1) Why does Camus only refer to Saturday and Sunday and not the week days?
2) Does the symbolism of the cigarette represent freedom from society?
(Also the motif of sleeping/tiredness)
3) Why does Camus always describe things in color? Is it to represent how he perceives the world only physically, not emotionally?
4) Why does Camus only state "the Arabs" and not actually have a name for them?
5) Why is the sun set a cheerful tone when Mersault is with Marie on the beach, but it sets a pressured/irritated tone when he is on the beach without her?
Comments...
1) Why does Albert Camus use such short and choppy sentences? What effect does this have on the story? (Matt Merckling #2)
Albert Camus uses short and choppy sentences to represent how humans think things through, thus developing a routine.
2) Is Camus using the motifs of coffee and cigarettes as symbols for something larger? Is it something to do with emotion? (Megan Davis #4)
Through the motif of coffee and the symbol of cigarettes Camus portrays freedom from society, escaping the stressful lifestyle into one more relaxed.
3) What is Camus trying to say about human experience by creating a character that seems to lack motivation? (Tanner Bean #2)
Through Mersault's lack of motivation, Camus expresses that in the human experience one will tend to focus on the present more than the future.
4) What is the meaning of the robotic lady (pg 43)? She does not have a big impact in the story other than showing up at Meursault's trial. Why is she included and/or for what purpose is she in the story? (Andy Luu #5)
Camus includes the "robotic lady" into The Stranger to show the routine based life one will have in a demanding society.
5) To what purpose does Camus put such emphasis on physical description and feeling, especially regarding colors? (Montana Agnew #2)
Camus puts emphasis on physical descriptions rather than emotional descriptions to connect the reader to the character. Camus describes the beach on page 49 to bring out the feeling of relaxation, while not actually stating that Mersault felt relaxed. Camus might be trying to portray a possible theme that humans will tend to understand things better through the physical aspects of life rather than emotional.
Camus only states "the Arabs" because none of the other characters no any of "the Arabs" personally. Yes Raymond had a relationship with one of the Arabs' sisters, but Camus never mentions her name. Camus refers to the group as "the Arabs" one because they are Arabian, and two because it would not make sense if Camus described each one by name because the book is narrated through Meursault and he never meets or learns the name of the Arabs.
ReplyDelete4. Albert Camus uses the title "the Arabs" to stereotype that all Arabs look for trouble or do not like other people messing with them and will go to extremes to do defend what is right to them. I base this off that the Arabs followed Raymond to the beach, and there were only Arabs at the jail.
ReplyDelete#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.
ReplyDeleteCamus only says the name of the day if it is a weekend to parallel Meursault's attitude. He does not enjoy his work, and on the weekends he experiences a freedom to choose his own activity. He can do whatever he feels like, and is not pressured into doing things he doesn't want to do. So Camus, like Meursault, ignores and disregards the week days and focuses on the weekends.
ReplyDeleteIn question number 4 Camus refers to the strange men as "Arabs instead of using their own names. I belueve he does this because of two reasons. I believe firstly that we have no imformation about the other men and second that it creats a distance towards those characters.
ReplyDelete1. Camus only describes weekends because he believes that during the week, everything is the same, the routine of one weekday is identical to another, while during weekends, one is not bound to a strict routine.
ReplyDelete2) Does the symbolism of the cigarette represent freedom from society?
ReplyDelete(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.
2)
ReplyDeleteCamus uses the symbolism of smoking and drinking to represent a break from the responsibilities of society. In contrast, time is used to snap Meursault into the real world. On page 52, Marie suddenly talks about time while he is drinking, and he then must go for a walk, just to please the other men.
1) Camus uses short, precise sentences to highlight Mersault's linear, but broken thought process in reference to traumatizing events (the death of Maman in the beggining)
ReplyDelete1.
ReplyDeleteCamus only describes saturdays and sunday to reflect on Mersault. Mersualt thinks work is the same thing over and over again, so it isn't as meaningful to talk about meaningless days comparing to unexpected things happening on the weekends.
3. Camus could describe things in color to illustrate the point that Meursault perceives things only physically. But I don't think that this means that he doesn't feel emotions caused by his surroundings. Colors can have emotional connotations, like yellow for happiness, red for anger, black for depression, etc. Camus's constant mention of colors could be a way to indicate that Meursault feels emotions, but that he simply does not know how to directly describe things in relation to how they make him feel. This is why he uses colors.
ReplyDelete1) Perhaps to show Mersaults indifference towards weekdays, and represent his lack of societal conformity.
ReplyDelete