Wednesday, February 29, 2012
English IV Journal (The Stranger Ch. 1)
Analyze Meursault's relationships with other people in the first chapter. Try to explain his indifference with the heavy events surrounding his life. Why doesn't Meursault cry at his mother's funeral? Do humans have a purpose- do our lives have meaning? What events in the first chapter make it an existentialist piece? Use quotes from the novel to support your points.
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Meursault is very detached from the people in his life. He is uninterested in putting in the work to make new friends or even keep the ones he has now. Even the relationship he used to have with his mother was strained to the the fact that he barley if ever went to see his mother after she was put in a home, it was too much of a "hassle". "And also because it took up my Sunday-not to mention trouble of getting on the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling."
ReplyDeleteWhen Meursault hears about the death of his mother, it seemed as if though he could care less. He talked more about the context in which the message came rather than what the message was. Meursault seemed utterly unaffected with the news of his mom's death and maybe it was because it had no "effect" on his life what so ever, by the end of the chapter 2 you see Meursaults daily routine and him realizing that it hasn't changed on bit. "It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really nothing had changed." This was because Meursault never included his mother in his life and now that she's gone nothings changed.
Meursault is obviously a very prideful man who takes pity from no one. He chooses not to make a huge spectacle of himself by crying over the loss of his mom in front of people he does not know, rolling on the floor, cursing the gods for what they've done to his mum.
In this life, in this world, in the time, humans only have meaning to themselves. Yes we have the ability to imprint on each other, to leave a mark on a person that will be remembered even after the person who left the imprint dies. But what happens when everyone someone knew dies, that person is forever lost in time, with his or her name possibly left in records that will almost never be looked over. Like Kansas said, "All we are is dust in the wind" that is how we started and that's how we will end our short lives on this earth.
The reason this book is an existentialist piece is because this man Merusault spends his day his life thinking about what to do, how to do it, and how to do it wisely. What he dosen't seem to realize is that he is wasting his life just sitting idly by for and epiphany to hit.
Meursault is a very different person compared to the other people in the novel. He's the type of a person that does not want to make any effort to anything around him, not even to people that he's very close to; like his mother. The fact that a message was sent to him notifying the death of his mother, he showed no emotions at all once he read the message, it was like whatever attitude towards it.
ReplyDeleteMeursault is a more laid back chill person that he will not make any effort to either keep a relationship like the relationship with his mother he used to have and not making any effort to make any new friends. After his mother was transferred into a nursing home, he gradually stopped visiting her due to hard time getting there, "And also because it took up my Sunday-not to mention trouble of getting on the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling."
When the message told Meursault about his mother's death, he didn't pay much attention at all. He acted like he just got an unimportant letter that he just throws it in the trash can right after he read it. He didn't cry at his mother's funeral unlike his mother's best friends that would cry non stop during the vigil because the fact that his mother died makes no difference in his life, it did not impacted him in anyway. Whether his mother died or not, it did not matter to him because since his mother moved to a nursing home and he gradually stopped visiting her, she just became a ghost to him like she didn't exist at all. His mother wasn't a part of his routine another so the funeral made no changes to his daily life routine,"It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really nothing had changed." He barely even knew his mother anymore, what she likes, how her life was, if she made any friends, if she ever fell in love again. Meursault was surprised when his mother's friends came to the vigil, never thought she would have that many people that knew her, even Thomas Perez, a very close friend that they were almost a married couple.
No one knows what their purpose in life is once they are born. No one can give you a purpose or meaning in life, all they can do is leave something behind that you can learn from it and make yourself into a better person in the future. Humans make themselves the purpose of life and meaning, we find our own purpose and meaning in life. We are the only ones that know what our future is and how it will be, it all depends on ourselves. Making our own goals to pursue in the future, to have a purpose to live and do whatever we need to do with the life that was given to us. We can't live forever, that's why we live to the fullest for ourselves and just do what you gotta do before we regret it.
What makes Chapter 1 in The Stranger a existentialist is the fact that Meursault is a very careful person that he plans everything that he will do everyday, without making any mistakes that might embarrass him. He doesn't allow things that were not part of his plan to come in between. Since he never made any effort to go visit his mother after she moved to a nursing home and never made the effort to make any friend and spending his Sundays lazy by doing nothing important and just sitting on his chair looking out of his window wondering about people's businesses that are going around in the streets that he does not realize that by doing all those stuffs, he's wasting his life without any purpose and meaning that he should be doing so.
