his fate because lived life, and there was nothing more he needed to do.

Simple Writing Style

Initially, I was relieved to find that a book for english class was not going to be difficult to read. After the first chapter, I was already bored with the lack of colorful language. While I cannot deny that I was able to "picture the scene," I actively missed the use of figurative language.

After finishing the book, however, I realized that the simple language was Mersault's narration and not necessarily relfective of Camus's personal writing style. The way the Mersault describes scenes using straight facts gives the reader an immediate impression of his character from the start of the book. His personality, or lack of it, shows through his narration. The reader becomes aware that Mersault does not have emotional responses very quickly, because he only states facts.

Figurative language relies on the imagination of the writer and the reader. In the context of the novel, Mersault, as narrator, is the "writer." He does not ever use imagination, so it would not make sense for him to, for example, compare using a metaphor or give something lifelike qualities using personification.

The simple writing of the book may have helped me to understand Mersault's character, but I found it difficult to enjoy.

What A Lovely Day For Existentialism

I think Existentialism is a lovely concept! I can only Imagine how much happier and fulfilled I would feel if I didn't spend time thinking of "what if's" working toward my next goal -- if only I had time to enjoy the present. Sadly, senior year is the death of Existentialism. All we will be doing for the next eight months is looking toward the future. Unlike our friendly neighbourhood Existentialist, Meursault, I don't have time to stare out the window ponder my days away. As much as I would like to, I don't think I'm meant to. Our society does not permit such activities. We are all constantly on the move, in search of something, working for some sort of end. I think this type of philosophy is more of a theory & less of a practice, because in the end, how well did it work out for Meursault?

Superiority complex

I hate existentialism. It is selfish. And we aren't as individual as we all like to think we are. Sorry if im bashing anyone.

But existentialism has an implied superiority to it. I don't think any young Iraqi or Afghani whose seen his country destroyed is going to turn to existentialism as a way of finding meaning. My point being that an existential mind is a luxury. It is for individuals that can sit around all day and contemplate the "why's and what for's" of life. Look at Camus. He was a French man in colonized Algeria, a first class citizen. Why is it that he, and the white man in general, has pioneered existentialism? Its because were privileged and we can think about more than just getting by. The subjugation of "inferior" races has allowed us this comfort to contemplate things that less priviledged people dont contemplate.

Meursault's Right From Wrong

I believe that Meursault is neither moral nor immoral. Rather, he is amoral—he simply does not make the distinction between good and bad in his own mind. Meursault’s indifference seems to apply solely to his understanding of himself. 

Basically, one should remember that Meursault is a man who will not lie about himself, a man who cannot accept the formulas by which his society convinces itself it is happy. He will not look forward to a life after death, he will not use religion as a vehicle to avoid facing the fact that he must die, and he refuses to mask his calm acceptance of his mother's death. He defies all judges, except himself: he will not play the hypocritical penitent for his interrogators and prosecutors. 

I was able to find a quote from the author of The Stranger, Albert Camus, that shows his truthful opinion of Meursault.

    "Meursault for me is a poor and naked man, in love with the sun which leaves no shadows. He is far from being totally deprived of sensitivity for he is animated by a passion, profound because it is tacit, the passion for the absolute and for truth. It is still a negative truth, the truth of being and feeling, but a truth without which no conquest of the self or of the world is possible. Meursault is the man who answers but never asks a question, and all his answers so alarm a society which cannot bear to look at the truth." 

With that, I well let your mind determine right from wrong. 

 

Why Should I Care About Mersault?

I really feel no sympathy for Mersault.  I know that he is an anithero, and is therefore intrinsically less sympathetic than other characters, but I really do not feel bad about his fate.  Mersault rejects all social creations, including the morality that all of us, as integrated members of society, identify with.  Mersault kills an innocent man because he felt uncomfortable in the heat.  Beyond this, his victim was acting honorably, as he tried to defend his sister from her thug of a boyfriend.  While awaiting trial, he feels no remorse for taking another life, and occasionally forgets his crime.  Beyond this, based on his status as a French Algerian, who were not renowned for their kindness to Arabs, I think that maybe he is a little racist.  I know that I am thinking within the walls of socially constructed morality, but I find Mersault to be a disgusting person.

How Existentialist Was Meursault?

