The Stranger
Chapter 1
• What do you remember about the term
“existentialism?”
• Talk to a partner
• You have 5 minutes
• You can go online and look at my posted videos
• I will call on you
Writing Fiction
Get into groups of 4
Group the following into 2 categories and put them ON THE BOARD.
You have 10 minutes. I will grade you.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi)
Choice
Reason
God
Condemned
Existence
Nothingness
Pretend
Freedom
Create
Chapter 1
• “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t
know. I got a telegram from the home: “Mother
deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.”
That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was
yesterday.”
• Give me one adjective describing Mersault’s
personality.
• Talk to a partner (30 seconds)
• What’s he like? You can’t say “Weird.”
Chapter 1 Page 8
• An existential crisis is a moment at which an individual
questions the very foundations of their life: whether their life
has any meaning, purpose or value.[1] This issue of the meaning
and purpose of existence is the topic of the philosophical school
of existentialism.
Description of an Existential Crisis
• The sense of being alone and isolated in the world;
• A new-found grasp or appreciation of one's mortality;
• Believing that one's life has no purpose or external meaning;
• Searching for the meaning of life;
• Shattering of one's sense of reality, or how the world is;
• Awareness of one's freedom and the consequences of accepting
or rejecting that freedom;
• An extremely pleasurable or hurtful experience that leaves one
seeking meaning;
Chapter 1
• How is Mersault like you?
• When have you acted this “numb” or “detached”
or “weird,” the feeling of, “whatever?” (Ever just
give up, on grades, on people, and say whatever?)
• Share with a partner.
• You will report your partner’s response to the
class.
Chapter 1 Page 18
1.
Go Online and open the file,
“Key.Words.Existentialism”
You will need these words for the following
assignment.
Write an “on your own question” based on
The Stranger.
Chapter 1
“On My Own Questions” based on chapter 1
1. How should one handle an existential crisis?
2. What is the effect of sleep-walking through life,
not paying attention to the beliefs and values
you have?
3. Is it possible to suffer loss of love without
grieving?
4. How can one get out of the state of nothingness?
Chapter 1
“On My Own Questions” based on chapter 1
Come up with more as a class.
Is it possible that too much stress can lead to a state
of nothingness?
Is there a natural meaning to a state of
nothingness?
Chapter 1 Page 8
•
•
•
•
Begin to ask “On My Own Question.”
Use 1 “Key words of Existentialism”
Use the character “Meursault”
Write as many as you can.
• First review “On My Own Question” using the “On
My Own Unit.”
• INDEPENDENT THINKING: See the world from
your own experiences, your own life.
Chapter 1 Page 7
• Turn to page 7, second paragraph, “When she’d gone, the
caretaker said…”
Chapter 1 Page 8
• “I thought what he had said made sense”. Also, who smokes over
their mother’s dead body? At what emotional level is he
experiencing his mother’s death? How close or distant?
• -Pay attention to the light imagery
• -Pay attention to “dozing” imagery.
• -Explain the concept of “Motif.”
• Explain the recurring “dozing” image. Meursault
seems always be dozing, in a slumber. Aside from
physical sleepiness, what other parts of his life
could he be “asleep” from? Dozing in funeral.
Chapter 1 Page 8
• How much reflection or thoughtfulness do we see in Meursault?
• If none, what is the consequence of this lack of awareness or self
reflection?
• What is the consequence of simply living for bodily pleasures, fully
living in a sensual world?
Chapter 1 Page 10
• I remember opening my eyes at one point and seeing that all the
old people were slumped over asleep, except for one old man,
with his chin resting on the back of his hands wrapped around his
cane, who was staring at me as if he were just waiting for me to
wake up.
Chapter 1
• What will be Meursault’s greatest struggle in this book? What will
be his epic conflict, within himself or others?
• Put your name on the paper for credit.
• Put the paper in the back tray.
Chapter 1
• Turn in your “on your own question” in the back tray.
• Begin finding answers to your “own your own question” by citing
the text. Find two moments in the book, along with page
numbers.
Chapter 2
Turn to page 19 (Chapter 2)
Chapter 2
• When was the last time you were bored, and
it was painful?
