The Stranger-Thesis

Through the treatment of Salamano's dog compared to events that happen to Meursault, Albert Camus expresses the idea that humans will suppress their emotions in order to make events easier to cope with because the possibility of being emotionally hurt by those events is eliminated.

The Stranger-Journal 8

            I personally did not like “The Stranger”.  It just was not my kind of book.  I found it boring and hard to tab.  “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was much more enjoyable to read.  Although I did not like the book I do think that it has a lot of literary value.  I feel as if literary techniques are not as easy to spot and analyze in this book as they were in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.  This caused me to have to dig deeper in the book and really think about it.  Maybe this was one of the reasons that I did not like it, but I know that it is making me better at analyzing.  I also think that “The Stranger” has a lot of literary value because it is written in such a unique style.  I have not read anything like it before so it exposed me to a new type of writing, which also helped me learn how to analyze a new style.  I think that “The Stranger” should continue to be taught at high schools because it is different from a lot of other books and it helps students become well-rounded when it comes to analyzing.  It also has literary value because it was originally written in a different language and had to be translated.  This interests me and made me like the book a little bit more because I am so fascinated by other cultures.

The Stranger-Journal 7

I am going to focus on the relationship between Salamano and his dog and how that relates to Meursault.

“It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really nothing had changed” (24)

“Twice a day, at eleven and six, the old man takes the dog out for a walk.  They haven’t changed their route in eight years.  You can see in the rue de Lyon, the dog pulling the man along until old Salamano stumbles.  Then he beats the dog and swears at it.  The dog cowers and trails behind” (27).

“Then he left, yanking at the animal, which was letting itself be dragged along, whimpering” (28).

“He asked me didn’t I think it was disgusting and I said no” (28).

“He asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you can’t ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her” (32).

“I wrote the letter.  I did it just as it came to me, but I tried my best to please Raymond because I didn’t have any reason not to please him” (32).

“Then he explained to me that he’d heard about Maman’s death but that it was one of those things that was bound to happen sooner or later.  I thought so too” (33).

All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears.  I stood there, motionless.  And in old Salamano’s room, the dog whimpered softly (33).

The woman was still shrieking and Raymond was still hitting her.  Marie said it was terrible and I didn’t say anything.  She asked me to go find a policeman, but I told her I didn’t like cops (36).

“[…]I saw that he didn’t have his dog” (38).

“Sure, I’ve been meaning to get him a smaller collar for a long time.  But I never thought the bastard would take off like that” (38).

“They’re not going to take him away from me, are they, Monsieur Meursault?  They’ll give him back to me.  Otherwise, what’s going to happen to me?” (39).

“[…]I realized he was crying.  For some reason I thought of Maman” (39).

“[…]he told me that his dog was lost[…]maybe it had been run over.  He asked if he could find out at the police station.  They told him they didn’t keep track of things like that because they happened everyday” (44).

“When she died he had been very lonely.  So he asked a shop buddy for a dog and he’d gotten this one very young[…]We’d have a run-in every now and then.  But he was a good dog just the same” (45).

“The trigger gave[…]Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where to bullets lodged without leaving a trace” (59).

“Then the judge stood up[…]He simply asked in the same weary tone, if I was sorry for what I had done.  I thought about it for a minute and said that more than sorry I felt kind of annoyed (70).

Thesis:  Through the relationship between Salamano and his dog in connection to Meursault’s actions Albert Camus expresses the idea that humans will try to suppress their emotions, but once fully suppressed, humans will begin to feel regret and want them back.

The Stranger-Journal 6

1.      Why does Camus describe everyone in detail except the Arabs?  The most he describes the Arabs is that they are wearing blue overalls.  Most everyone else is described in elaborate detail.

2.      What does the dog represent?

3.      Do Meursault’s cigarettes represent something?  If so, what?

4.      On pg. 56, what is the significance of Meursault referencing his mother’s death as he’s about to kill someone?

5.      Why does Camus set the story on the beach so often and why does he make it a place that Meursault desires to go to?

Answers:

Megan #1

Camus uses the dog to represent the relationship between a human and something they love.  This relationship contrasts with the relationships that Meursault has to make them seem superficial and to show that he is not capable of understanding a deeper relationship.

Matt #2

Camus uses short, choppy sentences to show that Meursault is not capable of thinking or comprehending anything more, like emotion. This is why he is not capable of expressing his emotion.

Tate #5

The sun changes the tone to reveal Meursault's physical wants and that he is not capable of expressing anything deeper than his physical desires.

Ivan #4

Having dialogue interspersed throughout the paragraphs creates the feel that it is a human's thoughts, giving the reader a more genuine account of Meursault's story.

Isabella #1

Camus gives Meursault emotions, but he is not capable of expressing them. This is clear through the short, choppy, methodical sentences.