As we discussed existentialism in class while reading The Stranger, a big difference hit me between the ideas of an existentialist and Meursault's personality and thought processes. Existentialists denounce social constructions like love, marriage, and faith because they argue that they do not intrinsically make people happy, but society reinforces them to make people believe that they are the key to satisfaction. Existentialism states that a person should create their own meaning for his or her life, rather than becoming another slave to society.

Meursault, however, creates no further meaning in his life. He denounces most social institutions, sure, but that is only half the idea. Even in the end, when he wants desperately to escape his sentence and keep on living, he gives no reason why. Being existential does not mean that you are consistently apathetic to everything around you, it means you critically evaluate what elements of life give yours some meaning. And it seems as if Meursault is resolved not to find any sort of reason to survive because of the principle of indifference by which he lived. 

Deep rooted psychological problems

I was quite unsatisfied with the ending of Stangers. Throughout the whole book I was looking forward to finding out why Meursault seemed so detatched from the world. I'm not sure if I missed some subtle answer, but I thought it could've been something to do with his father who isn't mentioned till the end. Or maybe his mother did something during his childhood that changed him or turned him towards the existential way of life. Any thoughts?

Hot Sweating Stones

One of my favorite parts of the ending of The Stranger was when the chaplain described the sweating stones of the cell that he couldn't look at without a "feeling of anguish." The chaplain went on to say that some of the most wretched prisoners find God or faith in the isolation of their cell. Meursault said that he

 

 "had been looking at the stones in these walls for months. There wasn't anything or anyone in the world I knew better. Maybe at one time, way back, I had searched for a face in them. But the face I was looking for was as bright as the sun and the flame of desire- and it belonged to Marie. I had searched for it in vain. Now it was all over. And in any case, I'd never seen anything emerge from any sweating stones"(119).

 

This quote is very interesting to me. One because he rejects the idea of religion in a very physical and literal sence using the stones as a metaphor. The most interesting part to me is how he describes the face he is looking for. He describes her face as "as bright as then sun and a flame of desire". Throughout the book, these motifs of heat/sun/sweat have come up in times of intensity, pressure, chaos, or danger. When we saw these words come up, we knew something not amazing was about to happen. Why would Camus use "sun" and "flame" to describe Marie's face? The women that Meursault has had the biggest connection with even though he refuses to admit it. Why does Camus taint Marie with these negative words that throughout the novel we connected with so many horrible situations?

 

 

Mirrors

One of the most interesting perspectives that I noted during the final chapters of The Stanger was the connection with how Meursault views the public, juxtaposed with how they view him. In numerous situations he compares the societal justice that he is swept up in to machinery (108), describes his own court case to be detached and distant from himself (98), and characterizes the priest he encounters to be "living like a dead man" (120).However, I found it intriguing that these descriptions or comparisions are directly mirrorred to the public view of Meursault. The citizens condemn and look down upon him for his supposed "detached", "emotionless", and "uncaring" persona that is present during all of his life. This idea is captivating as Camus is able to draw out a significant parrallel through the use of the same negative traits on both sides of the argument. 

Order in Chaos?

    In The Stranger, Camus often hints at how chaotic the world really is behind the veil of order we as humans create. Through Meursault, Camus demonstrates how life is irrational. When Meursault killed the Arab is a prime example of this irrationality. However, when Meursault is on trial for this very crime, both the defense and the prosecution try to form rational reasons as to why Meursault killed him. In other words covering up the true chaos in life.

    Other examples in the novel include the magistrate and Meursault. When the magistrate is trying to figure out Meursault and can not because nothing he does seems to have any explicable reason, the magistrate uses his own personal rational reality to contain Meursault. In this way the magistrate too creates a veil of order over the chaos of Meursault. 

    Even at the very end of the novel people are trying to hide the chaos of life. The chaplain tries to control Meursault asking him why Meursault calls him "Monsieur" instead of "Father". When Meursault explains his reasoning (rather out of character for him), the chaplain does not see Meursault's explaination as rational as it does not fall within the chaplain's own views. He tries to convice Meursault to be part of his world view which acutally ends up setting off Meursault's anger.

    Is order just a fabrication of man, created to hide the truth about how random life really is? Or is there no chaos? Does everything happen for a reason, or is everything random? These questions raise yet another. Is there such a thing as destiny? Are our lives already planned out from the moment we are born, or do we have control over our lives and how we want to live them?

