Maria

= Chapter 1 1. What does the reference to "a soldier" tell you about the time period of the story? 2. After Meursault arranged for his mother to live in a nursing home, why did he visit her so infrequently? 3. Why was it odd that Madam Meursault desired a religious burial? 4. In this context, an open casket to view the body is the norm, however, Meursault does not want to see it. Suggests reasons for why he would respond in this way. Is this normal behaviour? 5. Where is the caretaker from? His age? 6. What is the purpose of holding a vigil? How long does it last? 7. Describe Thomas Perez’s relationship with Maman. Provide a relevant quote. 8. Describe the journey to the church. How long did it take? How was the casket transported? Use a quote in your answer. 9. List Mersault’s references to sun and light (include page number). Extension questions The narration is sharp, concise and to the point. Mainly simple action verbs are used, in the past tense, for example, “I caught the two o’clock bus. It was very hot. I ate at Celeste’s restaurant, as usual.” There is very little dialogue. This allows the reader to learn about Mersault through his actions/reactions, rather than his thoughts or feelings. What tone is Camus establishing? Camus establishes a tone that is slightly detached with emotions, concentrating on only getting his actions and reactions across to the reader. He also focus a lot on minute details around him, instead of what normal people what do, for example express what they are feeling inside. There is not much tone and emotion involved in the narration, and everything is quite factual and as Mersault himself is talking and thinking in first person, it allows the reader to experience the unique way which he treats the world, and how his perspective and way of conceiving information and reactions to things around him are very different to other people. = = Although it may seem like the narrative lacks thought and emotion, Camus is in fact conveying Mersault’s true thoughts and feelings through this void of emotions, making the reader sometimes question weather he has any, as Mersault seems to state what ever is on his mind, never lying, so these are his true thoughts and feelings. It shows what Mersault is interested, which is different to normal people. It is almost as though his emotions are that he has none. Note how often Mersault falls asleep/dozes with reference to his description of the environment in which he fall asleep (pg 10 – “I had to run for the bus. It was probably all this dashing about and then the jolting and the smell of petrol and the glare of the sky reflecting off the road that made me doze off.”). Once again, he is heavily influenced by elements of the situation. Describe a time when you fell asleep uncontrollably. How does this help you to connect with Mersault? I fell asleep in Maths when the lighting was warm and the sunlight made everything feel so cozy, the heating in the room also made me have a fuzzy feeling, and it was just so comfortable I dozed off. My personal experiences, which I’m sure many readers would have as well, helps me to connect with Mersault. Although I am not fully influenced by the elements around me like him, I do understand the comforting and cozy situations he describes that lulls him to sleep. He seems to be highly influenced by his surrounding, and his lack of emotion and feelings makes it easier for his body to be influenced this way and this may be why he dozes off so easily. In contrast, the final sentence of the chapter is unusually long. Interestingly, we finally get a glimpse into the “joy” that Mersault is feeling now that he can “go to bed and sleep for a whole twelve hours.” What do we learn about Mersault through this? = = This last sentence is abnormally long, with commas breaking the sentence down making the reading quite short and staccato, as though he wanted to quickly summarize his surroundings so he can hurry to go to sleep. We see that he does feel emotion and we see that he is passionate with certain things in his life, such as sleep which he is really looking forward to. = 5. Despite chapters 1 and 2 being poles apart in terms of content (chapter 1 focuses on the funeral, whereas 2 is about a day at the beach with a girl), an indifferent tone is prevalent in both. Explain how Camus uses language to achieve this. Camus’ language is consistently factual through out the novel. The sentences still evolve around what Meursault was doing and thinking, with the specialty of an abnormal lack of emotion. Simple language is used stating what is going on around Meursault as he observes the people and places, and his mental reactions to these sights. We see the world through his eyes, so although the events occurring in chapters 1 and 2 are very different, his simple, unique way of thinking remains the same, and this is conveyed by the language with lacks elaborate vocabulary and complex or strong emotions. This style of writing is used to reflect how Meursault reacts to the different scenes around him, allowing us to have a better understanding of his way of thinking. 6. Give some examples of Camus’ use of imagery. Note how this is used in place of Meursault’s emotions. ‘I had the whole sky in my eyes an it was blue and gold’—pg24 ‘with some rather saggy cane chairs, a wardrobe with a mirror that’s gone yellow, a dressing-table and a brass bed.’—pg25
 * Chapter 2 ** 4. Page 28: “I realised that I’d managed to get through another Sunday, that mother was now buried, that I was going to go back to work and that, after all, nothing had changed.” Imagine a tragedy that has just struck a friend. The next day, your friend comes to school as if nothing has happened. What would you say to your friend? How would you react to their lack of acknowledgement? I would probably not talk to them about it, because I would suspect they are having a hard time and is trying their best to hide the fact that the tragedy has occurred, which many people do, unlike Meursault who actually do not care much about the incident. If I realise that they actually lack acknowledgement to the event, I still would not tell them what should be done, and that they should grieve, as it is their choice and everyone is different emotionally, and I will respect them for their opinions. I will not enforce my ideas or what society considers ‘normal’ onto them, but I may think that there is something odd about them, as it is abonormal for someone to not be affects the slightest by tragedies.

