Et tu, Brute?

Frankly, it was an awesome novel.  That means a lot coming from an American male like me when the protagonist was a woman, wife, and mother in India.  I won’t lie, it wasn’t the easiest thing to connect with at the beginning but as the pages turned so did my feelings.  Rukmani’s struggle for life in the rice-growing region of India grabbed me as she started to run into problems.  From there, I could not put my bookmark in and call it a night.  I desperately wanted her life to turn around but it never did; however, she never lost her honor, generosity, or dignity.  By her keeping her values, she teaches the reader to do the same no matter how hard your troubles are.  I figure almost no one has had a harder life than her and can’t complain.  That’s what I took out the novel: maintain your dignity in times of struggle.  Many if not all are tempted to act out when they suffer a hardship.  They can lie, steal, cheat, or murder in order to save themselves and some choose to do so but not Rukmani.  She is a role model to all for her strength and endurance.  This may sound a little corny, but I want to be just like her.

This is how I picture Rukmani: Strong, and surrounded by love

Best Entry:

“An Old Man and his Dog”, I really felt passionate about this small  subject and enjoyed expressing my feelings.  It felt unique and different from the mainstream posts.

Least Favorite Entry:

“Meursault – First Impressions”, Frankly, I didn’t write a lot and expressed some wrong information.  Many of the comments corrected me.

Most Effective Blog:

Laura L.’s blog is so great and effective.  Her entries are long and don’t stray off topic.  Her theme is just super awesome!

What I learned:

I can’t believe how many different views and opinions can be created from the same themes, quotes, etc.   The blogs have given many of my classmates a strong voice (me too)  which they have used to express their different ideas.  It seems like we are all working together to unmask the novel and dig up its hidden meanings.

The Stranger Photostory The Greatest thing since sliced Bread! Unless you really like butter!

For all my classmates who need to post more comments, I have created an open-ended question for you to answer:

What role does Religion play in The Stranger?  Does it relate to a major theme?

This small story inside of The Stranger is frankly one of my favorite aspects of the novel.  The last time Meursault hears from Salamano (the old man) is at the end of Chapter 5 Part 1.  To summarize, the old man would routinely take his “old” dog for a walk; the walks and the time at home were filled with curses and beatings given to the dog by Salamano.  Salamano claims that the dog was once beautiful with the most royal of coats but grew old and suffered from mange (a disease that causes the hair to fall and the skin to scab).  The kicker is that when Salamano had the dog, he cursed it with vile insults and treated it poorly ,but when he lost him, he expressed great remorse and sorrow.  In Salamano’s description of the past, he remembers getting it as a puppy after being lonely with the passing of his wife  and feeding it from the bottle like a baby.  His emotions foil Meursault’s feelings with his mother’s death and, in my opinion, make Meursault look like a monster in his indifference.  Out of all the characters, Salamano is the coolest.

Why? That is all I am asking. I can not comprehend a single logical or plausible reason for Meursault to shoot the “Arab” and then shoot him four more times.  Was it the sun confusing his senses? (Camus does mention it a lot in the text leading up to the murder) Was it extreme loyalty to his new friend Raymond? I don’t see how that much loyalty could be built up in a few days time.  I know I wouldn’t kill the enemy of my acquaintance.  Maybe Meursault committed murder just for kicks and to see how it would make him feel.  He does have a boring life and manslaughter is one way to spice it up. 

Currently, I have already finished the novel but still can’t find a satisfactory answer.  Maybe…just maybe Camus doesn’t want the reader to question Meursault’s motive for the crime.  It makes sense because Camus created that “absurdity” principle which states there is no meaning in human life and it is wrong to believe otherwise.  Meursault quite possibly could have no motive.

Raymond Sintes is introduced in Chapter 3 and has an unpopular reputation for “living off women”. All I can say is that I don’t like him.  He is an abuser and enlists the help of Meursault to continue his crimes.  Why Meursault agreed to write the letter, I am not sure.  Maybe he wanted to have Raymond as a “pal” since he doesn’t seem to have any social life between his daily routine from work, to Celeste’s, and to home with only the company of Marie on the weekends.  Raymond provides us with the action that kicks off the main plot and continues to stimulate the story while Meursault merely reacts.  In this way, I believe he is Meursault’s foil (a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast) and will continue to propel the story forward.

These are 4 different book covers for The Stranger. What do you think the artists were trying to capture in each illustration?

To refer to them, the top-left is Cover 1, top-right is Cover 2, bottom-left is Cover 3, and bottom-right is Cover 4.  I am currently reading #2 and I believe most people are.

Marie Cardona is introduced in Chapter 2 and quickly reenters the life of Muersault.  He claims that he “had a thing” for her a while ago which might explain why she was so quick to get “physically”  involved with him.  How she is able to love Meursault is what I don’t understand.  I was even more surprised that she agreed to go to the movies with him on the day after his mother’s death.  I believe her love for Meursault is a lot deeper than Meursault’s love for her.  Meursault goes out of his way to express her physical appearance and attractiveness; it makes it seem he only loves her for physical pleasure.  Marie, on the other hand, must enjoy the fact he doesn’t keep tabs on her. 

 Do you feel the same or differently? I can’t wait for your response.