Stranger 1st paragraph

A persons' expression of his/her feelings is distinct from everyone else's; however, Meursaults' portrayal of feelings is almost non existent or is it? When the book begins, Meursault unusually doesn't show any emotion at his mother's funeral. A normal human would show grief and sorrow at an event like this; however, Meursault showed more interest in looking at the scenery rather than mourning for his mother's passing: "It was going to be a beautiful day. It had been a long time since I’d been out in the country, and I could feel how much I’d enjoy going for a walk if it hadn’t been for Maman" (Camus 21). In this diction, Camus foreshadows the corruption of Meursault's mind and how detached he his from his feelings. However, if one looks deeper into this text, there might be another explanation of Meursaults feelings: "But today, with the sun bearing down, making the whole landscape shimmer with heat, it was inhuman and oppressive" (Camus 24).

The Stranger Intro

The ability a person has to change his/her perception of the world is truly insurmountable. The great thing about the individual mind is its aptitude to view the world in any way one wants. In Albert Camus' The Stranger, Meursault detaches himself from his feelings. In a simple first glance at understanding Meursault, one might believe he doesn't show any care for the world and doesn't have genuine human feelings. However, in a deeper view, one might see the complexity of his caricature. In The Stranger, Camus shares a story of an intricate man who shows no human feelings while also subtly showing humane parts of his life.

The Stranger Outline

1st paragraph:

-talk about how the environment is a way for Camus to project meursaults feelings.

  -while he is detached from his mothers funeral, the sun is really hot (he feels uncomfortable with expressing his feelings)

   -when he kills the Arab, it is hot outside

  -discomfort/displacement

2nd paragraph:

-his feelings

-the trial: he doesn't feel guilty about killing a man

-doesn't feel sad about his moms death

-only emotion he shows is lust, is that even an emotion?

3rd paragraph:

-The prison blocks him from seeing the sun or any natural surrounding so he has to deal with himself

-he refuses to believe in god, shows his uniqueness, drifting away from the norm

-doesn't care much of the trial, no feelings toward what he did

Essay topic

My essay topic will be somewhere on the lines of how Meursault detached feelings turn into something deeper.
-how the environment (sun mostly) closely relates to his feelings and how he puts his surrounding and the beauty of it in priority over other things (such as his mother's funeral)
-he kills a man and even though doesn't really feel guilt, he is a very honest man and won't lie about his feelings or intentions
-he is honest to other people but lies to himself
-very unique qualities about him
-maybe talk about the trial
-talk about the way he feels about his mother's passing
    -'I probably love her'
    - 'the scenery is so nice, mothers funeral ruins it'

The complexity of Meursault

"But Raymond told me he didn’t think he could write the kind of letter it would take and that he’d thought of asking me to write it for him. Since I didn’t say anything, he asked if I’d mind doing it right then and I said no... When he told me the woman’s name I realized she was Moorish. 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" (41).  Camus effectively expresses the confusion of what Mersault's motives are through this passage. When Raymond first tells Meursault of his dilemma, Mersault seems indifferent and doesn't care too much about it as he was unwilling to write the letter for Raymond. However, he then suddenly wanted to write it and attempted to impress Raymond without any reason to. Camus does a good job of making simple text with a complex meaning. What is Mersault's motives? Does he want to write it because she is Moorish? Or just out of boredom? Camus allows the readers to open their mind to different possibilities and decide for themselves why Meursault actually wants to write the letter. For me I first believed when reading the text that Mersault was prejudiced towards Moorish people. However after thinking it over, I feel as though it could be perceived differently. Maybe after drinking Mersault just decided to 'screw it! I'll write it!' However there is no right answer, it's for the readers to decide for themselves.

Camus Blog

In Camus' "The Stranger", Camus effectively employs his writing style to express Meursault's feelings. With his mom having passed away, Meursault becomes very detached and acts very unusual for a kid whose mom just died. "It had been a long time since I’d been out in the country, and I could feel how much I’d enjoy going for a walk if it hadn’t been for Mama." (21). Meursault uses his mom's death as an excuse for not being able to enjoy the scenery. Camus shows through this quote how Meursault thinks and how his feelings have been somewhat corrupted.

Metamorphosis vs The Hunger Games

While analyzing both Metamorphosis and The Hunger Games, I've realized many similarities and differences. Both books are very simple reads and have interesting stories that keep a reader intrigued. However, while Hunger Games targets an audience of younger kids/teenagers who enjoy reading adventure type books, Metamorphosis targets mostly an older audience of adults. But I do believe that while most Kafka's books are for adults, this book was able to attract a younger crowd of young adults because it is able to keep these teenagers intrigued with its unique story. The reason why I enjoyed these two books so much was their ability to relate different scenarios in the book to my life. In Kafka's Metamorphosis, "She brought him, to test his taste, an entire selection, all spread out on an old newspaper" (Kafka 23).  Kafka portrays how even though Gregor turned into a vermin, his sister loves him so much that she does anything she can to help him out in the beginning of the book. In Collins' The Hunger Games, ""I volunteer!" I gasp. "I volunteer as tribute!"" (Collins 21). Collins shows in this quote how Katniss loves her sister so much that she would volunteer herself in such a dangerous thing to protect her younger sister. District 12 hasn't had a volunteer in decades. These two quotes really jumped out to me because I was able to relate to them so well. Even though I can't imagine myself being a vermin or being apart of something like the Hunger Games, I could definitely see myself doing anything I can to help my brother or sister.