• 1 Minute. Talk to a partner.
Chapter 2
• Introduction to Ennui.
• dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or
excitement. Boredom. Dullness.
• http://vimeo.com/29678556
• http://vimeo.com/35944506
• http://vimeo.com/31546871
Chapter 2
• Purpose of chapter 2 is to experience ennui.
No characters interact with him. He sits
there, watching, then eats a meal. That’s it.
• Page 23: They were shouting and singing at
the tops of their lungs that their team would
never die.
Chapter 2
• Purpose of chapter 2: To show the passage
of time. To show how we are a helpless
creature in the shadows of eternal time.
Last line is crucial:
• Page 24: “It occurred to me that anyway one
more Sunday was over, that Maman was
buried now, that I was going back to work,
and that, really, nothing had changed.”
Chapter 2
• Page 24: “It occurred to me that anyway one
more Sunday was over, that Maman was
buried now, that I was going back to work,
and that, really, nothing had changed.”
• Say-mean-matter this passage with a
partner. On one piece of paper.
• Use power verbs/phrases (explains,
suggests)
• Turn them into the back tray when finished.
Chapter 3
1. Turn to page 29, chapter 3.
Chapter 3
1. How is Salamano showing bad faith with
his dog?
2. Predict how Raymond’s conflict with the
Moorish girl will appear later in the book.
Chapter 3
1. Predict how Raymond’s conflict with the
Moorish girl will appear later in the book.
Chapter 3
1. Predict how Raymond’s conflict with the
Moorish girl will appear later in the book.
2. Talk to a partner
3. 1 minute (I will call on you)
Chapter 4
“A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I
told her it didn’t mean anything but that I
didn’t think so.” (35)
What is Meursault’s problem here?
1. Talk to a partner
2. 1 minute (I will call on you)
Chapter 4
“A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I
told her it didn’t mean anything but that I
didn’t think so.” (35)
If you were Meursault’s therapist, what would
you recommend for him to fix this problem?
1. Talk to a partner
2. 1 minute (I will call on you)
Chapter 4
‘I took him to the Parade Ground, like always. There were
lots of people around the booths at the fair. I stopped to
watch “The King of the Escape Artists.” And when I was
ready to go, he wasn’t there…But I never thought the
bastard would take off like that.’ (38)
1. Who is smarter, the dog or the human?
2. Why?
3. 1 minute (I will call on you)
Chapter 4
‘I took him to the Parade Ground, like always. There were
lots of people around the booths at the fair. I stopped to
watch “The King of the Escape Artists.” And when I was
ready to go, he wasn’t there…But I never thought the
bastard would take off like that.’ (38)
1. What is Camus saying about humans,
based on this quote?
2. 1 minute (I will call on you)
Chapter 4
“And from the peculiar little noise coming through
the partition, I realized he was crying. For some
reason I though of Maman.” (39)
Why is Meursault thinking of his Maman when he
realized Salamano was crying?
• Talk to a partner
• 1 minute: I’ll call on you.
Chapter 4
• Watch “Noam Chomsky – Independent Thinking.”
• Watch “Why thinking for yourself is so powerful.”
Chapter 5
• Take out The Stranger
• Turn to Page 40
Chapter 5
• Page 41: “I said that people never change their lives,
that in any case one life was as good as another and
that I wasn’t dissatisfied with mine here at all…I
couldn’t see any reason to change my life. Looking
back on it, I wasn’t unhappy. When I was a student, I
had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give
up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it
really mattered.”
• “Watch Monty Python Clips (Parrot and Walking)”
• Absurdist Humor: Do something “absurd” in the
classroom.
Chapter 5
• Page 41: “That evening Marie came by to see me
and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it
didn’t make any difference to me and that we
could if she wanted to.”
• Potential question: Is there a point when TOO
much freedom paralyzes you so that you cannot
make a decision?
Chapter 5
• Page 44: “He hadn’t been happy with his wife, but
he’d pretty much gotten used to her.”
• Use one of the “Existentialism Key Terms” and
write an “on your own” question.
