Other questions:
- What is Meursault like?
- What effect does the first line of the novel create? What is his attitude toward his mother's death?
- What is his relationship w/ Marie like? His neighbor Raymond?
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Beginning The Stranger
The Stranger is set in Algeria in Northern Africa just after WWII. You have to realize that Algeria was a colonial territory of France up until 1962. So when Meursault refers to Arabs, he's really talking about the people who are native to this land before the French occupied it (Camus was born in Algeria and grew up there and went to college before moving to France). Meursault is part of the minority white European population there. One reason I chose this novel is to think about how Camus uses setting. We live in such a diverse and vibrant location in Queens, NY. Sometimes I have to remind students to write about where their stories are taking place. So my first question would be what is Algeria like?
Other questions:
Other questions:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Camus has this character that seems like a lost emotionless man. The only emotion he seems to have is with Marie, but he doesn’t even seem to know how to execute and progress with a relationship with her. He seems almost completely empathetic to his mothers death, but doesn’t want to see her in her casket which seems to me that he’s terrified of reality. Also, they were not very close so he probably feels crappy that he didn’t have a better relationship with her. He seems indifferent to Raymond, his new “friend” I guess we call him? I mean Meursault just seems to be living through life rather than engaging with life. Maybe this will change and he will find a voice in himself as the novel progress’.
ReplyDeleteI just realized I wrote “seems” 6 times and am very upset about it lol
ReplyDeleteLike Tori said Meursault is a man who doesn't show emotions, except for him being apologetic.
ReplyDeleteHis attitude towards his mothers death was very nonchalant as if it didn't even affect because of the fact he'd been consumed in his world as she was in hers in the home.
I felt as if he found a kind of unspoken understanding and comfort within her. they both didn't seem verbal about feelings as he questioned "she did too, i think".
I wonder if something happened that made him so emotionless to certain things or people? is their a disconnect that hes experiencing?
Meursault feels like the type of person that has no ambitions. He's living his life just to live life, and doesn't go out of his way to do anything that he doesn't have to. This is just from the first section of the book, of course. I think the first line of the novel gives the readers the idea that Meursault is in disbelief of his mother's death, or maybe that he doesn't want to believe it. The fact that he didn't want to see his mother inside the casket further supports this idea, as I think that it shows his fear of embracing reality.
ReplyDeleteMersault doesn't really want to come to terms with this idea of reality. He doesn't want to see his mother in her casket which is a big give away of this. I can't imagine my mother passing away and me choosing to not see her one last time. He also stated that he hadn't been to where she was in over a year, which to me maybe felt like they didn't have a strong bond with each other or he didn't want to come to terms with how their relationship ended off. He is really nonchalant about the whole situation but he has a lot of opinions especially when it comes to the people who were there at his mothers funeral. The women sobbing as he said was getting on his nerves but was it because she was doing something that he wasn't? That women was showing more compassion for his mother than he was and maybe he found that to be annoying.
ReplyDeleteMeursault does not know how to deal with emotions or traumatic events. Although a mothers death can be the most horrible emotional feeling ever he just doesnt know how to feel of it. People around him are grieving and hes confused as to why people who didn't know her are sad about her death. His attitude towards his mother death is that he knows this has happened but he doesnt believe it. He admitted himself that he'll feel the emotions later. He also did not want to see her body. This character can be compared to some people who dont know how to deal with traumatic events that occur in their lives.
ReplyDeleteI think Camus tells us a lot about Meursault in the way he describes in such vivid detail the wake--his back aching, the woman crying, etc--and there is no mention of his own feelings other than annoyance at the woman crying and then the silence of the old people. Every time I read this novel lately I'm struck w/ how much Meursault seems as if he's on the spectrum (i.e. functionally autistic) a term that didn't exist in 1942.
ReplyDeleteI think the first line of the novel is so famous b/c it's so blunt and brutal. This is not someone in tears, not someone suffering. It's someone who is saying the equivalent of "We had soup for dinner this evening." The fact that he can't remember exactly when she died emphasizes this.
