This might be a bit of a stretch but just hear me out.
We've discussed in class the obvious lack of emotion in Meursault's character. The other characters mention it multiple times and even he admits that the things that everyone else finds important hardly matters to him. We attributed his antisocial behavior and apparent lack of a conscience to him being a sociopath.
The term sociopath strikes fear in many people. Sociopaths are known for being dangerous and unpredictable people. However, at the beginning of the novel, Meursault doesn't show much violent behavior. In fact, he is incredibly passive and that is what eventually leads him to commit the murder. He seems to wake up to a nightmare, finding that he is holding a gun and just killed a man.
Meusault is then put on trial. The facts are very clear: Meursault is the one who committed the murder. Meursault admits that he is the one who did it and that he doesn't really feel any remorse. If it is not his guilt that is being decided then what? The lawyers, the magistrate, and then the court are all puzzled by Meursault's behavior. The trial seems to be judging Meursault's character rather than his conviction.
The judgement of Meursault's sociopathic behavior immediately reminded of Sherlock, the BBC TV show. While Sherlock Holmes is a genius, he is also antisocial, impulsive, and has a general disregard for other people; all signs point to sociopath. In one of the stories, people start to realize how potentially dangerous he is, to the point that they accuse him of having made up all the murder cases just so he can solve them.
Their argument has sound logic, and yet, as an audience we feel for Sherlock. He is the hero of the stories and we want him to win even if he is crazy. Meursault is similar. As readers, we have followed him through the whole story. Meursault is the narrator and we can see his reactions to everything he experiences. Camus asks us to weigh Meursault's potential threat against his value as a compelling character. I think Meursault's simplistic philosophy of honesty counts for more than his sociopathic murder in terms of being the hero of the story.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
The Metamorphosis Is Really About Grete
With a title like "The Metamorphosis" you would expect the biggest change would occur in the main character. And it's true that physically Gregor Samsa's transformation into a "monstrous insect" is the most drastic. However, his sister Grete's change, although more subtle, calls for our attention.
We discussed as a class how Gregor was already bug-like before he turned into one. Gregor's main aspect of his life was his work. He had not missed a single day in all those five years at his job as a salesman. His diligence echoes that of a worker bee or ant. Like bees and ants work for their queen, Gregor's work is for the benefit of his family as a whole. He rarely entertains thoughts of rebellion despite the seemingly unfairness of his situation. After his transformation, Gregor's main concern is how his family is going to get along without him. To his surprise, they do just fine.
He is especially surprised by his sister's change. The first time Grete is introduced, she is presented as timid. Gregor justifies all of the work he has to do on the inability of his younger sister. He repeatedly excuses her from things because she is only seventeen. Grete's only real sense of personality comes from her love of the violin. But only then, Gregor describes it as a sort of secret talent. He plans to surprise her by using the money he has saved up to send her to school at the conservatory. His plans sound like Grete is completely dependent on Gregor's benevolence.
But, when Gregor becomes a bug, Grete is the first to take matters into her own hands. She is the first to approach the giant insect and leave him food. When he rejects it, she exchanges it for something she thinks he might like more. After that, Gregor become dependent of Grete in order to eat. Soon, Grete also starts supporting the rest of her family by working as a sales clerk. She shows more ambition and studies French and shorthand so that she might get promoted. When her parents ask her to play her violin she doesn't shy away. After the whole lodger incident, Grete asserts herself and states that they have to do something about the giant insect living in their house. She suggest that it would be best if it were dead and Gregor follows her advice and dies.
At the end of the story, Kafka uses insect imagery again to describe how much Grete has grown up. The last line is of Grete stretching her young body, much like a butterfly would do after emerging from a cocoon. It could be that "the metamorphosis" refers, not to Gregor's, but to Grete's insect transformation.
We discussed as a class how Gregor was already bug-like before he turned into one. Gregor's main aspect of his life was his work. He had not missed a single day in all those five years at his job as a salesman. His diligence echoes that of a worker bee or ant. Like bees and ants work for their queen, Gregor's work is for the benefit of his family as a whole. He rarely entertains thoughts of rebellion despite the seemingly unfairness of his situation. After his transformation, Gregor's main concern is how his family is going to get along without him. To his surprise, they do just fine.
He is especially surprised by his sister's change. The first time Grete is introduced, she is presented as timid. Gregor justifies all of the work he has to do on the inability of his younger sister. He repeatedly excuses her from things because she is only seventeen. Grete's only real sense of personality comes from her love of the violin. But only then, Gregor describes it as a sort of secret talent. He plans to surprise her by using the money he has saved up to send her to school at the conservatory. His plans sound like Grete is completely dependent on Gregor's benevolence.