Chapter 5
• Take out a piece of paper
• Do an “On Your Own Question” for chapter 5
• Turn it in in the back tray
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Some words you can use
Absurd
Paralyze
Numb
Ambition
Love
Attachment
Chapter 5
• Go through an “On Your Own Question” process
to create a thesis statement.
• Next step? Gather evidence to prove thesis.
• Page number and quote
• Do this for every significant chapter
Practice Thesis
1. Take out a piece of paper
1. Label it “Practice Thesis.”
Practice Thesis
1. Use the terms of existentialism to come
up with an “on my own question” based
on the text up to chapter 4.
2. Examples: “How does one overcome the
alienation one feels from knowing the
absurdity of life, of the fact we all end up
dead anyways?”
Practice Thesis
1.
Answer the question using FATT.
1.
Examples: “How does one overcome the
alienation one feels from knowing the absurdity
of life, of the fact we all end up dead anyways?”
2.
In The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault
demonstrates how one overcomes alienation in
the face of the absurdity of life by experiencing
his mortality, getting closer to death to find an
authenticity to experience.
3.
Turn in this “Practice Thesis” into the back tray.
Writing Assignment for The Stranger
1. Driving question: Use the terms of
existentialism to come up with an “on my
own question.”
2. Examples: “How does one overcome the
alienation one feels from knowing the
absurdity of life, of the fact we all end up
dead anyways?”
Chapter 5
Page 41: Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a
change of life. I said yes but that really it was all the
same to me. I said people never change their lives,
that in any case one life was as good as another and
that I wasn’t dissatisfied with mine here at all.
Is this true? Is one life just as good as another and
absurd?
Chapter 5
Page 41: “I learned quickly that nothing really
mattered.”
How do things matter? This sounds silly, but with
every decision, with every experience, how do you
know it matters?
Chapter 6
Page 56: It was then that I realized that you could
either shoot or not shoot.
At this moment, Meursault realizes he has choices,
that he is responsible and has agency in this world.
By committing a crime, can one achieve a new,
empowering awareness?
Chapter 6
Turn to page 47.
Part II Chapter 1
• P 64: On my way out I was even going to shake his hand,
but just in time, I remembered that I had killed a man.
Does this seem like a man whose value system is working with
any precision? Does he even have a value system?
• P 65: He asked if I had felt any sadness that day…I probably
did love Maman, but that didn’t mean anything. At one
point or another, we all want our loved ones dead.
• I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that
my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.
• 68: Why hesitate before firing the second shot?
• 69: How is meaning created with religion? Touchy subject.
• 69: Is Meursault a criminal? Why or why not?
Part II Chapter 1
• Turn in your letter in the back tray.
Part II Chapter 1
• What “bad” act did you see in the past few days,
an act that shows low morals?
– Example: I saw a student pulling on a teacher’s license
plate in the parking lot.
– I saw some kid steal Mrs. Doan’s purse.
Part II Chapter 1
• Are we born good or bad? Are we born with a
sense of morals?
• Watch “Born Good?”
Part II Chapter 1
• Mr. Kim drops his cash…
• Do you keep it or do you return it?
• Where did you learn your morals for this
decision?
Part II Chapter 1
• This chapter tries to test the origins of
morals…where do they come from? Where
SHOULD they come from?
Part II Chapter 1
• Turn to page 63
Part II Chapter 1
• Page 68: I vaguely understood that to his mind
there was just one thing that wasn’t clear in my
confession, the fact that I had hesitated before I
fired my second shot. The rest was fine, but that
part he couldn’t understand.”
• What’s the big deal if he paused or not before he
unloaded the four shots?
Part II Chapter 1
• Meursault is amoral. He lacks any sense of
morality.
• How does the law try to enforce morality on
Meursault?
• Does it work?
Can you come up with a good “On your own
question” using this chapter?
Part II Chapter 1
• Meursault is amoral. He lacks any sense of
morality.
• How does Religion try to enforce morality on
Meursault?
• Does it work?
Can you come up with a good “On your own
question” using this chapter?
Part II Chapter 1
• What is an “Antichrist?”
• Watch:
• Is Meursault an Antichrist?
Part II Chapter 2
• Watch “Hard Time”
• What would YOU miss the most being in that
situation? Be specific.