Algeria seems like it has vastly different areas and accompanying mindsets to go along with it. The diverse environment from coast to inland and your familiarity with them dictate your ability to fair well in new terrain. Travel seems accessible although not fast enough for our protagonist. He in turn seems detached from the primary situation of his mother's death. Always assessing the event in terms of cause and effect, benefits and inconveniences. Not even stopping to acknowledge the reality of the situation immediately, claiming it'll set in after the official rite's of passage. He seems like the title suggests, like he is dealing with the death of a stranger, someone who you pay due social homage to but are not personally affected by the lose of. His mind perpetually gravitates to mundane occurrences throughout the day where you would expect some personal reflection of the relationship from someone in "mourning". He sounds like hes doing chores around the house.
ReplyDeleteAfter doing the reading I was not very fond of Meursault. I felt as if he inst a very thoughtful person, he did not seem to express mourning during his mothers vigil or after her passing. He went on to do his everyday things as if his life didn't get hit with a tragedy. When it comes to him communicating with people he doesn't have a mind of his own, when conversating with his neighbors he just goes with the flow, constantly agreeing with what his neighbor Raymond is saying. Raymond is not the best type of male influence and I think Meursault knows that but as everything else in his life he doesn't seem to take deep interest or care about it. He likes to live his life in very nonchalantly.
ReplyDeleteThe first line was very plain, said with no sadness or even understanding on when his mothers passing occurred like if he did not care to know the details.
in regards to the novel Algeria was a place that wasn't super advanced starting from the transportation as Meursault mentioned it was a hassle to go into the village to visit his mom at the home. it wasn't as "luxurious" as France. he his salary at work wasn't enough to cover his moms expenses in the home.In my opinion i felt his attitude towards his moms death was a bit careless. as in that first line hes not even sure when his mom exactly passed away and it didn't seem like he wanted to know. He did rush to leave therefore he felt some sorrow. Meursault seemed like a laid back person although the little things of the funeral bothered him( someone crying for his mom) he shouldn't have felt annoyed by it that showed someone truly care for his mother while he wasn't there. He didn't seem to have much confidence at work because he just kept thinking negative things about his bosses feelings towards him and his situation.
ReplyDeleteThe first line of the novel gives me the sensation that he has delayed grief. He doesn't react to a mothers death as most people would. Most people would be breaking down. That tells me that he wasn't as close to his mother as he should have been. On the other hand, "maman" is how you would call your mother when you have a very close relationship. Yet He doesn't asked questions about his mother death. He just says that he doesn't know when she died, which I find strangely odd. Maybe he is in denial? That opening gives me a lot of mix feelings about what he is really feeling.
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist, Meursault struggles to express his feelings toward people, especially,his mother who passed away. There is a distance between him and his mother. The first line of the novel create a emotionless tone from the character. At first, it made me think he wasn't very close with his mother, but he was scare to see her casket. This part shows he does have strong feelings for his mom, but he struggles to convey them.
ReplyDeleteCamus seems to be a rather emotionless man that acts a bit like his mothers death is such an inconvenience and doesn't care much. To him complaining on how difficult it is to go see her when giving his reasoning of why he hasn't seen her much this last year. His neighbor Raymond doesn't seem like someone I would really want to be "friends" with but for Camus its seems that it's just out of convenience and is just going with whatever. While with Maria he does seem to care but only up to a certain extent.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMeursault is the kind of person that says what he feels. For example when Meursault was talking to his boss to ask for some days off of work because his mother died, he said he need it to do it. He also feels that he should go visit his mother and that the boss should let him go.
ReplyDeleteAlgeria is a North Africa country with a Mediterranean coastline and a Sahara desert interior. After reading the first part of the story I would say that Meursault seems to be an emotionless and void person,because at his mother funerals he did not show any sign of emotion it is like he doesn't want to be there in the first place. His attitude at his mother's funeral was like he was just there due to his obligations towards her. Marie and him shares an intimate relationship since there are boyfriend and girlfriend there is more connection with Marie than his mother. He seems to be a person who is having trouble expressing himself.
