Motivations of a murderer

Meursault is motivated by his physical desires and comfort. He is motivated by normalcy and a lack of exertion emotionally, physically and mentally.

Before he killed the Arab or even decided to go back onto the beach he said, "We stared at each other without blinking, and everything came to a stop there between the sea, the sand, and the sun, and the double silence of the flute and the water. It was then that I realized you could either shoot or not shoot...To stay or to go, it amounted to the same thing" (56).

He has really no reason to go back into the heat. He has no reason to shoot. He does things seemingly arbitrarily. He strives for similar convenience in many aspects of his life which lead to a lack of real connection to other characters.

For instance, he doesn't want to extend himself into relationships either with his new girlfriend, Marie, or his mother (before she died). He never visited his mother. He won't commit to Marie and maintains that it does not matter whether he loves her or not.

Furthermore, he agrees with and testifies for Raymond because he has no reason not to, because it won't upset his current state of being. While he notices that Raymond now seems to consider him a friend, he never claims to reciprocate these feelings or even care about them.

It seems like Meursault can't be bothered to care about much, including the life of an Arab.

Salamano & His Dog

In The Stranger, Camus creates a character who demonstrates how the people/things we love the most, are often who we treat the worst. Salamano is an old man who has a dog that he abuses: ‘You can see them in the rue de Lyon, the dog pulling the man along until old Salamano stumbles. Then he beats the dog and swears at it.  The dog cowers and trails behind. Then it’s the old man who pulls the dog. Once the dog has forgotten, it starts dragging its master along again, and again gets beaten and sworn at’ (Camus, 27). In this portion of the book, it can assumed that the dog is a burden to the old man, and he genuinely hates it. You would think that if something were to happen to the dog, like lose it, he would nothing at all.  However, the complete opposite happens: ‘....I saw that he didn’t have his dog. He was looking all over the place, turning around, peering into the darkness of the entryway, muttering incoherently, and then he started searching the street again with his little red eyes….Nevertheless, the old man looked even more flustered. “But they’ll take him away from me, don’t you see? If only somebody would take him in’ (Camus, 39). Salamano is visibly upset and flustered over the loss of his dog. He worries about losing him permanently and would rather have him safe with somebody else, than have it with the police. This highlights his love for the dog even though he treats him in the worst way.

Q: Does Salamano's attitude toward his dog, both positive and negative, represent the way people act towards people?

Springsteen and Sisyphus

The other day, I stumbled across a quote from an article that brought together two topics we discussed briefly in class: the myth of Sisyphus, and Bruce Springsteen.

You might recall the mentioning of Jungleland by Springsteen in an interview between Louis C.K. and Conan, which we watched in class. Without directly discussing Sisyphus, Louis C.K. talks about the "forever empty" that we all have inside of us, which leads to the conversation about Springsteen.

Springsteen recently released his autobiography Born to Run, and was featured in a Vanity Fair article, stating:

It was perfectly Sisyphean for my personality-lifting something heavy up and putting it down in he same spot for no particularly good reason. I've always felt a lot in common with Sisyphus. I'm always rolling that rock, man. One way or another, I'm always rolling that rock.

When I saw this, I found it pretty funny that this similarity was drawn, and by Springsteen himself. I guess it shows that Camus has a point; we must imagine Sisyphus happy, and if we all have a bit in common with Sisyphus, then we must imagine ourselves happy as well.

Springsteen in Vanity Fair

Raymond and Meursault: Friendship of Foils

In my opinion, Meursault's oddest choice in the first half of the first part of Albert Camus's The Stranger was to befriend Raymond Sintès and assist him in his domestic issues. Despite both Meursault and Sintès being social pariahs, they are fundamentally distinct from each other, which Camus emphasizes through effective character development and light-handed symbolism.

From first glance, Raymond and Meursault contrast in more ways than one. While Meursault is a chronic pacifist and tends to avoid confrontation, as shown by his reluctance to confront his boss about his mother's funeral, Raymond is shown to be arrogant and spontaneous in his actions, such as when he punched the man at the train station for insulting his manliness. While both men appear to both have no sense of sympathy, Meursault's lack of sympathy seems to stem more from apathy such as an inability to connect with his dead mother, while Raymond's draws parallel to hubris, shown in his treatment of his girlfriend. This juxtaposition is equally present in many of the minor character traits of the two, with Raymond described as being rough and boxer-like and Meursault being portrayed as a lowly businessman with few edges. Such distinctions can also be drawn from the foods they enjoy, with Meursault drinking coffee with cream, which can be extended to state that Meursault dulls his own senses of emotion to the point of making himself characteristically bland. Likewise, Raymond is shown to have a fondness for blood sausage and (presumably red) wine, which are known to have exceeding strong flavors, that reflects his brash, strongman-like attitude.

Altogether, Meursault's decision to befriend Raymond was one of his oddest choices so far, but has the potential to become one of his greatest assets. Being perfect foils to each other, Raymond and Meursault can learn from each other and develop into more well rounded people.

You're Beautiful

The song You're Beautiful by James Blunt, from the album, Back to Bedlam is memorable for me. I recall hearing this song frequently on the radio a couple of years ago, in car rides to downtown Chicago. The lyrics, along with the music, create a meaningful experience, and I am willing to defend this song as poetry.

 Perrine in his article, "What is Poetry?' writes that a limiting approach to poetry is, "...to find poetry always beautiful" (4). You're Beautiful can be interpreted as a beautiful and heartfelt song. It is for sure beautiful, but the central experience that is created has more to offer. The song deepens the experience of seeing a former significant other. Listeners are bystanders to the psychological effects of seeing an ex that can lead to false hope for a reformed relationship, and to the harsh reality that follows.

Blunt writes, "I saw your face in a crowded place,". In one way, there is imagery of a crowded subway and unexpectedly seeing your ex. Psychologically, it is an example of how a person can consciously or unconsciously think about and look out for someone they care about.

Later in the song there is a line, "She could see from my face that I was,/flying high". I analyzed this line in two ways. First, Blunt is describing that his ex saw how happy he was to see her. Sort of "high on life". The more striking way I interpreted the line was Blunt was physically high on drugs. This line adds to the meaning of not knowing what state of mind a person will be in when they see someone unexpectedly.

In the last block of lyrics Blunt writes, "There must be an angel with a smile on her face,/When she thought up that I should be with you./But it's time to face the truth,/I will never be with you". The first part of the verse that references another angel (Blunt repeatedly refers to his ex as an angel) is interesting. Blunt believes a divine power thought he should be with the woman, and listeners experience this sense of false hope. However, the second half of the verse is Blunt dealing with the reality: not being with his other half and reconnecting. This verse has a quick transition to the harsh realities of relationships.

James Blunt creates an atmosphere of happiness, hopefulness, and finally, harshness. This song reminds me of existentialism. Blunt felt "his life was brilliant" at the beginning of the song, and then felt depressed with the truth. Is misplaced hope the cause for heartache?