English IV Journal (The Stranger Super Journal)

Please organize your response, supporting a cogent and coherent thesis in multiple paragraphs. Try your best and use creative language. This journal must be 500-700 words.
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A- Camus was a self-proclaimed "absurdist." Based on The Stranger and Meursault’s beliefs in The Stranger, how would you define "the absurd"? What role do concepts like "detachment," "alienation," "acceptance," and "society" play? How is absurdity reflected in (a) the events in Meursault’s life, (b) the relationships Meursault finds himself in, and (c) the attitudes with which Meursault faces, and subsequently rejects, the world?
B- In what sense does Meursault triumph at the end of The Stranger? (This was what Camus intended, but you’re welcome to argue that, in fact, Meursault doesn’t triumph at all.) Does Meursault overcome society’s judgment, and thereby, its shackles? Or is it more important that he rebelled against conformity? And what’s up with him wishing for a large crowd of hating spectators at his execution?
C- In his jail cell, Meursault finds an old newspaper article about a Czechoslovakian man who is murdered by his mother and sister. How does this article relate to Meursault’s own trial for murder? How does this article expand the themes in The Stranger? How does it support Camus’s philosophy of the absurd?

English III (Steinbeck's "Leader of the People")

It seems that in every generation there are older people who say "It was different in my day." These people feel nostalgic about their past, remembering it as a golden age when everything was simpler and more heroic. In fact some people end up living mainly in memories of a past that no longer exists and may never have been as they remember it.
Do you believe that the time of heroes is long last? who are today's heroes, or are there none worthy of the label? What opportunities do you see for heroism today?

English II Journal (Flags & Animal Farm)

What is the power of a flag? Why do countries need flags and how do they use them? Is a flag a sign of control or independence? Why do politicians use so many flags when they speak?

English II Journal (Utopia Development)

In your opinion, what is the best way government can be organized? What elements of rule, law, and order must be preserved for a society to thrive? In two-to-three paragraphs, outline a government or system and explain how it will thrive.