Mersault is a person that seems to be living in his own world. He is almost completely detached from everybody in the book and does not try to maintain lasting relationships. He doesn’t even try to maintain a decent relationship with his own mother. He describes visiting her as a “hassle.” He even states that “and also because it took up my Sunday-not to mention trouble of getting on the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling.” You can see that Mersault is almost completely unattached to his mother and doesn’t seem to be bothered by his mother’s death.
ReplyDeleteMersault’s reaction to the death of his mother was a surprising one. He seemed unaffected by it considering the fact that he didn’t show any emotional pain or anguish. In the book, he says “For now, it’s almost as if Maman weren’t dead. After the funeral, though, the case will be closed, and everything will have a more official feel to it.” This is showing that he is going to simply dismiss the idea of her death until he gets to her funeral which will then allow the death to sink in. However, when he gets to the funeral he doesn’t cry for his mother because he took so little time to see her that her death had no impact on his life. After the funeral, he is still unaffected and he soon figures out that his life continues almost as if nothing ever happened.
I believe that humans have a purpose only because we give ourselves one. As a whole human race, I believe we do not share the same purposes and they can change from person to person. Just as we give ourselves purpose, we also create our own meaning of life if we chose to do so. No one is here to tell us what the purpose or meaning of life is, we simply create it with our own ideology.
The first chapter is an existentialist piece because Mersault is a person who plans out his days and does not allow these things to change. He also does not want to embarrass himself in front of anyone and chooses to detach himself from the world in order to this. He simply just watches people go on about their daily lives from his window without having any real purpose in his own life.
In the first chapter of The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault seems to be extremely impervious and unemotional about his mother’s death. His first statements were “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” He was not even aware of the date that his mother died, and it seemed like he didn’t really care to find out. His relationship with his mother is the main relationship that is revealed in the first chapter. Meursault used to live with his mother until he was unable to properly care for her, then he brought her to an elderly care home only two hours away. He begins to visit her sporadically and ends up not visiting at all. Meusault says that it “ took up my Sunday--- not to mention the trouble of getting to the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling”. The way he describes it, it seems like seeing his mom is an inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteI believe that he is very indifferent about the heavy events in his life because he believes that nothing has really changed since his mother died. He doesn’t really feel as if it was important to lose somebody close in his life. Meursault doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral because he distracts himself with petty details of his surroundings and other people. He is more bothered by the heat of the walk to the church, than he is about his mother’s death. “But today, with the sun bearing down, making the whole landscape shimmer with heat it was inhuman and oppressive.”(15).
Humans create their own purpose in life. Just as everyone has unique dreams and aspirations they have unique purposes. The only way you would know that you fulfilled your purpose in life is if YOU, yourself are satisfied with what you have done and accomplished. The first chapter in the book reveals Camus’s existentialist attitude in the way that he nonchalantly passes through life, without reacting to seemingly horrific events. It’s as if Meursault doesn’t really find anything worth fighting for, or having passion for. He is befuddled by the fact that his mother’s frail boyfriend would trek across the hot field for 2 kilometers just to see his love one get buried. Adding to his apathy, Meursault’s last feeling while at his mother’s burial was joy that “I was going to go to bed and sleep for twelve hours”
Mersault is very nonchalant and distant from other characters in the novel. He is very independent in the sense that he doesn’t care or hold any deep emotions to anyone that’s around him. The book starts out with him reading a letter that notifies him about his mother’s death but he read it in a way that showed no emotion and as if the letter was just another ordinary note. He even criticized the note saying that it “doesn’t mean anything” because it didn’t state the actual date of the death. He also didn’t show much appreciation to the condolences given to him by the people Celeste’s restaurant because he was too distracted by the fact that he had to borrow a tie and a black arm band from Emmanuel. When Mersault got to the nursing home mortuary were his mother’s body was, he denied the caretaker’s offer to open the cover of casket so he could view her body. He didn’t give a reason when asked why because he simply didn’t know. He is so indifferent that he didn’t even go near the casket; instead, he just sat down, took naps, and analyzed Maman’s friends that came to the vigil.
ReplyDeleteNoticing how Mersault didn’t even show the slightest mourning when he read the letter about Maman’s death, it is not surprising that he didn’t cry at the funeral. Also, he rarely spent time with her during her stay at the nursing home because he felt that he was messing up her niche. In addition, Mersault didn’t visit because “it took up [his] Sunday— not to mention the trouble of getting to the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hour traveling. Due to the lack of interaction between the mother and son, I assume that they don’t have a strong bond and that they don’t have meaningful memories that will lead Mersault to cry. He’s only concerned about himself and his existence. He was actually more focused on how the weather was very hot and how the sun was burning him as they walked towards the church alongside the hearse carrying Maman’s casket.
