Tuesday, October 27, 2009
1984 Journal #3: Aspect of society (Topic A)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
1984 Journal #2: Wake Up Call (Topic C)
Monday, October 19, 2009
1984 Journal #1: Character's Struggles against Society (Topic B)
Winston is majorly trapped in a struggle against society. He is constantly watched by the telescreen and by the posters of Big Brother that are positioned all over the buildings and city. The Party's slogan is WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH which shows that the more the state keeps from the people, the better they feel things will be, which forces the people to become victims of the state's preferences.
To resist these restrictions, Winston sits out of view of the telescreen. "By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far out of sight" (Orwell 9). Winston wants to challenge the system. By sitting where he can be heard but not seen, it shows that he does not completely agree with the state that he is forced to live in and starts to resist through this action.
Another moment where Winston employs resistance is when he finds himself writing DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER repeatedly in his diary. "It was absurd, since the writing of those particular words was not more dangerous than the initial act of opening the diary; [...] he was tempted to tear out the spoiled pages [...] but he did not do so" (Orwell 19). He is, in a sense, not successful because he realizes that the thought police have him 'trapped' and no matter what he does he cannot escape Big Brother or the rest of the thought police.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Stranger Journal #7: Thesis
The Stranger Journal #6: Meursault's conclusion
Yes, Camus does want the reader to come to the same conclusion. Through Meursault's epiphany, the reader can also appreciate the things that make life important. It allows the reader to see that when it comes down to death, life as a whole can actually have meaning.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Stranger Journal #5: Two Parts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The Stranger Journal #4: Meursault's changes
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Stranger Journal #3: Motifs
The Stranger Journal #2: Personal Philosophy
· Optimism- There are positives that can be found in every situation. There is no point in wasting time concentrating on the negatives because life becomes easier when one realizes what makes him or her so lucky in an unfortunate situation.
· God is not responsible for all the events in one’s life- If something bad happens, it is not because one has done anything wrong. God does not put anyone in a bad situation, He helps guide him or her through it.
· People’s personalities are subject to change- Just because someone is a certain way at one point, does not mean that he/she will always be like that.
· Things in life are meant to be- Everything in life happens for a reason. People are always in the right place at the right time.
· Meaning to existence will eventually be found- Although there may not be a current reason for why people are living, eventually someone will come across the “meaning of life.”
· People work hard for rewards- If people know that there will be some kind of repayment for their actions, they are more likely to work hard to achieve those goals and receive that reward.
· Living in the moment is important- If people spend to much time thinking about the future, they miss out on the good things that are current and happening around them. They are too busy thinking about what will happen instead of what is happening.
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Stranger Journal #1
Summary
After Meursault receives news of his mother's death, he catches a bus to head to his mother's old people home in Morengo. He spends the evening in the mortuary below the home with his mother's casket, the caretaker and some of his Maman's friends. The caretaker then has Meursault sign some documents and he informs Meursault of the small, intimate funeral. Things quickly move from the funeral to the hearse, which took his Maman to the burial.
The next day, Meursault goes swimming with a former crush named Marie. They then decide to go see a movie that evening. The following morning after Marie leaves, Meursault finds himself to be bored and he wanders around his apartment. He finds himself people-watching from his apartment window. At the end of the day, he gets ready for the routine week ahead.
Personal Reaction
I find his apathetic behavior to be quite interesting. I do not understand how he could be so unaffected by his mother's death. He is not terribly thrown out of his usual routine after he hears new of his mother dying and I find that surprising. He finds other things more important than the bad news, which is quite out of the ordinary for normal human behavior. Most people have to spend time mourning and getting over a death in the family, but not Meursault. He just goes about his normal activities as if nothing had happened which is a bit hard for me to grasp.
Analysis
Camus is trying to distance the reader from the protagonist so the reader can better understand why Meursault is such an apathetic person. Meursault feels the nothing is really important in life and Camus wants to communicate to the world that things really are not that big of a deal through Meursault's characterization. When Meursault says, "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," (Camus 24) it shows the reader that the death of his mother did not have that much of an impact on him. It does not really affect his usual routine which shows that it does not reveal much importance in one's life. Death is bound to happen and with it not affecting the protagonist, it makes it easier for the reader to accept.
Research
Algiers, Algeria was a site where American troops invaded Northern Africa in something called Operation Torch. In 1942, Algiers also remained under the Vichy Government, which was a term used to describe the French government.