Journal #1 We

Motifs- The motif of "ancient" comes up a lot when the citizen refer back to the past civilizations. The way this shaped my understanding of their society is it made them seem like they thought they were far superior to past civilizations. When we use ancient in today's society we refer to the greeks or romans, not people from 200 years ago. The idea that there society is so much further along that others almost seems to be propaganda put forth by the government to trick it's citizens into think that their society is so much better than others that to try to change it would only be regressive and not progressive. Also the lighting seems to be a motif, whether is day or night, bright or dark, and I think this reflects how the government doesn't control everything and connects to the idea that somethings are out of control. Having said that it's entirely possible that the government finds a way to control it, so may it shows how the government chooses to control some things over others

Setting- In the book they often talk about the weather that is around, for instance if it's spring or if it's windy. This affects my understanding of the society because being allowed to connect to nature must be a huge issue for the people in charge. There must be something about nature that they manipulate it into being a tool to control it's citizens further. Otherwise it seems like nature would only make the citizens more likely to question authority. Maybe that's why math and science are emphasized, because if the citizens look at the wind and think to themselves there is a scientific explanation for this rather than is something controlling the wind they will be less likely to ask the question is something controlling me.

Language- The language used is very descriptive and colorful. This affects my understanding of the society in multiple ways. The first is that it appears that the citizens have more control than they actually do, because they say an awful lot however what they say is fairly controlled. So basically they can say a certain thing but they can say it however they want, so they have a false sense of freedom. Another way it affects my understanding of the society is the way D-503 is very mathematical in his writing, and this makes me think that the society puts an emphasis on education in the maths and sciences. Then connecting that to my life and it makes me wonder why I would learn about math and science in school if it leads to a dystopian society. The other connection I made is that most people say knowledge is power but the characters based on the way they use language makes it seem like they have a lot of knowledge but little to no power.

Journal #5

Personal Philosophy

Name- Jacksonism

Seven Principles
1. Establish a legitimate connection to nature- Last summer I went on a hike in the Eagle Cap wilderness and it showed me how detached I had been from nature, and I think that humans all to often try to detach ourselves from nature and we neglect that we are nature
2. Meaning in life is given by action- I believe that we are here by chance so there is no universal meaning, however that does not mean you cannot give life a meaning and a purpose
3. We can control our reactions- Gandalf once said "All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us" so regardless of the time we a born in, we should seek to improve it no matter what
4. Live based on evidence- Faith is fine and dandy however one should live based on what they know, and often times when people leave problems up to a superior being and just have faith those problems end poorly.
5. The focus of life shoud be to further the human race- To live a selfish life and slow down the progress of human beings is a waste of a life. People who would rather serves themselves than others need to realize that once they die they will have left nothing positive in this world
6. Exploration is key- When we stop exploring, we stop advancing as a whole. For example the reasons for which we stopped exploring space are absurd. This was a huge detriment to culture as a whole and is like ignoring your own backyard and everything that could be there.
7. Emphasis will be taken off grades. The idea that you determine how intelligent a person is based on a grade is ridiculous. It in no way reflects the overall intelligence of a person, and for that reason should be disregarded.

Journal #4

At the end of the novel Meursault comes to the conclusion that although the priest thought he knew what he was talking about, he knew nothing. He basically rationalizes all the decisions he made throughout his life by saying that none of it mattered because he would eventually die, whether it was in an execution or 20 years later it didn't matter. Meursault comes to the conclusion that searching for the meaning of life is absurd and not worth any of the limited time he had left. I think that Camus does want the reader to come to the same conclusions, however he does not want the reader to use it as a justification for something such as murder like Meursault does. I think this because Camus himself talked about absurdism, and put much of his life into the character of Meursault, so that led me to the conclusion that Camus wouldn't necessarily be critical of Meursault. Having said that though, Camus does give Meursault the death sentence in the end of the novel, so I think that Camus is sending a warning to people about the dangers of taking this absurd belief to an extreme that could be used for potentially harmful purposes. So in the end I think that Camus wants the reader to come to the same conclusion as Meursault, that anyone who claims to have all of the answers is lying and that searching for the meaning of life is absurd, however he does not want the reader to use this is a justification for performing evil actions that harms others.