I do think that humans have a purpose. Being that we’re alive and have the chance to achieve great things is a good enough reason for us to strive to be whatever we dream of. Yes it may seem pointless when it’s pointed out that humans die eventually, but one must realize that the purpose of life is not to last forever but to leave behind something that will. Someone who gives up, stays indifferent, lacks ambition, and avoids relationships and feelings is wasting something that I’m sure many people in the emergency rooms of hospitals would beg for— a chance to live.
Mersault’s overall apathetic attitude towards Maman’s death in the first chapter is an existentialist characteristic. He is not affected the same way that most people would if they find out that their mother had died. Also Mersault showed more emotion about his boss not being happy with him asking for a leave to go to his mom’s funeral compared to him being in the actual funeral. He has no emotional attachment to Maman and he focuses more on his surroundings than his internal feelings. At the end of the chapter he still didn’t show any recognition or mourning. His last thoughts included the scorching heat, the nurse’s voice, Perez fainting, and how glad he was to be able to sleep again.
Meursault's relationshionship with his mother in specicfic was very vauge. He wasn't very enduring, sad, happy about his mother's passing, it didnt sink in. Mersaults connection with his boss isnt really on good terms too. Perez and Meusault dont tehcnically have a good connection.Mersault didn't cry during the funeral or after the fact of the funeral.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Mersualt relationship between his mohter and him was most likely the only relationship there is with anyone he knows. Within the first chapter the author expresses off the back his non existing emotions towrads life and how "humans" see the world today. He catorgizes all humans as one but yet removes himself from the situation we call life.
Some would say yes we do have a purpose with that as to go through tributes and trials and accept consequences from our actions upon us. Some say our lives have no meaning that we were out on this earth to "live to die". "I had the impression that the dead women lying in front of them didnt mean anything to them".
Chun Chan
ReplyDeleteMeursault is a very indifferent person compared to the normal people in society. In society, people show at least a slight interest and curiosity in another’s stories or events; but Meursault shows neither of those to anyone’s life nor his own. His apathy of the heavy events surrounding him also tells us that he tends to build walls and not bridges with other people; he doesn’t view relationships with other people would be something he want or need.
In the beginning of the first chapter, Meursault said, “Madam died today,” in response to the death of his mother. Instead of addressing the death of his mother with a mournful or sad tone, he tells us that his mother’s death is like a normal thing that is nothing to be made into a big deal. Even if it’s a cat or a dog that just died, we would at least show some sadness or respect for their death; but Meursault does not show this even if the person who gave birth to him. He doesn’t cry about his mother’s death because he never cared about the relationships between him and his mother. For example, when he sent her to the retirement home, he only worried about her clinginess towards him if he visits; he never thought about visiting her to see if she’s needing anything or feeling sick.
Humans have purposes and that is to find their own purpose of living as they grow older. As children, we would only think about “what” we should do, going to the park or going to a friend’s house. As adults, we would start thinking about “why” we should do something. By asking ourselves those reasons, we would find ourselves the purpose and the meaning of life. Although there are those who commit crimes or suicide because they couldn’t find that purpose or they believed taking other’s lives are their purpose, we can’t stop teaching the young ones about the preciousness of life. We can show them the path, but we cannot show them the destination.
Mersault is not your average person compared to many others, he has the least interest in most things civilized people would care for or do. He is the type of person who puts in no effort or emotion, his mentality is pretty much on auto pilot 24/7.He is in his own little world detached from reality. And one of the sad part is he barely even cared for his own mothers funeral which is someone very close to him. The way I see it was for him to go to his mothers funeral was more of a hassle then to show his love for his own mother. It was also pretty messed up when Mersault said that to visit his mother while she was in the nursing home took up one of his Sundays and it was a hassle to buy the ticket to ride the bus and spending hours traveling.
ReplyDeleteRelations ships for Mersault seems to be on the last of his priority list.He puts in no effort at all.
When Mersault received the telegram notifying his mothers death it seemed like it was not a factor at all, even at the funeral he did not cry, it seemed like it did not impact him in anyway.
I believe that humans think we have a meaning in life so they can look forward to something and believe that whatever they believe in will happen eventually. Humans only give ourselves purposes we don't actually have any real purpose. Not everyone thinks the same or have the same beliefs, it just helps them find their own meaning of life, its something you chose to create and do.
