Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The Stranger Essay

Luis Moreira

The strangers final essay

In the passage when mersault meets the care taker, Albert Camus suggests that death dosn't necessiarly mean change. He shows this throughout the passage when mersault is still thinking, and acting the same after the death of his mother. He shows that mersault dosn't change when he sees his mothers dead body.

In lines 1-5 he shows us that if it were not for his mothers death he would still be heading off to work, and it would be like a typical day for him. It would still be hard for him to get up, and he would be in the office all day, just another typical day. And he also mentions the other guys from work by saying "they must be getting up for work about this time". So I guess this means that he is in a different time zone or he is just up early.

Then in the second part of the passage he talks about meeting the care taker, and signing documents. "the caretaker came across the courtyard, and told me that the director was asking for me... He had me sign a number of documents". Then the man also says he will be attending the funeral.

Finally he asks if he wants to see his mother for the last time befor he seals the casket, and he said no. I think that he said no because he dosn't want to show his feelings/emotions, maybe if he sees his mothers dead body he will become emotional and start to cry. I think he is a type of person who keeps their emotions all bindled up, and he lets them go when nobody is around. That is probally whe he didn't want to see his mothers dead body again laying lifelessly in a casket.

I believe that this passage is important to the text because it shows us how this character really is, and how he deals with his feelings. This might help us understand one of the characters actions in a future scene. This is why this passage was important in the Book "the Strangers" by Albert Camus.

In the last page of the book “The Strangers” by Albert Camus, Mersault hopes for something out of the ordinary. He hopes that “there will be a large crowd at his execution”. This si strange because usually someone who is going to get executed would wish to die quick, and painless or die with honor, but not Mersault he wishes for a large crowd to watch him die… and for them to greet him with cries of hate.

In this passage Mersault shows a lot of emotion. For instance when he yells at the Father ( Priest), he does this out of anger, but he shows it with passion he physically drabs the Father, and yells at him, unlike when he killed the Arab man, but not like how he did with the Father. This shows a huge change in Mersault’s personality from the murder of the Arab man to now. When I saw this change in Mersault I thought “ why now, is it cause he realizes that he is going to die, so he is just letting go of all his held back emotions?”. This is what I thought about his personality change, because why else would he change. 

Then shortly after Mersault does something that he rarely does, or have done. He thinks of his Mother (Maman). As I read this I thought to myself that Albert Camus is definatley doing this to show the change in Mersault’s personality from him being emotionless to being extremely emotional, and full of feelings. But I didn’t really understand why, is it to symbolize that people change when they are in need of help or when they know that their life will shortly be coming ti an end. This made me think that maybe emotionless people like Mersault are looking for a way, or an excuse to release their held back feelings, but they don’t know how or when, until their life will shortly ending.            

In a couple of lines later Mersault says “finding it so much like myself-so like a brother, really-I felt that I had been happy, and that I was happy again”. This is what confuses me. Mersault was just angry, and now he is happy… This leads me to believe that maybe Mersault is not in a right state of mind or that he might be bipolar. I think that maybe Mersault is happy because he might see his Mother in an after life somewhere… because he did mention “ I felt ready to live it all again” this could mean two things either he is talking about living again in another life or that if he had a choice to live his same life again he would, and not change anything. Bit is that is what Mersault meant by that statement, then obviously he didn’t learn from his mistakes.    

Then finally back to where Mersault wishes to have a large group of spectators at his execution, who watch his death with cries of hate. I think that Mersault might see himself now as sort of a villan, and that he deserves to be hated by everyone for the crime that he committed (murdering the arab man). This means that Mersault might feel guilty for killing the man. So this also shows Mersault showing emotion. Mersault has changed a lot from the death of his Mother to now.           