Journal #3

Why Camus split The Stranger into 2 parts
I think that Camus split his novel into two parts to show how Meursault develops as a result of the murder. In part one Meursault is a dull character that focuses mainly on the material world rather than thinking abstractly about questions such as the meaning of life. For example, "After lunch I was a little bored and I wandered around the apartment." (pg 21) Just a few days after his mother's death and he walks around his apartment bored; rather than thinking and questioning the meaning of life he focuses on the material world and what immediately impacts him. I equate this to his superego being in control of his conscious because he is thinking rational thoughts that society would support, as opposed to the id being in control of his conscious in which case he would be thinking irrational thoughts. In part two Meursault undergoes a radical change in his thinking process with the murder of the Arab and his sentencing to death. He begins to think longer, more complex thoughts, which Camus shows through the change in syntax. With these more complex thoughts comes a more involved and developed Meursault that interacts with the environment in a more abstract way. For example, "I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world." (pg 122). Meursault is in my opinion allowing his id to take over his conscious, and dictate his thoughts which allows his previously oppressed emotions to come out. I think that Camus split the novel into two parts to help the reader identify the murder as the catalyst that changed Meursault from being a person dominated by his superego to a person dominated by his id.

Journal #2

Option 1
I think that the sun is a symbol for the catalyst that sends people over the edge on an emotional level. For example from the text when Raymond hand the gun to Meursault "The sun glinted off Raymond's gun [...]" (pg 56). Although the sun isn't what kills the Arab I think the it set off Meursault and put him into an agitated state so that he did pull the trigger. Even later in the story Meursault says the reason he pulled the trigger was because of the sun. So the sun serves as a symbol for something that is involved with pushing someone over the edge emotionally but doesn't appear as the actual cause. Overall I think the sun develops the theme of how Camus is critical of Meursault because Meursault allows himself to be influenced by petty and insignificant things whereas I think Camus is sending a message the more important matters need to be paid attention too and when they are mistakes are made and lives are lost.

Journal #1

3 Characters

Salamano- Salamano is described as an older man who is neighbors with Meursault and inseparable from his dog for the past 8 years. I think that Salamono at this point in the novel serves as a foil to Meursault. The translator's note talks about how Meursault equates Salamono and his dog's relationship to human with a human's relationship it contrast's Meursault's relationship with his Maman. After he hears Salamono crying after losing his dog it highlights Meursault's lack of emotion in dealing with his mother's death which eventually is one of the main reasons why he becomes sentenced to death. 

Emmanuel- Emmanuel is a co-workers of Meursault's. After work they catch a bus together after chasing it down through some obstacles. Emmanuel serves as a foil to highlight Meursault's lack of emotion altogether. Camus specifically put the sentence in explaining that Emmanuel was laughing to hard to breathe and Camus not only has Meursault comment on this but he almost ignores it entirely. This shows Meursault's lack of emotion not only within himself but as well his lack of ability to emphasize. I think that Camus put this in the book to bring the reader's attention to this because it becomes important during the murder scene.

Raymond- Raymond is Meursault's other neighbor who is a warehouse worker that lives off of women. He is short with broad shoulders. I think that Camus put Raymond in the story at this point to show the way Meursault rationalizes his moral decisions. Raymond asks Meursault to write a letter and later on to help him if Arabs attack him so Camus uses Raymond as a tool to put Meursault in positions where he has to justify a moral decision and when he does that the reader begins to understand Meursault better. Also Raymond receives a lengthy physical description when not many other people are including Meursault so I think Camus is calling attention to that point of the importance of a physical description.