What makes chapter 1 have an existentialist piece is that Mersault has his agenda planned out already and what he is going to do without any errors and things that might get in his way. He looks through his lonely window and watch what other people do.
Well for the first chapter on how Meursault’s relationship with others is very different. Meursault’s complete indifference to society and human relationships causes him to appear as a “stranger” with those he encounters, Meursault is definitely a man who is set in his ways. Despite that he had no emotional meaning when he had gotten a letter saying that Maman (his mother) has passed away and has now set a funeral. And wish for him to come. He didn’t have any emotional feeling in him when he read the letter, not even a tear had drop down. It was like an average letter. His poignant feeling seem to don’t care at all. He is like a self-determining person. Nothing appears to be in his way of a representation he had with his mother. It took him a least two hour to get to the funeral and a reason he doesn’t get to see his mother or even connect is that he probably lives far away and does not want to travel far. At the funeral he didn’t break a tear and when his mother in the casket is taking into the nursing home he refusal to look at his mother one last time after she had passed away seemed pointless to Meursault at the time, whereas the funeral director viewed this as extremely odd: “We put the cover on, but I’m supposed to unscrew the casket so you can see her.” He was moving toward the casket when I stopped him. But he said no. He didn’t sob to the fact that he wasn’t very close to his mother as that’s the point he have a clue to. As the day goes on an yet another day to go he just went to bed he “ was going to bed for another twelve hours” For seem that he just live an ordinary day as it is.
ReplyDeleteHis everyday surrounding with others is that the people he going through or met has a very part of his appearance that whatever come for the people to ask him he seem to don’t even care like the caretaker who would ask him to see if he would like to visit her mother’s body again in the casket but refuse to look back. The way on how Meursault’s personality act the person reacts to ordinary situations determines the opinions of others based on their behavior however, when this behavior is uncharacteristic or different from the rest of society, it causes society to form an outlook based thoroughly on a person’s behavior not their true personality. In Meursault’s case, his strange opinions and unexpected annotations put him in this spot, without ever really giving him an opportunity to be truly understood. The essential place he has really seemed in mid is the funeral he has going to where the area he sees doesn’t seem to be part of him.
In every human society many people react in a way that we have a meaning. We all care about one of another human being. Our meaning is that we look out for each other and see our ways. We can see the different in our self but can be similar to others. We are created the same but yet people have a different perspective meaning virtual sense to others. Like said were born the same way originally, we do not know about our purposes. Once we add more and more duties and accountability we attach importance to its success and or achievement.
In the beginning of the book, The Stranger, you could already tell that Monsieur Mersault was a bit odd. Having being told that your mother has passed is a pretty big deal for us human, yet it seems like he’s confused about it. Either it was hard for him to really sink in the idea that his mother is now dead, or he really didn’t care for her. It seems like his relationship with people is to be distant. He seems to like the idea of being alone. Like if he just doesn’t care, and if he doesn’t that’s why he removes himself away. As we all put close attention to how his mother’s funeral is proceeding, he seemed to care more for other things. He showed no emotion, and I believe he feels that having to see his mother in the casket isn’t worth watching and there isn’t a reason for it either. All he cared for was the weather, his rest, and what others think of him. Not showing any emotion in this event, did not make seem as if it were a real funeral, as if it were a regular day. I believe we people bring the idea that there is no purpose of life, but we look back through historical events and it inspires us to make it have a purpose. We people want to see and make life meaningful. Make it worth living. Having the reaction in the first chapter, not knowing when his mother died, what age she was, or even not having nor showing emotion at the funeral made it an existentialist piece. The first two sentences in the book, “ Manman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” Say it all! The way he reacts to the news makes him sound so chill. It’s somehow confusing to the reader because we are so used to the idea on how to react a certain way when it comes to situations that he faced in chapter one. We expect to feel a specific way, and that’s when it hits him, why do we have to when we could just take it smooth, understand what happened and move on.
ReplyDeleteMeursault is not a people person. He doesn’t have a connection with humanity and you can tell within the first chapter. He doesn’t really have anyone and no friends were mentioned. Meursault would be seen as a “loner” or a strange person in modern society. It seems like he is just getting by, not being noticed by anyone, not noticing anyone. Meursault is so different that he doesn’t feel any sadness or emotion when his mother died. The closest thing to emotion that he feels during the whole funeral for his mother was the frustration he may have had with the heat. Meursault didn’t shed a tear at his mother’s funeral because he wasn’t interested in her. She was in the retirement home for a long time and he never visited her because he didn’t want to spend two hours on the bus to get there. He also says that his mother is unhappy when she is out of the home because she has no friends.