 ‘an enormous woman in a brown silk dress, and the father, a small, rather frail man whom I know by sight’—pg25, Meursault describes his opinions of the couple, that he could ’understand why local people said he was distinguished’  ‘the sky was clear and dull’—pg26 once again he is observing the sky   ‘the trams, which had been cram-full a few minutes before, was now almost empty’   ‘the passing cloud had left a sort of threat of rain hanging over the street which made it more gloomy’, again about the sky, this could be pathetic fallacy where he is linking the weather to some emotions.  ‘the local cinemas poured their audiences out in a great flood onto the street’—pg27  ‘would light up a smile or some shiny hair or a silver bracelet’ details of the passer by, associated with light    7. See the // characters // page and add detail on Meursault’s interaction with Marie. = ** Extension Question (complete Qs 4 - 7 as well) ** = = 1. Because absurdists believe that life is meaningless, the death of Meursault’s mother doesn’t affect him because that is what is expected. Give further detail of how the novel (so far) is an example of an absurdist text.  = =Through Meursault’s eyes, we can feel his lack of interest in both life and what goes on in his life. He is very observant about what goes on around him, and notices minute details of the scenes around him, paying special attention to the sky and lighting. Although he displays a sign of observance, he does not attach any emotions to what he sees, and the novel is written in first person through the eyes of Meursault, we can see how objective he is. He simply states the things he notice happening, without any personal approach or feelings of the subject. He seems to only display interest in the physical level, for example he is physically attracted to Marie, and notices many things physically going on around him, but he seems to miss the deeper emotions that normal people are able to link to these physical objects and things. He feels ‘nothing has changed’ after her mother’s funeral as in the fact that physically, he can now stop visiting her on Sundays, like he did before her death, but he has once again missed the deeper emotional feelings that normal people would feel, for example grieve for the death of mother, as well as love for the woman he fancies (Marie). This lack of emotions and interest shows that this is an absurdist text. = =XHAPTER 3= It's Meursault's first day back at work and his boss, following the socially expected rules of human behaviour, asks Meursault about his mother. When asked how old his mother was, Meursault answers with "about sixty". Do you know how old your mother is? Explain how Meursault would rather be true to himself and approximate his mother's age, rather than follow social protocol. I know my mum is 41 this year, but I had to think, however I do not simply reply about 40, it shows not only a lack of respect and lack of connection to my mum. However, Meursault does not lie and he doesn’t know his mum’s age, it is not of importance to him, so he doesn’t see any point of telling a made up age, it doesn’t make sense in his logic.

How does this reflect his outlook in the text thus far? Keep this quote in mind - it will appear later in the book... It shows his honesty, how he still treasures honesty and puts it first, despite the way others look at him. He doesn’t care about people’s opinions and how they think of him. No matter what consequences there are, he never lies. He never considers lying to preserve his dignity or to get himself out of trouble. He doesn’t care about society’s expectations and doesn’t see the point in blending in. He finds no reason to lie, so he will not do it, even if lying in some instances would make his life a lot easier and acceptable to others around him.