Part II Chapter 2
• Turn to page 72
• This chapter forces us to look at ourselves and
compare our lives with Meursault’s life.
• How does being condemned by the law reveal our
true existential freedom?
Part II Chapter 2
• “There are some things I’ve never liked talking
about. A few days after I entered prison, I realized
that I wouldn’t like talking about this part of my
life.”
• Predict what Meursault is reluctant to talk about.
Part II Chapter 2
• 72: In fact, I wasn’t really in prison those first few
days: I was sort of waiting for something to
happen…from that day on I felt that I was at home
in my cell and that my life was coming to a
standstill.
• 76-77 Prison ruminations: Camus is forcing us to
look at our condition. What is imprisoning us?
Mostly us.
Part II Chapter 2
• 79: “I realized then that a man who had lived only
one day could easily live for a hundred years in
prison.”
• Who do you know lives like this, where they live
the same day over and over and it’s like a prison?
Part II Chapter 2
• Page 79: “In fact, during the last few months I’ve
been sleeping sixteen to eighteen hours a day.”
• Has prison changed Meursault? If so, how?
Part II Chapter 2
Page 80: One day when the guard told me that I’d
been in for five months, I believed it, but I didn’t
understand it. For me it was one and the same
unending day that was unfolding in my cell and the
same thing I was trying to do.
Watch “Groundhog’s Day” clip
Part II Chapter 2
• Page 81: “It was near the end of the day, the time
of day I don’t like talking about, that nameless
hour when the sounds of evening would rise up
from every floor of the prison in a cortege of
silence.”
• Why doesn’t Meursault like this “end of the day?”
What does it remind him of?
•
•
•
noun: cortège; plural noun: cortèges
a solemn procession, esp. for a funeral.
synonyms: procession, parade, cavalcade, motorcade, convoy, caravan, train, column, file,
line More
Book II
Chapter 3
Book II, Chapter 3
• Predict the meaning of “parricide.”
Book II, Chapter 3
• Predict the meaning of “parricide.”
• Parricide: one who murders his or her father,
mother, or a close relative.
• By placing Meursault beside a “parricide,” what
type of comparison is Camus making?
Book II, Chapter 3
1. Which is worst?
– Parricide?
– Not grieving for your mother?
2. Why?
Book II, Chapter 3
• How much does the press influence our morals?
• Show clip of wrongful accusation of terrorist
bomber (Atlanta Olympics)
Book II, Chapter 3
• The following groups try to influence our morals:
• The Press
• The Law
• The Church
• Do they influence us in the right way? If not, what
is the right way to receive or morals?
Part II Chapter 2
• 79: “I realized then that a man who had lived only one day
could easily live for a hundred years in prison.”
• Who do you know lives like this, where they live the same
day over and over and it’s like a prison?
• 80: One day when the guard told me that I’d been in for five
months, I believed it, but I didn’t understand it. For me it
was one and the same unending day that was unfolding in
my cell and the same thing I was trying to do.
• 81: Irony of death and prison: “Then I remembered what
the nurse at Maman’s funeral said. No, there was no way
out, and no one can imagine what nights in prison are like.”
Book II
Chapter 3
Book II, Chapter 3
• Turn to page 82
Book II, Chapter 3
• Predict the meaning of “parricide.”
Book II, Chapter 3
• Predict the meaning of “parricide.”
• Parricide: one who murders his or her father,
mother, or a close relative.
• By placing Meursault beside a “parricide,” what
type of comparison is Camus making?
Book II, Chapter 3
1. Which is worst?
– Parricide?
– Not grieving for your mother?
2. Why?
Book II, Chapter 3
• How much does the press influence our morals?
• Show clip of wrongful accusation of terrorist
bomber (Atlanta Olympics)
Book II, Chapter 3
• The following groups try to influence our morals:
• The Press
• The Law
• The Church
• Do they influence us in the right way? If not, what
is the right way to receive or morals?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 89: “The director then looked down at the tips
of his shoes and said that I hadn’t wanted to see
Maman, that I hadn’t cried once, and that I had left
right after the funeral without paying my last
respects at her grave.”
