One of the passages in the book focuses on Meursault's internal thoughts. He explains to the reader that "my thoughts were still those of a free man", meaning he still felt the urge to take part in everyday activities. For instance, he still longs for a morning swim with his girlfriend Marie or a cigarette to get him buzzed. Although, one guard expresses, that this is the point of prison, the point is to take away the freedom you once had.
Despite this, humans are extremely adaptable. If you feel you have nothing to live for you can focus on the little things. He uses the example of his lawyers ties, when he had nothing else to look forward to he would wait to see the color of his lawyers tie. Life is about the small victories. For instance, if he guessed the lawyers tie correct it would cause Meursault to feel alive again, even if it is only for a short time.
After all, life is a mental game. You can get through anything with a little grit and distraction. It is a lot harder said than done, but it is possible, and Meursault is a prime example. The key is to focus on the little things, Meursault choose to read a small newspaper scrap he found with a gruesome story on it countless times. He let the story take over is mind, he worked through all the possible outcomes and spent the majority of his time deconstructing the story in order to distract himself. I find it very fascinating that some humans are capable of such mindless thoughts, I am interested to see how this amount of distraction and grit will get Meursault through his time in prison or...won’t.
I agree with this post. When the officer says "you're the only one who gets it." I think that Meursault is the only one that is truly adaptable in the prison. He is fully conscious of his fate and his circumstances and accepts it rather than rejects his current situation. By doing this he is truly able to be adaptable in his surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post. Sometimes in life we are disappointed or sad, however we need to realize the little things that make us happy. Like Meursault playing a game in his head guessing his lawyers ties or something as simple as smelling something good.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good way to look at Mersault's lack of emotion. Give it a little bit of meaning so that he can further divulge into it. He has a "if life gives you lemons attitude". Takes whatever happens in his life and rolls with it.
ReplyDeleteGreat perspective. It's interesting how Meursault embodies this notion of a fluid conscious.
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