The Stranger-Journal 5

I think that Camus split the book into two parts to emphasize the change in Meursault’s situation.  In Part One it seems as if he is just going through life, but then in Part Two he is jail.  This changes his life, but when looked at carefully there are parallels to his life before he killed the Arab.  Before going to jail Meursault was very methodical about things and lived by a schedule.  […]I’ll take the two o’clock bus and get there in the afternoon.  That way I can be there for the vigil and come back tomorrow night” (3).  After going to jail, Meursault stills lives by a schedule.  “[…]I’ve been sleeping sixteen to eighteen hours a day.  That would leave me with six hours to kill with meals, nature’s call, my memories, and the story of the Czechoslovakian” (79).  Another parallel between the first and second parts of the book is the reference to Maman.  While it does not appear that Meursault cares for his mother or is sad about her death, it is evident that he actually does because he often thinks of her.  In Part One he thinks, “The sun was the same as it had been the day I’d buried Maman[…]” (58).  In Part Two Meursault talks to his lawyer about his mother and says, “The day I buried Maman, I was very tired and sleepy, so much so that I wasn’t really aware of what was going on.  What I can say for certain is that I would rather Maman hadn’t died” (65).  Throughout Part Two Meursault continues to reflect on his mother’s death, therefore it must be significant in some way.

The Stranger-Journal 4

Why did the subject change so quickly after Meursault almost shot the Arabs? (56)
Why does Meursault make a reference to the day of his mom's burial right before he killed the Arab? (58)
Is Meursault implying that killing someone made him unhappy?  If so, then why did he shoot the dead body four more times? (59)
Why did the men continue walking towards the Arabs when they first saw them? (53)
Is Masson put in the story to contrast Meursault and highlight his characteristics?
What is the significance of the flute?

The Stranger-Journal 3

My philosophy, faithism, is based off the belief that everyone has a purpose and everything happens for a reason.  Although people don’t always know what that reason is and they usually don’t understand it or agree with it it’s always there.  I don’t think that people should always try to understand the reason, they need to have faith in it, and that doesn’t always involve an understanding of it.  I know that faithism is a lot like theism, but I think that people need to have faith in other things, as well as God.

·         There is a God who works through the Trinity.

·         People are capable of having a personal relationship with God.

·         People should not expect God to fix all of their problems.  They need to take an active role in following His lead to fix the problems.

·         Relationships with other people are the best way to find happiness in life.  It doesn’t come from material things.

·         People are naturally good, although it is in human nature to want to better yourself and your position.  This is ok, as long as it is not done at the expense of another person.

·         People have free will and they must choose how to guide their lives.

·         Taking pride in your work and following through on a commitment CAN give you satisfaction and is a necessity in life.

·         Work hard now and be devoted to the task you have in front of you, and you will be rewarded with even greater things later.

My parents have been teaching me these things all of my life.  I truly live my life by these principles and I believe in them to the fullest.  I think that these are important because I am very happy living by them and I couldn’t imagine living any other way.  I am so thankful to my parents for teaching me to live this way, because I believe that I have had one of the best lives I could have possibly had and I think that it is because of these principles that I was raised by.

The Stranger-Journal 2

Part One:

I think that Matthew Ward has the most literary value.  He uses short descriptions that are not as dynamic as Gilbert’s and I think that this is how Camus intended the novel to be.  Ward’s descriptions seemed to portray the character of Meursault in a more accurate way than Gilbert’s because Ward’s were much more methodical and blunt.  This means that I place value in the characterization of Meursault and the narrative voice throughout the novel.  I think that Camus intended the reader to see Meursault as distanced from his surroundings.  Ward kept a French influence in his writing by including “Maman” and kilometers so I feel like he is a more reliable translator than Gilbert.  Because Gilbert changed these things it makes me question what else he changed.

Part Two:

When reading through the novel during the summer, I could not figure out why it was titled The Stranger.  I think that The Outsider would be a much better title.  Throughout the entire book it feels as if Meursault is an outsider.  I also think that this could reference the Arab man as well because he was a person of a different ethnicity in France.  One of example of where Meursault takes on the feel of an outsider is at the vigil for his mother.  Meursault feels out of place with all of his mother’s friends and wants the woman to stop crying.  The feeling I got was one that he didn’t want to be there and that made me feel as if he was an outsider among those people.

The Stranger-Journal 1

Pink: Changes in structure/syntax

• I've noticed that descriptions of things or people tend to be in longer sentences than descriptions of events or what someone is doing.

Orange: Justification

• Mearsault justifies things to himself in his mind and sometimes feels as if he has to justify things to others.

Green: Motif of the color white
Yellow: Events where emotion would generally be shown
Blue: motif of smell/smelling