• What is Meursault guilty of, not caring for his
mother or killing an Arab?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 89: “…for the first time in years I had this
stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all
these people hated me.”
• Does Meursault feel remorse for not crying at his
mother’s funeral now?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 90: “It was then I felt a stirring go through the
room and for the first time I realized that I was
guilty.”
• What does Meursault feel guilty about in this
sentence?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Thomas Perez: Maman’s boyfriend at the home.
• Page 91: ‘You understand, I was too sad. So I didn’t
see anything. My sadness made it impossible to see
anything.”
• What is ironic about “seeing” and sadness and
Meursault?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Celeste: Owner of the restaurant Meursault often
visited.
• Page 93: “…but it was the first time in my life I ever
wanted to kiss a man.”
• What is Meursault finally feeling here, that he’s
never felt before?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Celeste: Owner of the restaurant Meursault often
visited.
• Page 93: “…but it was the first time in my life I ever
wanted to kiss a man.”
• What is Meursault finally feeling here, that he’s
never felt before?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Predict the definition of “Procurer”?
Book II, Chapter 3
• Predict the definition of “Procurer”?
• noun
• noun: procurer; plural noun: procurers
• 1. a person who obtains a woman as a prostitute for
another person.
• Watch “Ice t meets pimpbot”
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 96: “Come now, is my client on trial for
burying his mother or killing a man?”
• What is worst according to the law? Killing a man
or not crying at his mother’s funeral?
Book II, Chapter 3
What is absurdism?
Book II, Chapter 3
What is absurdism?
• Absurdism: A belief that our need for meaning is greater
than the ability of the universe to be meaningful, making all
philosophical positions absurd.
– For instance, the man’s wife, who is sad, wants an “answer” for his
bizarre death. Absurdism says the universe will NOT give her
answers. She has to figure it out.
Absurdism:
“Everything happens for a reason.”
Book II, Chapter 3
Turn to page 95
2nd to last line, starting with, “I was his friend and
accomplice.”
97: This is the page Meursault finally awakes from his
slumber. He is awake. The light has flashed him
awake.
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 101: “’Especially when the emptiness of a
man’s heart becomes, as we find it has in this man,
an abyss threatening to swallow up society.’
• Watch youtube clip “Epidemic…”:
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mbbvncks9c
• How does this “emptiness” describe the teenagers
from this clip? Use existential terms if needed.
– Example: “Emptiness in this context means
___________. It relates to the teens by ____________.
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 103: “He rushed through a plea of
provocation, and then he too talked about my soul.
But to me he seemed to be a lot less talented than
the prosecutor.”
• Absurdity in the law as it tries to establish morality
for society: Watch “Johnny Cochran…”
Book II, Chapter 3
• Turn to page 104, the first line: “‘I, too’ he said.”
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 104: “I am amazed that so much as been made
of this home. For after all, if it were necessary to
prove the usefulness and importance of such
institutions, all one would have to say is that it is
the state itself that subsidizes them.”
• What is Camus saying about the role of government
in providing morality, if it supports the following
clip?
• Watch “Horrific 96…”
Book II, Chapter 3
• Page 107: Watch Guillotine
Book II, Chapter 4
• Page 107: “It seemed to me then that I could
interpret the look on the faces of those present; it
was one of almost respectful sympathy. The
policemen, too, handled me very gently. The lawyer
placed his hand on my wrist.”
• What is the irony here with Meursault’s situation?
Use the word “sympathy” or “remorse”.
Book II, Chapter 5
• 109: “What really counted was the possibility of
escape, a leap of freedom, out of the implacable
ritual, a wild run for it that would give whatever
chance for hope there was.”
• Watch “Philippine Prisoners…”
• When you escape prison, are you truly free? Why
or why not?
Book II, Chapter 5
• Turn to page 112: “There were two other things…”
Book II, Chapter 5
• 114: “Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that
when and how doesn’t matter.”
• Watch “Steve Jobs…”
• This is an existential crisis. What argument can you
make with Meursault about this statement, using
Steve Jobs as your back up?
Book II, Chapter 5
• 115 “Anyway, after that, remembering Marie mean
nothing to me. I wasn’t interested in her dead.
