The Stranger
Ch 1-2 (pages 3 through 24)
So, I just began reading The Stranger, my first assignment. In order to understand more about the author and his reasons for writing, I did a little background check to see what I could find about his life that could help me. If you take a look at Albert Camus' life, you could say he had a very tragic upbringing only to have his life end in a freak car accident at only 57. At a very early age his father died, while his mom, who was partly deaf and illiterate was left with the burden of the family. Camus was soon sent to live with a dying grandmother (with liver cancer) and a paralyzed uncle. His extreme poverty and misery weren't going to prevent him from attending university, however, but his tuberculosis would. The disease took most of his strength away and he reduced himself to a part-time student.
Monsieur Meursault is a pure reincarnation of the melancholic human being that Camus became during his tough early years. The writing style and character traits in The Stranger are marked by the indifference created by the emptiness in his life. Camus uses Monsieur Meursault to express his own emotions and feelings towards the events that took place during his life. We human beings tend to do that, create barriers and appearances that help us deal with tough times and experiences. We think that if we hide behind the appearances and solitude, eventually what's causing us pain will disappear; in my opinion it has something to do with shame. The more pain we show, the more people will have pity for us and the weaker we will be perceived as. The human race is all about survival of the fittest: who's the better student, teacher, mother, father, who can handle emotions and changes best, etc. If at any one moment you show a sign of weakness then you are looked down upon. Human race is a double standard, everyone has to be perfect according to an unwritten rule, yet underneath the table everyone knows that no one is perfect; those are just appearances.
This has happened to each and everyone of us. Around two years ago I had this best friend, we were inseparable, you could say. Suddenly, out of the blue she left and from early on we lost touch. Our friendship had reduced itself to miserable ruin. What hurt the most was that she stopped caring about me or our friendship and resorted to people she had once sworn to hate. I quickly submerged myself into other friendships and relationships, as well a school and other activities, acting completely indifferent towards anything to do with her; acting as if whatever she had done had nothing to do with me. I built a barrier to prevent her from ever coming into my life again; I went out with new people, acting as if I had moved on from that period in my life. Just as Camus wrote to heal his feelings, I, became a social butterfly. However, till this day I still wonder what went wrong and when our friendship fell apart.
Some things I wonder:
Will Camus ever open up completely to the reader?
Will Monsieur Mersault ever become what Camus had wished for himself?
Will Monsieur Mersault's indifference to his mother's death ever come back to haunt him?
Will we ever know more about his relationship with his deceased mother?
Monsieur Meursault is a pure reincarnation of the melancholic human being that Camus became during his tough early years. The writing style and character traits in The Stranger are marked by the indifference created by the emptiness in his life. Camus uses Monsieur Meursault to express his own emotions and feelings towards the events that took place during his life. We human beings tend to do that, create barriers and appearances that help us deal with tough times and experiences. We think that if we hide behind the appearances and solitude, eventually what's causing us pain will disappear; in my opinion it has something to do with shame. The more pain we show, the more people will have pity for us and the weaker we will be perceived as. The human race is all about survival of the fittest: who's the better student, teacher, mother, father, who can handle emotions and changes best, etc. If at any one moment you show a sign of weakness then you are looked down upon. Human race is a double standard, everyone has to be perfect according to an unwritten rule, yet underneath the table everyone knows that no one is perfect; those are just appearances.
This has happened to each and everyone of us. Around two years ago I had this best friend, we were inseparable, you could say. Suddenly, out of the blue she left and from early on we lost touch. Our friendship had reduced itself to miserable ruin. What hurt the most was that she stopped caring about me or our friendship and resorted to people she had once sworn to hate. I quickly submerged myself into other friendships and relationships, as well a school and other activities, acting completely indifferent towards anything to do with her; acting as if whatever she had done had nothing to do with me. I built a barrier to prevent her from ever coming into my life again; I went out with new people, acting as if I had moved on from that period in my life. Just as Camus wrote to heal his feelings, I, became a social butterfly. However, till this day I still wonder what went wrong and when our friendship fell apart.
Some things I wonder:
Will Camus ever open up completely to the reader?
Will Monsieur Mersault ever become what Camus had wished for himself?
Will Monsieur Mersault's indifference to his mother's death ever come back to haunt him?
Will we ever know more about his relationship with his deceased mother?
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