Dystopian 1

"We yearned for the future. How did we learn it, that talent for instability? It was in the air; and it was still in the air, an afterthought, as we tried to sleep, in the army cots that had been set up in rows, with spaces between so we could not talk. We had flanellette sheets, like children's and army-issue blankets, old ones that still said U.S. We folded our clothes neatly and laid them on the stools at the ends of the bed. The lights were turned down but not out. Aunt Sara and Aunt Elizabeth patrolled; they had electric cattle prods slung on thongs from their leather belts." (Page 3-4).

Due to this paragraph being on the second page it reveals to the reader a lot of information as we are just attempting to acclimate ourselves to the book. Its revealed that they are not suppose to talk "with spaces between so we could not talk". But exactly why they are not allowed to talk remains unclear. Them yearning for the future is clearly the women not enjoying the world they are currently living in. However, the specification for "the future" either means that they were not satisfied with the past themselves or its just a logical conclusion that they cannot move backwards. The reference to their sheets being "flannelette, like a children's" creates this metaphor. Along with having belongings like a child's, they are constantly watched, told what to do, when to speak etc. Also the sheets "that still said U.S." would mean that the United States no longer exists as we know it. This sets up the idea that in its in the future. However, this is especially striking to Americans because its our country.

One thing that is not specifically unique to the novel it appears is "We". At the beginning of the paragraph it almost constantly references this idea of "we". This could be a window into their mind and how they view themselves. They cannot see the individual, but only the many as one entity. This dramatics the rapidity of the changes when we look at these comments in conjunction with the fact that US Army blankets still exist, which acts as a reference point. Within years of the fall of the US where ideals of freedom were heavily thought of the citizens already think of themselves more as a "we".

Austin S said...

How do you think Atwoods oppression of women in the 1950's correlates to in the book? For example, one form of oppression towards women is the fact that they were abused and made to feel like it was their fault whereas in Gilead such conduct would be illegal, so it exists less.

   

Austin S said...

Why do you think Atwood uses harsh words to detonate men in this society? Is it because they are guilty of persecuting the women or simply to contrast the differences? Like later on the Commander is seen as almost a friend to Offred even though he's partially responsible for what happened.

Austin S said...

I thought your observation of the parellel structure in the fact that the guardians cannot go inside and the handmaids cannot go outside was interesting. But more over than create a dichotomous feeling I wonder if Atwood put it there to show how even though the men are in control, they still have to follow rules. Later on this idea seems to be related to Serena Joy, she preaches for women to stay home and once this is achieved she is somewhat left with nothing to do.

Stranger Journal 6

"Yes, my son,"
Then something inside me snapped.
I started yelling at the top of my lungs
What did other peoples death
Matter to me.
Going right up into the sky
I thought of my appeal.

The Stranger Journal 5

In part 2 of Albert Camus's The Stranger, there are many changes in both style and whats being expressed. For one, which relates to all the minor characters it is interesting to note that they all are now "witnesses". The very idea of that seems interesting to me, the characters of Meursault's life are there and the only purpose is to reveal Meursault's life to us. I read about existentialism today and the relation of looking at oneself is the mirror and I instantly thought of this. Also I think this strangely (no pun intended) relates to "The Stranger". Here we have Meursault who has friends that know him about who he is. Also related to existentialism is the idea that the mirror image is still only a mirror, so what the witnesses tell the jury may not be him truly him but just his body. This could also relate to the reporter that simply stares at Meursault. And a reporter simply reports stale facts, just like Meursault's observations.

There is also this major shift of the entire book I found in what role Meursault plays. Before he constantly made these seemingly unimportant observations that really meant nothing. However, because of his peculiar behavior and view of the world he's suddenly thrust into the middle of the world. That seems incredibly ironic, because he's apparently introspective his entire life is looked at under a microscope.

Journal 4

"Faithfully yours (Page 3)".

This first establishes religion and therefore the spiritual world on the first page.

"I went in. It was a very bright, whitewashed room with a skylight for a roof (6)".

The description of the room Meursault walks into where his mother's casket lay seems very oppressive. Also the continual references to white seem to imply religion. 

"While not an atheist, Maman had never in her life given a thought to religion (Page 6)".

"The utter pointlessness of whatever I was doing there seized me by the throat, and all I wanted was to get it over with and get back to my cell and sleep (Page 105)".