ReplyDeleteHumans create their own purpose and meaning. I believe that humans affect other humans to make it seem like if you don’t “accomplish” anything in your life, then you will be a failure. For example, parents teach kids to stay in school at a young age to go to a good college, get a good job, and have a successful future. Humans are taught that they need relationships to be “truly living”. The media, tradition, and culture make it seem as if one of the purposes in life is to find someone you love and start a family.
In the first chapter, no relationships were introduced, nor were there many interactions between characters. It seemed like it was just a lot of small talk trying to pass the time. The setting of the story makes it seem like the world is a dull place. Also, at the end of the chapter, Mersault gets home and thinks about how he’s going to get to sleep, about the nurse, and how that nothing changed. "It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really nothing had changed." It was just another Sunday to him, nothing out of the ordinary. His mother’s death didn’t faze him at all.
Jerrold Gonzales
ReplyDeleteMonsieur Mersault is not your average guy. He is the type to "go with the flow" of things and not really fond of other people around him. He didnt even care so much about his own mothers death. But maybe because relationships with even anyone is the last thing Monsieur Mersault could care less for. He doesn't cry at his mothers funeral either because he doesn't want to look weak or that he really isn't affected by this tragic event. He's showing that he's a prideful person and that its hard to swallow.
Everyone has a purpose in life. Weather its from only supporting your own family or possibly changing the entire world. You have to really be opened minded to see that everyone has a purpose. For example, I know that most people would think that poor people or the homeless are no use in our world or "purposeless" in life. Well you have thought wrong. Those type of people in the world can be seen as what you DON'T want to end up like, what you DON'T want to be in the future. Seeing the struggle of these people should inspire you to work extra harder and study longer.
Us humans are at the top of the food chain. Everything below is well.. below us and so we control everything. Humans do have a purpose and that purpose is to live. To live won't always mean things are always going to be good. There will be som tough times out there, times where you fall and it would be up to you to stand back up and keep it moving. If you chose to keep down and not get back up, I promise you, you will end up homeless asking for money at a freeway entrence.
Monsieur Mersault really hates the feeling of embarrassment so he plans out his day really carefully so that nothing goes wrong with his life. He pretty much doesn't want any room for mistakes.
Meursault’s relationships with other people, is different than most. His personality perceives him as being distant from others. He doesn’t have any real relationships with anyone (at least in the first chapter). He distances himself from people emotionally. With his mother in the first couple of sentences he didn’t even remember when she had past. “Maman dies today. Or yesterday maybe. I don’t know”. This proves right there that he didn’t have a very close relationship with his mother or even one at all for that matter. Also he doesn’t cry at her funeral for that matter, either he is so upset that his mind doesn’t want to function which is not allowing him to cry. Or he really is so distant from her, her death doesn’t faze him much. As we meet more characters in the book he doesn’t give us too many details about who they are because he simply just doesn’t care himself.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter has a lot of sorrow in it, due to his mother’s death and funeral taking place. Meursault is a man on his own who from the sounds of it looks as if he doesn’t really have anyone but himself. Unfortunately with his mother dying he is really by himself now. This doesn’t really face him at all, because he is so fixated on either other people and who they are, or just getting home. When something tragic like this happens, sometimes our minds don’t fully function the way they should because out thoughts are so misplaced, that could be happening to him without us knowing too.
Everyone has relationships, it starts when we are born we have a relationship with our parents, then teachers, coworkers partners etc. Relationships play a huge part in human interactions. Without relationships forming us as humans wouldn’t be nice to each other or really understand each other either. All of our lives we interact with other humans. Building strong relationships with people we learn trust, companionship and even love. Our lives have a lot of meaning we as people learn to develop, hone and create ourselves into who we believe we want to become. Our personalities and differences make us unique and our similarities to others usually create bonds between people. Our purpose in life I believe is so much more in depth than even the human mind can understand.
Jennifer Huezo
ReplyDeleteMeursault has a very stranger relationship with people. He seems very awkward around others and avoids conversation. He responds with very short answers and avoids topics where he has to explain himself. Meursault had a very detached relationship with his mother. He rarely went to visit her and saw it more as a hassle instead of a happy moment to spend quality time with her. Not to mention the fact that there was the “the trouble of getting on the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling.” He didn’t have a strong relationship with his mother, so this was like a burden to him. In a way I think he was relieved that she was dead because now he did not have to feel guilty, or feel ashamed if people asked about his mother and he didn’t have to explain why he did not go visit her.