World War II

World War II, which ravaged Europe throughout the early 1940's, was a trigger for mass disillusionment and existentialist thought- one prominent example being the Stranger. The book was originally published in 1942, in the middle of the war. The setting of the book seems to fit vaguely into this time period, yet, oddly, the war is never mentioned.
 Camus, surrounded by war and destruction, was able to incubate his unique and seemingly bleak worldview. His character Meursault only fully realizes this same worldview when he is about to be executed. In the end, these epiphanies are the same- both men discover the absurdity of life when they are faced with the simple fact of death.
Most people aren't too eager to accept existentialism, because they are so involved in life. It takes takes death to fully understand what life is actually about.

Accepting Existentialism

I really don't believe in existentialism.  This seems like a simple thing to say, but here is the proof. Let's begin with Sisyphus.  Why is he happy? It seems to be that he has accepted his fate of pushing the rock up the mountain forever. He accepts it because it will happen and there is nothing that he can do about it.  This doesn't make him better than his fate or stronger that the stone.  It just makes him a man who accepts his life even if he hates it.  It is impossible for me to believe that he can enjoy his life of futile labor.  Where is the purpose?  Where is his joy? Next is Meursault.  Meursault isn't happy.  He is a unique individual it seems beyond society but that doesn't make him happy.  He doesn't believe in love or in the sacredness of marriage.  What makes him happy? I would like to understand this concept, but I don't actually understand.  From my perspective, the world that society has created makes happiness possible and it is not dependant on realizing that there is a world created by society, it is based on individual acceptance and appreciation. 

Pleasantly Surprised

I don't know about anybody else, but when I read the first chapter of The Stranger, I was dreading the chapters to come. I strongly disliked Meursault as a character, had no idea what the book was going to be about, and didn't really want to read it at all. Even a few chapters in, I found myself being drawn into the story. Although Meursault frustrated me as a character, he also intrigued me. I had never really read a book with a character that acted quite like he did, and frankly, it intrigued me. I began to especially like the book after the in class discussions of existentialism and how it is portrayed through Camus' writing. I love thinking "outside of the box", I guess you can call it, and existentialism requires you to do just that. Its real trippy mane. But yesin all seriousness, I really enjoyed reading The Stranger and especially enjoyed the class conversations that we had. Cheers

Reading Well

    When we were reading The Stranger, I couldn't help but feel like it was strangely similar to another book I had read, but couldn't figure out which one.  After thinking about it for a few days, I realized there were striking parallels between it and the novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  Both seemed to employ the simplistic style of writing.  Throughout Perks, the main character Charlie describes the events in his life, just as they occur, without a lot of fancy metaphors and figurative language.  He goes with whatever happens, and is very passive most of the time.  All in the same way Meursault was in The Stranger.  

    When I went back through the novel, I even noticed Charlie talked about reading The Stranger himself.  His teacher gave it to him and said it's "very easy to read, but very hard to 'read well.'"  I have to agree, and I'm sure Nabokov would too.  With its simplistic style, The Stranger is by no means a difficult read.  Most people can easily summarize the plot if asked.  It's learning to dig deeper, under the surface, to see what Camus is really saying that makes the book worthwhile.

The Context as to how The Stranger was Born

In order to understand how Camus wrote The Stranger during his time period, we have to understand what his view on the world was. During the wartime in Paris, Camus was able to hone in on his idea of the absurd, the idea that life had no rational or redeeming meaning. Many intellectuals came to this conclusion based on the horrors seen in WWII. One could see how, based on this idea, Camus could create the character of Meursault.

Meursault does not take marriage to be a particularly important institution, he thinks of it as something that can be taken lightly. Before the completion of The Stranger, Camus actually marries and divorces his first wife, based on infidelity from both sides. He then marries his second wife in 1940, all the while arguing passionately against the idea marriage. He believed marriage was unnatural, which makes sense in how Meursault does not care whether he marries or not, or to whom he would be married. 

Then also, earlier in the same year as The Stranger was published, Camus went to witness the execution of Gabriel Peri. Based on his new found philosophical ideas and the events that transpired close to the time of the publication of The Stranger, one can see how Meursault came to be.