That seemed perfectly normal to me, since I
understood very well that people would forget me
when I was dead.”
• Who in your family or circle of friends has passed in
the last 10 years?
• Did it matter that they lived?
• Why?
Book II, Chapter 5
• Turn to page 115: “It was at that exact moment…”
Book II, Chapter 5
• 117: “But if you don’t die today, you’ll die
tomorrow, or the next day. And then the same
question will arise. How will you face that terrifying
ordeal?” I said I would face it exactly as I was facing
it now.”
• Have you asked yourself the Steve Jobs question
today? “If this were your last day, are you doing
what you’re supposed to be doing?”
• What is your answer?
Book II, Chapter 5
• 117: “At that he stood up and looked me straight in
the eye. It was a game.”
• What is the religious figure in this moment?
• Watch: Conan O’Brien Staring Contest.
Essay Assignment
Take out a piece of paper
Label the paper “On My Own Question for Book II
Chapter 2.”
Practice Thesis
1. Use the terms of existentialism to come
up with an “on my own question” based
on the text up to chapter 2, Book II.
Examples: Is it possible to achieve a deeper
sense of awareness and vitality after
committing a vicious crime?
10 minutes
Thesis Stage I
Thesis: Answer to your “On Your Own Question.”
Example: Is it possible to achieve a deeper sense of
awareness and vitality after committing a vicious
crime?
Thesis: By committing a vicious crime, one can find
a deeper awareness of life and live more fully.
5 minutes
Thesis Stage II
Add some “FATT” (Focus-Author-Title-Text) to your
thesis.
Thesis: In the novel (text), The Stranger (Title), by
Albert Camus (author), it is shown that (Focus): by
committing a vicious crime, one can find a deeper
awareness of life and live more fully.
Evidence
Find two quotes that support your thesis
Write down entire passage
Cite page number
*(If you are daring, find a passage that contradicts your
thesis but use logic and reasoning to take that quote
apart. Use the “counter-argument” method.)
15 Minutes
When you are finished, turn in the paper in the back.
Evidence
Write your thesis on the center diamond.
(Use “Transience Essay” template for this section)
Essay Assignment
Take out your “On My Own Question for Book II
Chapter 2.”
This paper has your thesis and evidence.
Evidence
• Question: Can you stay emotionally protect yourself from being
hurt by not attaching yourself to others?
• Thesis: In the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, it is
demonstrated how it is impossible to be safe from emotional
harm, even if one is withdrawn to protect oneself and not
attached to others.
• Quote:
• Page 90: “It was then I felt a stirring go through the room and
for the first time I realized that I was guilty.”
• Page 89: “…for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to
cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me.”
Evidence
Make a BROAD statement of your thesis.
Thesis: In the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus,
it is demonstrated how it is impossible to be safe
from emotional harm, even if one is withdrawn to
protect oneself and not attached to others.
Broad Statement: Safety is a human lie.
Evidence
Make a BROAD statement of your thesis.
Example:
“My brother David is a jerk.” (Too specific)
Make this a broader statement of family.
“Family life is difficult to sustain.”
Evidence
In pairs, make a BROAD statement of the following
statements:
Teenagers are caught in a dilemma, where they
have the body and intelligence of adults, but don’t
have the experience for wisdom.
Evidence
In pairs, make a BROAD statement of the following
statements:
Mothers are overly strict, fathers are overly aloof,
and siblings make it an objective to interfere with
your goals.
Evidence
In pairs, make a BROAD statement of the following
statements:
Being close to death can bring an enlightenment, a
way of seeing the truth that can bring a type of
freedom.
Evidence
In pairs, make a BROAD statement of the following
statements:
Teenagers can go to college, trade school, or go
straight to work.
Evidence
• Safety is a human lie. Whether one is avoiding
physical harm or emotional harm, the act of
withdrawing from risk and hiding from harm
ensures a type of harm that reaches all of us. By
not loving others, one might think they are
avoiding the risk of rejection or abandonment,
but in reality this risk opens the door for other
types of emotional risk: that of an emotional
death caused by a lack of attachment. In the
novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, it is
demonstrated how it is impossible to be safe from
emotional harm, even if one is withdrawn to
protect oneself and not attached to others.