Meursault lives a very boring and monotonous life. It seems like he does the same thing everyday, and puts no effort into initiating relationships with people. He mentions no real friends, and he distances himself from people. He is alienated, confined to his apartment and work. And when he does go out, it doesn’t seem to bring him much joy. He see’s this girl he used to have a “thing for” and they spent the day together and had sex. Nevertheless he does not mention feeling anything for her. He repeats the fact that she was laughing and smiling, but then again he never mentions his own joy or happiness. He seldom expresses any emotion. Which is why it does not surprise me that he shows no melancholy when his mom dies.
He seems to not be affected at all by his mother’s death. He is just ready to continue with his life and just act as if nothing has happened. He even avoids Celeste so that they don’t ask him about his mother’s funeral. Once his mother’s funeral is over, he is happy to return home, “…and my joy when the bus entered the nest of lights that was Algiers and I knew I was going to go to bed and sleep for twelve hours.” He even states that even though his mother is dead, that has no real impact on his life, and it makes no difference. His life will continue on the same everyday and he will not have to worry about having to go see his mother anymore. “Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed.”
I honestly do not know if there is a purpose to life. I think that we actually give our self purpose. Every person is different, and we have a different reason for living. Whether it be to make a change in the world, or a make a change in one persons life, or even just live to help others. We all decide what is right and what we want to do in life. The first chapter in the book is existential because Meursault lives his life in a very planned out way. He does the same thing everyday, and gives no meaning to his life. He doesn’t see the pint in creating relationships with people, so he detaches himself from society. He finds no pint to his life, and that’s exactly how he lives his life. Just taking it one day at a time, and avoiding feeling any true emotions.
Meursault has an unusual relationship with those around them, including his mother. He demonstrates an amoral and detached attitude when interacting with others. Sometimes, he even becomes annoyed with their constant talking or sounds, making it appear at face value that he cares more about the little problems in his life than the major problems surrounding him and those who interact with him. He barely shows any emotion at all. His detachment from showing any emotions in response to major events shows that he is very "mellow" and doesn't want to act like he cares about other people's feelings because it would just weave him into the mess and disrupt his "go with the flow" attitude.
ReplyDeleteMeursault doesn't cry at his mother's funeral and doesn't show any ignited emotion in response to the news of her death probably because he did not have a close relationship with her. It is obvious during the very first sentence of the chapter when he said, "Maman died today." This very simple sentence has deeper undertones implying that he doesn't really care about his mother or keeps in touch with her at all. He didn't even remember how old she was.
In my opinion, humans don't have any true higher purpose in life to do anything special. As humans, generally, we use all of these "deep emotions" and "passion" for achieving greater things in life that pertain to wealth and education in order to justify our hungry desire to live at all. At some point in our lives, we ask ourselves why do we exist at all, and if the real answer was that there was no seemingly extravagant or amazing purpose for human existence, we probably would feel that we'd be better off dead. We need those rational reasons in order to fuel our determination to make our past, present, and future meaningful.
Pieces from this chapter that demonstrate existentialism include Meursault showing lack of grief or remorse for his mother's death as well as how quickly he moved on to his usual daily routine after coming home from the funeral. These are exitential in that they show how apathetic he is to human emotions and his actions imply that Meursault lives only for himself but in a not at all ambitious manner. He is just going through the motions but not attaching any emotional "label" to his lifestyle.
Already within the first page of The Stranger, Meursault can be seen as a non sympathetic and different being. In the even that he finds out that his mother had passed, he simply says, "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe. I don’t know", displaying his relationship with his mother may not have been strong, but definitely much stronger than the others mentioned and introduced in this chapter. His interaction with his mother's death signifies how distant their relationship was or could be especially when he was surprised that there was coffee and refreshments at the viewing signifying that his mother had friends that he never knew about and as well as the fact that he did not show any real, true emotion as to finding out that she had passed.
ReplyDeleteThe only true emotion displayed in the chapter is when he was frustrated with the heat outside of the funeral home.
I believe that humans in my personal opinion, do have a purpose to living and existing. From a concept learned when I was young, I believe that if something found its way to be or exists, then there must be a purpose and in our every day lives, we live to search for purpose, if not, to find out what our purpose to living and existing is.