Metamorphosis pg. 45

Gregor is becoming more isolated and starts drifting away from his family as they are not as willing as before to help him out. He is very lonely and has no one to communicate with. His sister was the closest person to him; however, they are growing apart. He really wants to get back to his normal life and be able to work and talk to his family but he is stuck in this insect body.

My essays

In my Conrad essay, I thought I did a lot better in analyzing my points as I went deeper in my points and further explained them. I still need to work on beings smoother and clearer in some points. This essay was also different than my other essays as I showed my own ideas and thought for myself. However I need to fix some basic grammar mistakes, PUT A TITLE and also add a lot more detail.

Kafka group discussion

How Gregor is so attached to his work that he doesn't freak out when he turns into a bug and all he cares about is going to work. I agree that Kafka writes this to show us a message about life, how Gregor is so focused on his work and mundane lifestyle that he doesn't enjoy life. Kafka makes him into a bug to make him realize his true self and to seek enjoyment in life. With Gregor not being able to do work or any of his normal activities, I believe Gregor will start to realize more important things in life.

Metamorphosis pg 25

Up to this point, Gregor starts to get accustomed to his new body and starts to change his old mannerisms. He starts to despise milk, even though he used to hate it and also eats rotten food, which his sister fortunately brought when she realized he didn't like the milk. Gregor also sleeps under the couch now which portrays his new lifestyle as he's acting more and more like a bug.

Group Conversations

I thought our group conversations were very interesting to be apart of and also watch from the outside. Being apart of it, it was nice to bring up interesting topics and see others people's view on them and discuss to an extent where we weren't arguing, rather just understanding other people's opinion. Watching from the outside was also very interesting as I got to see how people interact with each other. It was very obvious who would take the role as leader or as a person just letting everybody talk

HOD Body Paragraph

"A law abiding morally sensitive man enters an avaricious, predatory, almost pyschopathic world" (Karl 126). Karl portrays Marlow as an innocent man who goes into an unfamiliar world filled with greed, questionable morality, and darkness. And as Marlow continues his journey throughout this new world, he becomes corrupted as his Id is released. Explained through Freudian ideas, a person's id is his/her bad thoughts and if unleashed, can corrupt that person. With the super ego (moral conscience) containing the id inside, a person is able to stay sane. However, Conrad employs Marlow's character in Heart of Darkness to show that a person's id can be unleashed if exposed to an unfamiliar, harsh environment. Even if that person is as positive and morally righteous as Marlow, his id can still be unleashed. With the circumstances of Marlow going into a world where people are corrupt and darkness is filled everywhere, Conrad shows the difficulty of a virtuous man like Marlow staying sane.

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness allows readers to envision a world in which a man is challenged by his id as that id roams freely through his body, bringing out the inner darkness. While the super ego is supposed to suppress this id, readers view Marlow as a man who sees his true id unleashed, his 'heart of darkness.' However, the interesting view of this book is the relationship between the author and the protagonist himself. While most authors agree with his/her own protagonists, Conrad uniquely employs Marlow to emphasize his own points through their different viewpoints. With Marlow being much more morally sensible and positive, Conrad expresses his own negative and less-democratic views through his contrast with Marlow.

Conrad essay

In my essay, I will talk about how Conrad expresses his ideas ironically through Marlow, even though they are polar opposites. Conrad is able to emphasize his points indirectly through marlow. With Marlow being more sensible and positive, he expects men to be fair and decent as he has a very democratic view. Conrad however looks foolishly down upon those ideas of being sensible and having modern views.

Murfin discusses the philosophy of why authors write these kind of stories. Not in order to satisfy themselves but rather to explore a readers psyche. To see how they think and see what can come to their mind. To see how powerful the id is and how the super ego represses the id. Murfin says how the id is bottled up inside and the super ego keeps it contained.

College reading

I think the way I would prepare for reading books in college is by building up my stamina by reading more books at a quicker pace. I think this English class is helping me prepare for college because we read every week and even if the book is boring or uninteresting to me, i am still forced to read which will get me ready for college. I think if students just force themselves to sit down and start reading, they will get into it more and it will be easier to read longer texts. I think we should also do self-assigned reading.

Freud Civilization

As shown in the passage, Freud questions an individuals true motive, if its either based off true compassion or libido and aggression. Freud condescendingly looks down on men and believe they are sex-craved machines. He focuses mostly on the negative aspects of men and their sexual desires.

Heart of Darkness (17-25)

Now we start to learn more about Marlow through his demeanor and tone. He is very condescending and looks down upon the African and French people he sees. He also describes things in vivid detail and uses many similies to further emphasize objects or actions.

Heart Of Darkness (11-16)

As the journey begins, we start to see the foreshadowing of the darkness ahead and the obstacles the protagonist has to face. After going through the station and accepting the job, Marlow meets a questionable, mysterious doctor who I think portrays future problems. Also Conrad very openly shows darkness through repetition of the actual word 'darkness.'