But, when Gregor becomes a bug, Grete is the first to take matters into her own hands. She is the first to approach the giant insect and leave him food. When he rejects it, she exchanges it for something she thinks he might like more. After that, Gregor become dependent of Grete in order to eat. Soon, Grete also starts supporting the rest of her family by working as a sales clerk. She shows more ambition and studies French and shorthand so that she might get promoted. When her parents ask her to play her violin she doesn't shy away. After the whole lodger incident, Grete asserts herself and states that they have to do something about the giant insect living in their house. She suggest that it would be best if it were dead and Gregor follows her advice and dies.
At the end of the story, Kafka uses insect imagery again to describe how much Grete has grown up. The last line is of Grete stretching her young body, much like a butterfly would do after emerging from a cocoon. It could be that "the metamorphosis" refers, not to Gregor's, but to Grete's insect transformation.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Jake the Narrator
In preparing to write my pastiche, I was looking closely at all of the little quirks of Hemingway's writing style. Apart from the "slapstick" dialogue, Hemingway's distinctive feature is his tip-of-the-iceberg narration. Throughout the entire novel, Hemingway gives the reader flat descriptions that require many inferences to fully understand the story. This "less is more" approach works well for Jake as a narrator.
Jake Barnes is the kind of person that mostly likes to observe and stay out of the action. He describes those around him rather than talks about himself. Like we've discussed, he seems almost like a third wheel in many situations. In chapter V, Robert Cohn and his wife get into an argument during dinner. In chapter VII, Brett and the count discuss the events of the previous evening. During these two conversations, Jake fades into the background and assumes only the narrator position and we forget that he also has opinions.
Though he doesn't blatantly state anything, Jake's selectively detailed descriptions reveal many of his thoughts and feelings. On page 232, Jake describes the morning after the fiesta. We're given flat descriptions and dialogues of Bill and Jake cleaning up and making plans.
In the middle of these simplistic statements, Jake makes an observation that seems a little out of place: "Montoya did not come near us." The syntax of this sentence is very similar to the rest of the passage in the way that it is a straight-forward declaratory statement. It blends in to the rest of the text. However, it isn't an action in the same way that the rest of the sentences are. All the others move forward and with this, Jake pauses to point out that Montoya was avoiding them. This shows that Jake is very much aware of Montoya's resentment. We have to infer that this has to do with him setting up Brett, a woman with a reputation, with Pedro Romero, Montoya's prized bullfighter. The sentence is still ambiguous since we don't know how much this loss of status bothers Jake. We can assume that it was important enough to him to mention it, but not enough to regret helping out Brett.
Hemingway fills pages with short but dense writing. He seems to trust that the reader will fill in the gaps. That's something to keep in mind as I summon my inner Ernest Hemingway.
Jake Barnes is the kind of person that mostly likes to observe and stay out of the action. He describes those around him rather than talks about himself. Like we've discussed, he seems almost like a third wheel in many situations. In chapter V, Robert Cohn and his wife get into an argument during dinner. In chapter VII, Brett and the count discuss the events of the previous evening. During these two conversations, Jake fades into the background and assumes only the narrator position and we forget that he also has opinions.
Though he doesn't blatantly state anything, Jake's selectively detailed descriptions reveal many of his thoughts and feelings. On page 232, Jake describes the morning after the fiesta. We're given flat descriptions and dialogues of Bill and Jake cleaning up and making plans.
"Let's get a car and all go as far as Bayonne. You can get the train up from there to-night."
"Good. Let's go after lunch."
"All right. I'll get the car."
We had lunch and paid the bill. Montoya did not come near us. One of the maids brought the bill. The car was outside.
In the middle of these simplistic statements, Jake makes an observation that seems a little out of place: "Montoya did not come near us." The syntax of this sentence is very similar to the rest of the passage in the way that it is a straight-forward declaratory statement. It blends in to the rest of the text. However, it isn't an action in the same way that the rest of the sentences are. All the others move forward and with this, Jake pauses to point out that Montoya was avoiding them. This shows that Jake is very much aware of Montoya's resentment. We have to infer that this has to do with him setting up Brett, a woman with a reputation, with Pedro Romero, Montoya's prized bullfighter. The sentence is still ambiguous since we don't know how much this loss of status bothers Jake. We can assume that it was important enough to him to mention it, but not enough to regret helping out Brett.
Hemingway fills pages with short but dense writing. He seems to trust that the reader will fill in the gaps. That's something to keep in mind as I summon my inner Ernest Hemingway.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)