Some items throughout the first chapter that show some existentialism are displayed through Meursault's characteristics and behaviors such as quickly getting over the concept of his mothers death and being able to not break down nor shed emotion to this event.
Deshanae S
ReplyDeleteMeursault relationships with people in the first chapter can be described as weird. He seems like he has no real opinion about anything, very passive and just going with the flow of things. He feels as if there is no need for him to have an opinion, because life doesn’t matter. Even though he could be in a room full of people, he really is still by himself. He is emotionless even with his own mother. He does not even show sad feelings about his mother’s passing. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.”Which shows their relationship was not that important to him; he treated the death as if she wasn’t the women who brought him into the world. He maybe was in denial an l little bit about the fact that she was dead, which would excuse they fact of no emotion. He lives in his own world by himself. I think he wants the easy way out, that’s why he has no emotion, it’s easier to be like don’t care or have no opinion about something, than to actually deal with the reality. Usually when a child loses his parent their normal reaction is to cry, feel alone and sometimes hopeless. Meursault feels the total opposite way; he deals with the situation by not actually dealing with it. Even before she died he didn’t feel like spending the time or the money to visit his mother in the home, which shows their relationship, was as not that important to him anyway. “It took up my Sunday-not to mention trouble of getting on the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling."
Our lives have meaning and there is a purpose for them. God has a plan for each and every one of us. We may not know the purpose of our lives at first, but as we seek God more and more, he will reveal his purpose and intended plan for our lives. What you do matters, foe every action there is a reaction. When I first came to San Leandro high I thought I came here for no reason but I eventually found out that there was a greater purpose for me at this high school. Like being a part of business academy, where I learned a lot of great things and met a lot of people with connections.
In the first chapter he shows no emotion he feels its pointless too have feelings, he acts as if there is no purpose to life. He watches other people, and he won't allow anything to mess up his shechdule which makes it an existentialist piece
Mark San Juan
ReplyDeleteMeursault’s relationships aren’t exactly what you’d expect them to be. He actually feels no strong connections with the people that walk in and out of his life. For example, the story begins with his mother passing away. Normally, a person would feel sorrow and grieve for the death of a loved one; but, in Meursault’s case, he felt nothing. It is later said in the chapter that he was never truly close with his mother, Maman. After placing her in a nursing home because she didn’t enjoy her life with himself, Meursault’s visits became less frequent. His rationale for not going was, “…it took up my Sunday – not to mention trouble of getting on the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling.”
As I previously stated, Meursault’s reaction to the death of his mother was very intriguing – he felt nothing for her. When going through his dialogue, one can attribute his being unaffected to his disinterest in speaking too in depth about his mother – when speaking of events and memories that remind him of her; it seems that he switches to a random topic afterwards. “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. But I waited in the courtyard, under a plane tree.”
I don’t believe that humans have a true purpose in life. However, I do believe that we give ourselves a purpose in life to make ourselves believe we serve a purpose. Also, there is no true meaning behind our actions, no matter how much we’d like to believe that. What we do isn’t going to last forever. If Earth were to explode tomorrow, not a soul would know we existed. We just happened to be. That’s how it’s been, that’s how it is going to be, and that’s how it will always be.
What really makes the first chapter a true existentialist piece is Meursault’s perspective. His ability to “feel” no need to connect himself with others is the best representation of existentialism. It’s possible that others might not be the strangers, but rather, it is he who is the stranger. His careless actions are nothing but a drop of water in the seas of mankind.
Abdeik Jama
ReplyDeleteMeursault is a very strange character and likes to stay away from feelings or emotions to people. He even reacts to death in a peculiar way especially his reaction to his mother’s death,"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” I don’t think he believes in relationship I think he just sees his mom as another human being that just happened give life to him nothing more nothing less. And when he’s at the funeral it feels as if he went because he is supposed and to not because he wanted to.
Meursault shows proof of being cloyed and emotionless when he doesn’t even cry at his own mother’s funeral. Just the way he reacted to the message you could tell he didn’t really care that his mother died Meursault didn’t even have a good relationship with his mother he even sent her to a nursing home. When he’s at the funeral instead of grieving and weeping he’s just complain about how hot it was.
I believe everybody have a purpose and lives have a meaning but only if you give life meaning. Because if you do nothing with your life then it has no meaning but if you do just little things then your life a meaning. We were all created for a purpose so we must make use of that while we’re still here .I think living for something is better than living for nothing.