In Albert Camus’s book “The Stranger” Mersault has changed a lot He went from being emotionless, to being full of emotions. He learned to let his emotions go. But in the end it was a little to late for Mersault because he is being executed. This book had me realize that people start to realize things when their life is going to be shortly over.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

The Strangers

In the passage when mersault meets the care taker, Albert Camus suggests that death dosn't necessiarly mean change. He shows this throughout the passage when mersault is still thinking, and acting the same after the death of his mother. He shows that mersault dosn't change when he sees his mothers dead body.

In lines 1-5 he shows us that if it were not for his mothers death he would still be heading off to work, and it would be like a typical day for him. It would still be hard for him to get up, and he would be in the office all day, just another typical day. And he also mentions the other guys from work by saying "they must be getting up for work about this time". So I guess this means that he is in a different time zone or he is just up early.

Then in the second part of the passage he talks about meeting the care taker, and signing documents. "the caretaker came across the courtyard, and told me that the director was asking for me... He had me sign a number of documents". Then the man also says he will be attending the funeral.

Finally he asks if he wants to see his mother for the last time befor he seals the casket, and he said no. I think that he said no because he dosn't want to show his feelings/emotions, maybe if he sees his mothers dead body he will become emotional and start to cry. I think he is a type of person who keeps their emotions all bindled up, and he lets them go when nobody is around. That is probally whe he didn't want to see his mothers dead body again laying lifelessly in a casket.

I believe that this passage is important to the text because it shows us how this character really is, and how he deals with his feelings. This might help us understand one of the characters actions in a future scene. This is why this passage was important in the Book "the Strangers" by Albert Camus.

Monday, October 25, 2010

"The Plum Plum Pickers"

In the story The Plum Plum Pickers Raymond Barrio suggests that life is like being trapped behind prison bars.

In the first paragraph of "The Plum Plum Pickers" he is showing a man trapped "No matter which way he turned he was trapped in an endless maze". What he does in the firdt sentence is he shows the man being trapped to symbolize the mans feelings. The man feels trapped.

Then in the next paragraph he shows the man being or becoming dehydrated "the hot dry air sucking every drop of moisture from his brute body". He shows this to show us how hard rhis man is being put to work, working so hard that he is about to pass out due to the lack of moisture, and wayer. This can show how the man feels trapped. He feels like he is a slave with no freedom, and only living to please others.

Thin in the next paragraph He says that the man was almost too exhausted to eat, "he munched his cheese with tortillas". So this shows us that this guy is hard working, and even though he is exhausted he will keep working, because he knows tha there will be a price to pay if he doesn't work so hard.

A few paragraphs later the author shows this man start to get a bit angry, when the man Roberto Morales said that " He had to take two cents from every bucket" The man got mad and said "you promised not to take nothing". This shows how the man could be trapped in a world where he is a slave, and he has to do everything for everyone else.

This passage is important because it shows us how the story goes, adn how the character changes through out the story. This is why it is important.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

College Essay

In my life I have had many memorable life experiences. From good times to bad times. I have had a very interesting, and fun life, I have traveled many places, and still have many places that I will, and want to travel to. Also I have many things that I want to experience, One thing is College.

Something in my life that I have found interesting is that I am only 17, and i have been to more places than the normal adult. I have been to every state on both the East, and West coast . I have also been to Canada, Brazil, and Portugal. Brazil was the funest on of them all. There were beautiful beaches, great food, pretty much everything was great. I also loved Canada the Niagra falls was great and fun. I loved to e on the boat, and the water fall into the river below. I didn't like Portugal too much it was kind of boring, I think I found it boring I didn't go to the main land I went to the Acorez islands, the island that I went is Santa Maria.

In my upcoming future I would like to travel to Italy, France, Germany, Australia, I judt want to travel the world. Some places that I will be going to soon are the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

Well befor my travels I would like to gain a college education, I would like to gain a colege degree in Computer engineering or in Law or i would like to be a motorcycle mechanic. I would like to become a computer engineer because i love to work with computers, and if I can get paid to be around something that I love then ehy not, or I would love to be a Lawyer because  I like to help people get out of bad situations, and I just love to help people, and make them feel better. Then last I would like to be a motorcycle mechanic is because my mother's fiance is a Harley Davidson master mechanic, and he shows me how to work on the bikes and i fell in love with motorcycles.

