The Stranger: Blog Response #2

The first thing the reader notices when reading The Stranger by Albert Camus is that all Meursault mentions are concrete facts. He never mentions his feelings or emotions. Almost throughout the entire novel, such as the scene of Mamam's funeral (page 15-17), he describes everything that is around him – the heat, Thomas Perez's actions, the walk, etc. Yet, there isn't a single sentence where he says his own feelings or opinions on any of the things he describes. He observes them, but makes no analysis or thoughts about them. Instead of Meursault analyzing the things he sees, it is as if Camus is trying to make us, the readers, analyze the things that Meursault says. Therefore, it is the readers who create the meaning of Meursault’s actions and descriptions.

This relates to the whole concept of existentialism where although life is meaningless, just like Meursault’s descriptions of the objects and people are, we, as humans, must make effort to bring meaning/purpose into our lives, just like how the readers need to interpret a deeper meaning to Meursault's words. Through the lack of Meursault’s opinions and analyses, Camus is trying to emphasize his existentialist view.

Another thing that caught my attention was the fact that Meursault never seems to mention the names of the Arabs. "When he told me the woman's name, I realized she was Moorish" (page 32).  None of the Arabs – whether it is Raymond’s mistress the nurse at the nursing home, or the group of Arabs – are given names. Although this novel mainly focuses on the theme existentialism, one can depict the theme inequality of power as well. The Arabs are clearly less than the whites and with their names not given, it emphasizes this point even further more.

I am not entirely sure if Camus did this on purpose to enforce his opinion on white superiority or it just happened to come out that way. Either way, there is definitely some level of discrimination shown.

The Stranger: Blog Response #1

By reading the first four chapters of The Stranger by Albert Camus, one can already depict the theme existentialism. These existential concepts can be found in many passages of the novel.

“Mamam died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday” (page 3).

Through the tone of this quote, it allows the readers to peek inside the character’s mind. The tone is very objective, thus it makes the protagonist, Meursault, very detached and emotionally indifferent. More importantly, it is the fact that he is acting like this when his mother had just died that proves Camus’ message on existentialism. His lack of reaction towards his own mother’s death is something uncommon for most people. Although it can be said that it is because he hasn’t been communicating with his mother frequently (so it doesn’t really affect him in any way), most people in general would at least show some kind of emotion such as surprise. Meursault wasn’t even surprised by his mother’s sudden death, which indicates that he has somehow been expecting it. This brings about the existentialist concept of death because to an existentialist, it is important to be aware of death. Death is not something negative, but instead an inevitable human condition that is bound to happen to anyone. Like any other existentialists, Meursault accepts the fact that death will come eventually whether it would be today or 50 years from now.

“A minute later, she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” (page 35).

Meursault has also said the statement “it didn’t mean anything” in the previous quote. Camus uses the two biggest topics – death and love – to enforce the idea of the meaningless of life (another existential concept). For most people, a family member’s death, especially a mother’s, holds great significance. It can alter one’s life because the person who patiently took care of you is no longer in the world with you. Similarly, love is one of the many things that people use as the reason for their existence. For example, many people use the line “I was born to love you” to their loved ones as proof that their lives hold meaning. However, Meursault clearly states that these things don’t “mean anything;” therefore, it shows his perspective on how life itself has no purpose as well.

“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” (page 32).

Meursault’s decision on writing a threatening letter for Raymond demonstrates how he only thinks about the present – the “here and now”. The choices are in the spur of the moment in which he barely gives any thought or meaning. He does not care about the past or the future. Meursault knows about Raymond’s past and his reputation. Raymond clearly has a terrible reputation in Meursault’s neighborhood with terrible rumors such as him “living off women” circulating around him. Yet, even knowing this, Meursault still tries to “please him.” Likewise, he does not care about the future. This choice that he made holds a lot of consequences. First of all, it is a letter of threat. Second, Raymond’s plan has a high risk of involving violence, the police, and the law. This quote shows the readers how he lives only in the present and does not belong in the past or the future. 

The Great Gatsby

“Occasionally a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight” (pg 27).

Fitzgerald emphasizes the color grey while describing the Valley of Ashes in The Great Gatsby. As the color grey suggest today, it also symbolizes lifelessness, hopelessness, lack of happiness, and even death in the novel as well. Everything that involves the Valley of Ashes – whether it’s the village itself, the cars, or the people – lacks the vitality (that are represented through bright colors such as green and yellow) of the regions that surround it. It is almost like a dump – an ever-growing depository of the burned waste of people who live in New York. In other words, the Valley of Ashes is the result of the “eggs” and New York City as the people there transport their waste to the Valley while doing everything that they please. Figuratively, this shows the ethical decay and the social decay of America. There is a “death” in moral standards. Therefore, Fitzgerald uses this symbol to inform the readers how the American Dream is corrupted because as people desperately go after wealth and other materials, they are getting corrupted as well as corrupting the society, causing them to live in a wasteland of morals. It also illustrates the failure of the American Dream. During the Roaring Twenties, people – especially poor people – were supposedly given opportunities and chances to climb up the social ladder. However, in the Valley of Ashes, which is the area for the poor, shows how there is no hope at all. The people there are lifeless and hopeless and it shows how the American Dream is not all what it seems to claim. The poor people can never reach the same level as the rich people.