The events in the chapter that make it an existentialist piece is everything that whole the chapter from beginning when he reacts to his mother’s death carefree to the ending when the only thing he can remember from the funeral was the weather. Most people would like to say their goodbyes and open the casket one more time before it got buried forever but not Meursault he just let them burry the body.
Meursault reactions to events that take place in chapter one are not like other peoples reactions. He seems to have no emotions, like he doesnt care about anything. When his mother died he didnt cry, it didnt even have any kind of impact on anything. Its understandable for him to not have cried but to have no remorse at all, its sad. In my own experience I have rarely ever seen any of the guys in my family cry, even over death. So for me its normal, but the difference between Mersault and the guys in my family is that even though they didnt cry I knew it effected them. The reactions between people vary, because everybodys different,but why are some people effected less then others when emotions are drawn? I think when were a certain age were trained to see and feel a certain way, and it just becomes who we are.With Mersault i dont believe he means to be cold hearted in a hurtful way but in a way to where he just cant help it.He doesnt want to hurt anyone, it just happens.
ReplyDeleteAs humans were faced with different obstacles to get over,but why?why are we even here? I believe that when it comes down to it I dont care why im here, i care about where im going and how im going to get there. Life doesnt stop for anyone or anything so why waste your time with questions youll probaly never know the right answers to? Your here and thats all that matters. You decide how you want to live your life.who you let in and who you let walk out and what opportunities you create for yourself.When it comes down to it: If i can make one person life a little better, if i can get through life with happiness and make a good life for my family and do the things i want to do,thats my purpose because thats what i want it to be.
The events in this chapter that make it an existentalist peice are how when Mersaults mother dies he has no remorse and just doesnt care. When asked to see his mother at the funeral he says no. Throghtout this peice the tone is blunt.there is no emotion.ITs a straight forward text that has no emotions.and is just showing nothing but a life that is living with no ambitions,no changes, not even any real connections to anyone.
Mersault is not an ordinary person. He is blithe and can care less about others. He don't like life or love it he just lives it. Good and evil don't matter to him. He don't need any friends or allies. He don't put any effort in it as well. When his mother died he didn't know what to feel. Usually when someone dies especially your mother you should be sad. i would if i lose my mother. He doesn't cry because he just don't see the point in crying or carrying. Nothing affects him.
ReplyDeleteEverybody is different in life. Everybody have their own purpose and own goals. People search for happiness in life, others may not. They decide what they do themselves. As for Mersault he just get through it without any emotions. No connections nothing, everything he do is solo. Being solo doesn't hold you back in life have nobody to care for but yourself.
Meursault is a very detached person that doesn’t care about being social. He doesn’t emphasize in the idea of making new friends or forming relationships with people. Even with the people that he is with now that surround his life. He has reached the point that he does not even have a relationship with his mother. He barely goes to visit her and doesn’t even pay attention to her health as he believes that she is getting taken care of very good by the people at the nursing home. Meursault believed that going to visit her was too much of a “hassle” because it takes his time off his Sundays and also getting on the bus, buying the ticket and traveling for two hours was too much for him.
ReplyDeleteMeursault’s reaction to his mom dying was shocking because he acted as he could care less. Just in the beginning of the book it says that “Maman died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” All that passage has a tone of not caring, it has a feel that a narrator is speaking instead of Meursault himself. What makes it more shocking is the subsequent event of the funeral as a result of his mother dying. Instead of crying and feeling remorseful because he didn’t go visit her, he didn’t cry or show any emotion of guilt while he was in the funeral. Instead he kept himself distracted looking at the decorations and analyzing his surroundings and other people and complaining about how hot it was when walking to the church. He said “but today, with the sun bearing down, making the whole landscape shimmer with heat it was inhuman and oppressive”. This shows how he didn’t care about the whole event that was happening.
I believe that everyone has their own meaning in life and have their own purpose of it. Everybody has their own ideas and make their own actions to fulfill those dreams and ideas. And the only way you can see if those ideas are accomplished is by reflecting and thinking about how much you have accomplished and whether or not you feel satisfied about it. Of course nobody is born and already knows what they would do with their lives. It is all just trial and error and falling and lifting yourself up again once you’ve fallen.
The first chapter is an existentialist piece because Meursault is a person who plans by the day carefully without changing it for anything and doesn’t care about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. Also he just spends his weekends just watching people pass by and doing nothing. And in a daily routine he just watches people thoroughly not realizing he could be doing those things too. Also he doesn’t like the feeling of being embarrassed and that’s why he avoids doing those activities that everybody does.