The World Is Irrational

After reading the portion in The Stranger about Merusalt's trial, it seemed to me as if Camus wanted to explain how the universe is actually irrational, and society often tries to find rational reasons for every action. For example, there was no rational reason for Meursalt to kill the Arab, however during his trial, the prosecutor continuously created theories to explain Meursalt's actions. The prosecutor says that the Arab's murder was premeditated, and that it makes sense that Meursalt committed such a crime because he is "intelligent. And because no one can say that he acted without realizing what he was doing" (100). Also, the fact that the jury agreed with the prosecutor and gave Meursalt the Death Sentence may mean that society feels that irrationality is dangerous and that it is not important if the connections between Meursalt's actions are true, they just have to be rational. Even Meursalt's own lawyer tries to explain Meursalt's actions through rational reasoning, as he says (falsely) that Meursalt was provoked and that the murder had something to do with his soul.

    Meursalt's agreeing to marry Marie does not have any rationality either, as it is never stated that Meursalt loves Marie, nor does he have any hidden motives for marrying Marie such as money, power, etc.

Sociopaths will be sociopaths

As I was reading though Meursault's trial, his wandering thoughts and consistant appearance of not caring really made me think of the picture in the newspaper about that guy who massacred all those people at the Batman premiere. Everyone was shoked about his seeming lack of empathy towards the situation, and it really felt similar to me. Meursault even admits in the text that he had never been able to feel true remorse (p. 100) and that really got me to thinking. Even if we take Meursault out of context and say that maybe he's the only sane one and everyone else is crazy, it seems pretty clear if that's the case than society is better off the way that it is.There would be so many detrimental repercussions if everyone lived the way that Meursault did. Although totally going with the flow can also be negative, this is kind of one of those situations where I would say yeah... better off to be mainstream about experiencing emotions rather than killing people.

Camus' Characters in a Matrix

So in class a couple days ago, we watched clips of the Matrix and a character (I don't remember his name) made the point that people weren't ready to face the fact that they were living in a computer program. We then talked about how this denial is similar to people's denial of extistantialism and that the systems, such as love and family, do not exist

While reading Part II in the Stranger, I noticed that the some scenes illustrated this point perfectly. For example, the young clerk had a negative response to Meursault's denial of faith because the young clerk believed that "all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him. That was his belief, and if he were ever to doubt it, his life would be meaningless (pg 69)." Just like the people in the Matrix, the young clerk refused to deny the system of faith. 

Meursault's trial itself also illustrates this point. Meursault is being condemned not because of killing a man, but because he does not act the way society wants him to. All of the testimonies given against Meursault focues on his seemingly detached emotional state, how Meursault did not cry during Maman's funeral, how he spent the day with Marie the day after his mother's funeral, and how he accepted a cigarrette over his mother's casket. People turned away from Meursault's explanation that he and his mother did not expect anything from each other (pg. 88). This fact demonstrates how the system of family holds no meaning for Meursault, and also how quickly others are condemning him for that. 

I know this is kind of irrelevant, but I had a couple of questions: Why does Marie keep on smiling during her visit with Meursault (pg 4)? And why does Meursault pay so much attention to the robot woman and the reporter during the trial? 

 

Self-Realization in the Stranger

On the second to last page, Meursault reaches a heightened state of consciousness/self-realization about the world. He credits this realization to his sudden outburst on the chaplain because it had rid him of all hope. He has become aware on the "gentle indifference of the world" and finds happiness. While reading this, I could not help point out that this is very familiar to Sisyphus and Camus' idea of obtaining happiness in the world. The idea of death and acceptance of death has made Meursault feel freer in his life than ever before, just like Maman felt before she died. My only question about this realization is that does it take a huge moment in one's life, like Maman and Meursault, to come to a realization about the world and become free, as Existentialists would put it? Both Maman and Meursault had to be close to death to finally come to this acceptance and for Meursault, he had to get into an argument with a religious minister. If existentialism is supposed to help individuals become freer, why does it take such a huge event, and even so long, for them to have this acceptance?