ReplyDeleteAlgeria seems to be a very poor country that is a colony of France. it has a lot of dessert around it, and is hard to travel through it. Also life there seems to be very difficult as well. The character of Meursault is a person that seems like he is trying to deal with many things, but he is not sure how to handle it. The effect the first line of the novel creates is an ordinary emotion that he would have on anything else that is going on. His attitude towards his mother's death is pretty thoughtless, he does not have much of a reaction to it, other than thinking about what is going on with the other people in the room. His relationship with Marie is almost like a love relationship, except they are not in one. His relationship with Raymond is almost like a rivalry. They seem to be competing for Marie. But also seem to also be friends at the same time, outside of their competition with Marie.
ReplyDeleteMeursault seems very emotionless and dispassionate. The first line of the novel is, "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know." and from just that I thought the chapter I was about to read was going to be upsetting. However, once reading the narrator's thoughts, I saw that his reaction isn't like one's whose relationship with their mother was a close one. He informed that life living with his old mother was awful considering all she did was follow him with her eyes everyday. Once he put his mother in a home, he said he didn't visit his mother that often because, "It took up my Sunday - not to mention the trouble of getting the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling." That tells me he wasn't really close with his mother to make those sacrifices and saw her more as a bother. That would explain why he's so emotionless when he gets the news, she was already dead to him. Meursault is dispassionate during the vigil when he gets annoyed by one of elderly women crying. The woman was said to be his mother's best friend who feels alone now that she's gone. He constantly wanted her to stop and didn't understand why she would be this upset when he wasn't. He worried more about the pain in his back more than the actual ceremony. I just felt like he has difficulty expressing emotion and understanding it. Meursault's relationship with Marie gives me some hope that he's able to feel. He doesn't exactly know how to show affection to her but he still tries which is much more than he has done with his mother.
ReplyDeleteAt this time period I feel as if Algeria is at a point of depression and times were tough. I only assume this because Meursault was not able to care for his mother in her old age and could barley afford to visit her as often as he would like to. Also the way the caretaker understood so well as to why he could not look after his mother would led me to believe that this is a common thing that people can not afford to take care of their elders and have to put them in the home. Meursault seems to be a dull, nothing much bothers him. Its as if he is detached from the world he is apart of emotionally not really physically because he does interact with other people well from what I can see in the beginning. The first line of the novel gives the effect that the writer is aware of his mother dying but something seems off. As if his mother's death wasn't as impactful as you would expect. His attitude towards his mother's death seems to be a bit weird to me. As if he can not comprehend how his mother's death is a legit blow to his life.
ReplyDeleteMeursault seems to be a a passionless person. The way he reacts to his mothers death shows how he did not have a close relationship with her. it also shows how he seems to be an unfeeling man. He seems to be cold, and annoyed by everything.The first line creates a careless direct effect. It is straight up, simple and direct. The relationship with Marie seems to be little more emotional but it is still hard for him to continue his relationship with her. With Raymond, i think he feels kind of uninterested.
ReplyDeleteAlgeria is a poor country that at the time had been colonized by France. Meursault is a man who doesn't express his feelings/viewpoints on anything that would require his personal input on the matter at hand. It's clear that whenever someone asks a question his responses are very vague. His attitude in the first line shows a sense of confusion and how the relationship between him and his mother wasn't strong. His relationship with Marie to me is complicated. He knows that he likes her but isn't telling her that he wants to date her for some reason. His relationship with Raymond is weird in a way. Raymond randomly invites Meursault to his room for dinner and then almost immediately tells him about abusing his ex girlfriend. After Meursault somewhat agrees, in a vague response, to Raymond's methods of dealing with her, Raymond starts a friendship. I feel like this "friendship" is temporarily just so that Raymond wont get in trouble since Meursault is going to be an eye witness in court.
ReplyDeleteThe attitude towards his mother dead is like he doesn't care about his mother dead. The attitude is like nothing important happened so whatever tomorrow is a new day.
ReplyDelete