The Stranger - Journal #6: Literary Questions

Journal Prompt #6:

Part one: Post 5 significant literary questions on The Stranger. The more authentic these are (i.e. questions you really have been pondering) the more insightful the answers will have to be. These questions should not be directed toward a right or wrong answer; rather, it should lead to personal interpretation of the text. You can revise a few of the questions you wrote for chapter six to include concepts from the entire book.

Part two: Comment on at least five of your peers' blogs with an answer to one or two of their questions. Make your answers genuine and relevant. These answers should sound like a thesis statement. Remember the goal is to help you write a strong and insightful paper, so treat this assignment as preparation to do so.

Go back and edit your last post by copying and pasting the comments you left on other blogs onto your post. 

Response:

Part one: Questions

1. Why does Camus use a cigarette to symbolize Mersault's attachment to the physical world, rather than a car or something else in day to day life?
2. Why is color the main source of describing people and scenery?
3. Why is light portrayed as harmful and annoying to Mersault in part one and then as something he is searching for and wanting in part two? I can understand how Mersault would desire light and tie that into freedom in part two, but I do not understand why he does not like it in part one.
4. What role do the minor characters play in the naturalistic view of the story? Or more importantly, how does the lack of the minor characters from part one in part two affect the way Mersault sees the world?
5. Why does Camus use conjunctions at the beginning of sentences rather than connecting two linking ideas?

Part two: Comments

1.  Andy Luu - "4.) As we discussed in class, it could be that Camus is writing in a style much like human thoughts- choppy and jumps around. Camus writes like this to understand what is going through Mersault's mind, allowing the reader to understand Mersault on a psychological level."
2. Anthony Quach - "5.) Camus has the Arab prisoner refer to his mother as "Maman" to show the closeness between the two. Mersault was also close to his mother, and the Arab prisoner's interaction symbolizes how a simple change in one's life can have a different effect. If Maman had not died the wordless, yet meaningful, time would be spent with his mother, rather than the meaningless chatter between him and Marie."
3. Isabella Lewis - "5.) Mersault does not fit into society because he focuses on his own needs, rather than a greater picture for society. It is not that he is selfish as much as it is he has a different set of values. For example, when Marie asks him if he loves her he does not see the value in knowing that."
4. Kellsie Knolin - "4.) Camus uses the motif of heat throughout the story to note a change of events. Whether it be as simple as Mersault not wanting to swim anymore, to as complex as Mersault shooting the man, the heat always plays a factor in the cause which leads to the effect. In the courtroom Mersault becomes irritated not only because of the constant questioning, but because of the heat, which leads him to answering abruptly rather than thought-out (to some extent)."
5. Shannon Graham - "3.) The cigarettes represent Mersault's tie to the physical world. Although he describes the physical aspects around him, the one thing that shows how dependent he is on material items is the cigarette.
   
   Or...
   
   As a symbol for his routine, losing the cigarettes show how Mersault desires his life prior to prison; when he accepts that he can no longer have the cigarettes it shows how he has been able to change/adapt to his way of life."

 The answer key to literary life?