Meursault displays a moment of spontaneity when he jumps on the truck following Emmanuel's suggestion. How might this add to his characterisation? He follows his heart, I think, because he follows what he believes is worth thinking about, and clearly what others think are not of importance to him. In this case he seems to show that he sometimes does random acts out of the blue, despite his usual love of routine. This may be showing his slightly more ‘human’ side of his character.

Many characters comment negatively on Salamano and his dog, however, Meursault never judges. What does this tell you about him? This once again emphasizes the fact that he does not really care about other’s opinions, and what other people say and think doesn’t affect him in any way. He sticks to what he believes and he doesn’t care too much about how the person is treating his dog. It does not affect him and he doesn’t have too much thought about it, so he says that he doesn’t mind.

Imagine Raymond walks in the door and shares his story with you. Write a single diary entry, logging your reaction to his grotesque story.

Now you are Meursault. Write a single diary entry, logging your reaction to Raymond's story. Emulate Camus' style (note - these stories seem to have no impact on Meursault - he is happy to be fed. He is, however, affected by his physical surroundings such as the cigarettes and wine).

Comment on how the two differ. Both diary entries are in my notebook, and the obvious difference between is that I recorded not only what happened but my feelings and emotional response, which is fear. Meursault, although feeling slight interest towards Raymond’s story, did not have any personal response in the form of emotions linked to his story. He simply listens and agrees, with no personal interpretation of the things told to him by Raymond, as for Meursault, having ‘no reason’ why he shouldn’t do something makes him do so.

Chapter 6 collage rationale: The main focus of my collage is the massive sun located right at the center of the piece, to ow the important role in which light plays in this chapter. Going from left to right, the sun and the light changes from a pure, blinding white to a bloody, haunting red. This change follows the change in the storyline of chatper 6, with the left side representing the start of the chapter where Meursault, Marie and Raymond together arrive at the plateau and makes their way to the chaplet which is located in the center of the collage. The stones are yellow and white as described by Meursault, and everything on the left side is extremely bright and almost blinding white. As the chapter proceeds, however, we feel the tension together with the changing tone and colour of the surrounding. The sea that was once calm and motionless now feels like a 'breath of fire', filled with motion. I think this may be closely linked to Meursault's feelings, and the pathetic fallacy of fire and red and hotness signifies his anger. The right side of the collage is made of a bloody red to symbolise the death and violence that took place, and the sun here is made of hearts throbbing and veins, as Meursault described the sun had caused him to feel tense and sweaty. The contrast between the calm and peaceful mood of the left and the violent and bloody right side shows that this is the climax of the novel, changing from peace to violence in a single chapter, making this the most dramatic chapter of the book, hence the dramatic change in colour and tone in my collage. The vertical beams of sunlight also represents the way Meursault was feeling, like there is no where to hide, the sun and light are there looking down on him, there is no escape and it is pressing down on him, as he describes in the novel.

Chapter 6

1. Write a paragraph describing how the tone at the start of the chapter foreshadows the shooting of the Arab. Include techniques/examples in your response. At the beginning of Chapter 6, there is a lack of tone and emotion, as is seen throughout the novel. However, through Meursault’s descriptions of his surroundings, we can see that he doesn’t seem to be in a very good state, as Marie says that he had a ‘face like a funeral’.