"All that heat was pressing down on me and making it hard for me to go on (Page 57)".

"For the third time I've refused to see the chaplain. I don't have anything to say to him; I don't feel like talking, and I'll be seeing him soon enough as it is (Page 108)".

Stranger Journal 3

Motif :

One motif I began to heavily notice was that of watching. In almost every paragraph its stated that Meursault is "watching" something or a variation of that such as noticed etc. The effect that Camu could have hoped to have by placing this here might be to emphasize people are trying to find a point to everything. A major theme of The Stranger, Absurdism states that there is no point to life but what you make it. Therefore, the searching could be to emphasize the other motif of Absurdism.

Title :

One of the immediate connections between the title and the book itself is how Meursault views the world and in turn is viewed by the world. Meursault seems to rarely have an emotional response to events, such as his mothers death however he reveals no emotion. Ultimately he's judged by societies preconceptions of how he should act. However, right now the idea can still be seen in places where he reveals others feelings. One such example of this is his boss, who is said to have been "anoyed" at the fact that Meursault would be getting 4 days off. It seems Meursault constantly references, if not cares about what people think.

Stranger Journal 2

Again, I found it interesting how relaxed Meursault's work day's are. Generally it seems like he's always napping or just being what I perceive to be lazy. At other times its described that he's just sitting in front of a window for hours on end. This seems to speak to the French work ethic. Another important piece that I almost glanced over was the fact that he eats at a cafe regularly. That contrasts American culture where one might go to a restaurant.

Raymond :

Raymond acts very strangely. First of all he nearly asks for Meursault's friendship when they first begin talking. Then he invites him over for a meal where he describes his disdain for his previous girlfriend. He asks Meursault to help him write a strongly worded letter to her which seems weird, why would he tell someone he seemingly just met something so personal? Also Raymond nearly abuses girls compared with how Meursault only uses them to have sex. For example, his relationship with Marie is almost always physical and he specifically says when directly asked that he doesn't love her. He continues on this by explaining that "it doesn't matter" anyways.

Old Salamano :

For one I think it was very interesting where it stated how long that Old Salamano and his dog had walked. Also the very fact that they have stayed together so long even though they apparently both dislike each other. It almost seems like Camu is trying to say that people continually do stuff even though they don't necessarily like it. This also speaks to another work Camu has done, the Myth of Sisyphush. And whats even stranger is the fact that he becomes sad and depressed when the dog is lost. Maybe its trying to emphasize the fact that people don't like change even if they're doing something they don't like.

Ben blog -  Maybe Salamano doesn't necessarily love his dog but he's just sad about it running away for lack of a routine.

Brandon blog - I like your observations of both Raymond and Salamano. I agree that is seems as though Salamano cannot live without his dog. This could be due to a mutual reliance or as a matter just of habit for him.

Stranger Journal 1

Cultural Connections : One connection I made was the perceived laziness of the French. After getting off work for 4 days Meursault goes to Celeste's for lunch with Emmanuel. He then takes a nap and then goes back to work for the afternoon. Going out for lunch then taking a nap seems somewhat unheard of when thought of in the United States. Also connecting to the industrialized nature of France and the fact that they took cabs to the Matinee's. In reference to the street cars, they had "slowly emptied out. The matinees had all started, I guess"(22)

Character :

Meursault acts very strangely in my opinion. Going through life he acts like nothing bugs him. This can be evidenced as far back as the first page when he nearly acted indifferently the news that his mother was dead. Then when he began talking again he spoke about how he would get there and what train he would take as opposed to revealing any emotion he thought about her death. "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know (3)". But then again later he acts like he cares when he talks with his boss about him having to take 2 days off. Later on he's describing events occurring outside his window such as the Matinee's and him just watching and being very introspective seems normal to him.

One image or phrase that I followed throughout the chapters was that of the conflict between light and dark. There are multiple references to light and dark and its synonyms from the very beginning. At the start he discusses his moms death, which could represent darkness or sleep. Furthermore, he discusses time frequently which all represent either light or dark depending on the time of the day. Then there was a "flash of light (8)". Then again he goes up in the mid afternoon and takes a lengthy nap in the middle of the day. On top of this, his entire demeanor and the very cover of the book itself which is white and black make him seem very gray.