The Strangeness Behind the Stranger

In part two of the Stranger there were many puzzling and interesting new additions to the story of Meursault. It was interesting how in the beginning of chapter one he says that he found his case pretty simple and was not taking his lawyer seriously. He even admits to occasionally forgetting that he killed a man. This all ties into how Meursault was behaving earlier in the novel when he was not displaying any emotion. It surprised me that this type of behavior continued on into part two when the subject at hand had gotten much more serious, and still Meursault appeared that to care too much about it. This idea is continued on into page 69 when his lawyer claims to Meursault, "'I have never seen a soul as hardened as yours. The criminals who have come before me have always wept at the sight of this image of suffering.' I was about to say that that was precisely because they were criminals. But then I realized that I was one too." I found this rather odd that Meusault was forgetting that he had killed a man, which to me sounds like an event that one would never forget. Later in chapter two, there was a strong connection between Meursault and the Myth of Sisyphus. On page 72, Meursault admits that he felt at home in his cell and that his life was coming to a standstill there. The concept of Meursault accepting that he must remain he prison for the time being is similar to that of Sisyphus when he was forced to push the rock up the hill only to watch it roll back down again for all eternity. Both characters accepted there fate, something that can be extremely difficult to do, especially when a man like Meursault with such an innocent background until the murder is forced into prison.

The Real Meursault

I dunno if Part Two has provided anyone else with this same feeling, but I feel like I finally understand Meursault! The big moment for me was on page 65 when he said "...my nature was such that my physical needs often get in the way of my feelings." This creates such a strange character because as people, most of us don't think or operate this way. We will often do our homework well into the night despite our exhaustion because we know that is the right thing to do. Physical sensations and needs don't dominate our decision making process. He isn't influenced by all of the social constructions that we talked about in class, he is "radically subjective", in my opinion. Meursault says that he didn't show much emotion the day Maman was buried because he was "tired and sleepy, so much so that I wasn't really aware of what was going on." It's as if he doesn't understand the gravity of the situations he's in, not that he is indifferent to them. To him, the trial isn't a situation, and after a while, neither is being placed in jail.

 

I love this book. I'm getting excited about it. I really like Meursault.

At Home in a Cell

Meursault has been presented to us as an emotionless character who just goes through the phases of life.  This would explain why he is oddly at ease by the fact that he is in jail.  Yes, he is rather bored by being in jail but he deals with it very well “I was able to sleep during the day…  I’ve been sleeping sixteen to eighteen hours a day.  That would leave six hours to kill with meals, nature’s call, my memories…” (79).  Meursault sleep in order to not have to deal with other people or emotions of his own.  He also falls asleep often during his mother’s vigil; he does not want to hear the people crying or deal with the way that he may feel about the death of his mother.  Sleeping to fill up his time is very effective for Meursault as he chooses to live his life without too much care.  And after Meursault learns to think like a prisoner and not a free man he even says that he is not too unhappy about the situation.  Time also passes for Meursault differently; he does not count the days they all seem like
one continuous day.  When someone tells him that he had been there for five months he is shocked but then he realizes why.  The continuous day and all the sleeping with little human interaction is just what he needs.  After all home is where the heart is and Meursault’s heart is in solitude so being in a prison cell is somewhat perfect for him. 

Existentialist Pep Talk

I was enjoying my break from homework, finishing a movie, when I noticed that what was being said was exactly like what we talked about today in class with Sisyphus. This speech was a teenager's pep talk to his glum friend.

I stopped believing in god when I realized it was just dog backwards. Well, when you think about it, g-o-d, d-o-g. It’s like an anagram, but a backwards one. After that, I just stopped worrying about stuff. You only get one go round, I reckon. When you’re dead, you’re dead. So you can spend your time thinking about how things haven’t gone perfect, or, you can just get on with it, have a laugh and that. That’s what I do. I’m pretty happy.

As soon as he stated his reason for not believing in god, I thought that it made sense in the context of religion being a social construct. His entire opinion is existentialist, I think, because he is basically saying you should not try and live up to an abstract, unattainable idea of "perfect," but instead should live the way you can, and make that enough for you to be happy. In class, we talked about how Sisyphus managed to forget his old life and be content with his new situation, knowing that the rock would never make it over the hill.

I realized afterwards that this idea seems to be present in most pep talks. The idea that you only get one chance and you shouldn't dwell on failures is rooted in existentialism, because you need to stay in the present and create meaning, rather than reaching for a socially constructed meaning that will ultimately end in failure.

(movie: The Inbetweeners Movie)