Another interesting thing about me is that I am great at computer designing. I learned how to design 3D shapes, and structures on computers when I was about 12. My mother's friend who now works for NASA taught me how to do 3D designing. It is extremly entertaining and fun to do.

But the thing that is most important to me is to get a college education. And to do something with my life.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

1st in class essay "Landscape with the fall of icarus".

In "landscape with the fall of Icarus" by William Carlos Williams he suggests that every thing has a place and purpose by saying "a farmer was ploughing". Also in the picture "Landscape with the fall of Icarus" Brueghel shows that everything has a place, aand purpose like the man ploughing his fields, the man fishing, and the man herding the sheep. Their purpose there was to show that each person has something that they are ment to do, and when they do what they are not suppost to be doing, then there will be a consequence to pay. In Icarus's case he was not ment to fly, and he paid his consequence "death" for not doing what he was ment to do.

In the poem by W.C.W. he shows many different things like. He shows much personification when he says" the edge of the sea concerned with it self sweating like the sun" or when he says "of the year was awake tingling" . But what I think that Williams is trying to say is not only does everything have a place and purpose, but the human species is selfish,a dn careless. He shows thiswhen he says "off the coast there was a splash quiet innoticed" this is the fall of Icarus. But yet in Ovid's story/myth he states that people saw them flying, thinking that they were Gods. So if they saw him flying they must have seen him fall, and this is where human carelessness comes in, no one even bothered to lay out a hand to save Icarus even though they saw him fall. So I believe that that is what Williams was trying to say in this poem.

Now in Brueghel's painting he shows many different things like men oat work, the sun rising, and the far away town/village. The thing that I noticed the most in the picture was a splash which I didn't know who it was at first, but then I realized it was Icarus falling down to his death. But the thing that shcoked me the most is that there is a fisherman right next to the spot where Icarus fell to. And going back to the previous paragraph Williams is showing the carelessness of the humans in his poem, but so is brueghel in his painting. Obviously the fisherman saw Icarus fall, But why did he not help?. He did not help because he does not care, that shows the carelessness of humans. Or did he not help because everything and everyone has a thing that they are ment to do, Maybe he dosn't want to end up like Icarus paying a consequence for doing something that you are not ment to do. He saw what happened to Icarus and dosn't want to end up in the same position "DEAD"!!!. This is what I think but you decide.

Also in another related topic Ovid's story/myth about "Deadalus, and Icarus". This story is about the incidents leading to the fall of Icarus. The story is about Icarus's dad Deadalus, and what he made for Icarus. He made Icarus a pair of wings, and tells him don't go too low, or the water will weigh you dow, and don't fly too high or the un's fire will burn them . So when Icarus finally goes on the flight he flies to high, and goes crashing down into the water to his death. When Ovid said don't fly too high or too low, I think that any person can relate to this in real life. In other words don't allways be so happy, or to sad be in the middle where it is safe just be in calm, and relaxed never be too happy or too angry. The thing about this myth that I don't understand is why did Deadalus make the wings in the first place. Was he trying to not do what he is suppost to be doing?, did he want to act like the Gods?, or was he crazy? This we may never find out. And why did Icarus fly so high? was it that he could not control the wings, and it was some freak accident that a strange force controlled his wings and made him plummet to his death for trying to do what he was not ment to do.

I believe that these three sources the painting, the poem, and the story/myth are trying to teach us something, I think that the moral behind these three is do what you are suppost to be doing, and there willl be no consequence to pay. That no one needs to end up like Icarus. In "landscape with the fall of Icarus" William Carlos Williams suggests that everything has a place, and purpose in life.