2. Give detail of Meursault's __physical__ state leading up to the shooting Since the start of the chapter Meursault didn’t seem to be in such great physical conditions, as can be seen by him ‘having trouble waking up’, and Marie having to ‘shout’ and ‘shake’ him. He also had a ‘headache’ right from the morning, as well as a ‘face like a funeral’ which illustrates that he wasn’t feeling particularly well. He was ‘tired’ already, and the sun ‘hit him like a slap in the face’, as though to wake him up. There wasn’t much descriptions during the bus ride and while he was indoors (which is in Mason’s house), but as soon as he goes out sides into the sun we see his physical reactions, with the sun ‘doing him good’ and ‘peeling the last few layers of water’. However, as the conflict approaches with their encounter with the Arabs on their walk on the beach, his physical conditions start to go down hill, and the sun certainly was not of much help here. It was ‘shining almost vertically onto the sand and the glare of the sea was unbearable’. The sun ‘beating down on his bare head was also making him feel sleepy’. After they were attacked by the Arabs he was ‘pinned to the ground’ by the sun, again showing how much he is physically influenced by the sun, as well as the weather and lighting. Leading up to the climax which is the shooting of the Arab, Meursault starts displaying uncomfort and almost pain from the sun ‘crashing down’. He could feel his ‘forehead swelled up’ in the ‘dazzling red galre’, and he seems to find it hard to fight against the force of the sun, and his body seemed very tense (‘jaws tightened’, ‘closed my fists’). The sun was ‘pressing him from behind’, his ‘veins throbbing’ forehead ‘hurting’ and ‘cheeks burning’ as he took a step towards the shadow in attempt to ‘escape the sun’, triggering the Arab to pull out his knife in defense. Meursault’s actions seem almost completely controlled by the sun, as the ‘cymbals of the sun’ edged him on and his ‘eyes were blinded’. The reflection of the sun off the Arab’s knife blade seem to greatly affect him, as he described it as a ‘dazzling spear’. His descriptions of his surroundings then became abstract and surreal, as ‘the sea swept ashore a great breath of fire’, and the sky seemed to split and ‘rain sheets of flame’. This shows that he is somehow greatly affected by the sun and its heat and reflections that he’s lost his sense and normal observant character. He is out of his mind as he went ’tense’ and ‘tightened’ his grip on the trigger, killing the Arab in turn.

Part 2 Chapter 1

Part one details Meursault as honest to himself, apathetic and nonjudgemental (think back to his response to Salamando's dog). In part two, Meursault is an object who is being judged by society.

Interestingly, the readers do not see what happened directly after Meursault shot the Arab - the first person narrative allows for the novel to cut straight to him being questioned.

Describe the significance of the Religious imagery throughout the chapter.

The religious imagery of God and Christ is used throughout the chapter, with reference to ‘God’s help’, ‘silver crucifix’ as the examining magistrate was ‘a Christian’ who believes that ‘no man was so guilty that God wouldn’t pardon him, but that he must first repent and so become like a child whose soul is empty and ready to embrace everything.’ This is ironic because it is as though Meursault’s soul is empty (in the sense of his lack of emotion), but he will not believe in God, because as an absurdist, his concept is that humans either fill the void with a God, and in this case, God was ‘[the magistrate’s] belief’, and his life would be ‘meaningless’ if Meursault didn’t also believe in God. This is also quite contradicting and ironic, as Meursault’s absurdist ideas tell him that life is meaningless. So the significance of the religious symbol is to emphasize the absurdist’s point of view that life has no meaning, and the Christians are simply trying to put meaning into a meaningless life by filling the void with a great power: God. If they don’t convince others to believe in God and Christ, their life also ‘becomes meaningless’. Meursault, reluctant to believe, causes the magistrate to call him ‘Mr.Antichrist’.

Part 2 Chapter 2

Mamman: I have nothing to do here in prison. I am a criminal now that I have murdered an Arab. The conditions are unpleasant, there are bugs at night, no proper bed, no cigarettes and no freedom. It feels meaningless to me now because I am stripped of the privileges I used to have. I’d prefer if I was outside. But again I understand that this is my punishment. There is no way for me to fill my physical desires, and that frustrates me. They took away my cigarettes, and I feel ill because I can’t smoke. I also thought of woman. As a young man without a woman at hand I can only use my imagination to fill these desires. They also took away the light and the sun. I can only get a glimpse of the sun and the sky and the sea through the bars of my window. Marie came to visit. I thought she looked beautiful. She said we would get married when I get out. I can’t get out. I can’t go to the sea when I want to, I can’t touch Marie like I used to, I can't be in the sun on the beach. I thought about what you said. There is no point being so reluctant. Maybe I will get used to life here.

Meursault