Introduction
Write an introduction, starting the paragraph with a
“broad statement” of your thesis.
Introduction
Growth is a process of life. Like a butterfly, growth
comes at a cost, usually some sort of pain. One sort
of pain is emotional, sometimes a state of
nothingness can flatten you. But this flattening only
makes the space for improvement and growth.
Thesis: In The Stranger, by Albert Camus, it is
demonstrated that by reaching the state of
nothingness, you will ultimately grow as a person.
Evidence
Moves For The Stranger Essay
1. Broad Statement
2. Thesis
3. Introduction to Quote
4. Quote
5. Mean
6. Matter
7. Transition
8. Introduction to quote (Can be merged with Transition)
9. Quote
10. Mean
11. Matter
12. Conclusion
Moves 1-6
(Move #3 Intro to quote) Meursault, the main character
of the novel, is on trial for killing an Arab, and at some
point he feels a shift in guilt. (Move #4 Say)“It was then I
felt a stirring go through the room and for the first time I
realized that I was guilty” (90). (Move #5 Mean) This
quote demonstrates the remorse Meursault is beginning
to feel for his actions. (Move #6 Matter) In this case,
this human quality of remorse fights its way past
Meursault’s numbed state of being, the pain of remorse
ultimately finding its way to Meursault’s heart.
Emotional protection is a mirage which cannot shelter
Meursault from feeling pain.
FINISH MOVES 1-6 BY THE END OF THE PERIOD
Moves 1-10
(Move #3 Intro to quote) Meursault, the main character of the novel, is on trial
for killing an Arab, and at some point he feels a shift in guilt. (Move #4 Say)“It
was then I felt a stirring go through the room and for the first time I realized
that I was guilty” (90). (Move #5 Mean) This quote demonstrates the remorse
Meursault is beginning to feel for his actions. (Move #6 Matter) In this case,
this human quality of remorse fights its way past Meursault’s numbed state of
being, the pain of remorse ultimately finding its way to Meursault’s heart.
Emotional protection is a mirage which cannot shelter Meursault from feeling
pain.
(Move #7 Transition) Not only does pain of remorse find its way into
Meursault’s life, the pain of rejection and alienation also can find its way
through the severe detachment. (Move #8 Intro to quote #2) This
persistence if shown in court, when Meursault is being watched (Move #9 Say)
“…for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel
how much all these people hated me” (89). (Move #10 Mean) This quote
reveals how Meursault changed from an emotionless ameoba to a
remorseful human being. (Move #11 Matter) In other words Meursault’s
emotional vulnerabilities could not be protected, and in the end, close to
death, he was not able to escape emotional pain.
Moves 1-11
(Move #3 Intro to quote) Meursault, the main character of the novel, is on trial for killing an Arab,
and at some point he feels a shift in guilt. (Move #4 Say)“It was then I felt a stirring go through the
room and for the first time I realized that I was guilty” (90). (Move #5 Mean) This quote
demonstrates the remorse Meursault is beginning to feel for his actions. (Move #6 Matter) In this
case, this human quality of remorse fights its way past Meursault’s numbed state of being, the
pain of remorse ultimately finding its way to Meursault’s heart. Emotional protection is a mirage
which cannot shelter Meursault from feeling pain.
(Move #7 Transition) Not only does pain of remorse find its way into Meursault’s life, the pain of
rejection and alienation also can find its way through the severe detachment. (Move #8 Intro to
quote #2) This persistence if shown in court, when Meursault is being watched “…for the first
time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people
hated me” (89). (Move #9 Mean) This quote reveals how Meursault changed from an
emotionless ameoba to a remorseful human being. (Move #10 Matter) In other words
Meursault’s emotional vulnerabilities could not be protected, and in the end, close to death,
he was not able to escape emotional pain.
(Move #11 Conclusion) This type of pain is avoided at all costs in our culture. From theme
parks to the instant gratification of smart phones, the culture tells us that we need to build
our lives purely on pleasure, not understanding that pain is essential to growth. We are
never truly safe. Natural disasters and human disasters, including cruel behaviors from those
we love, can always invade. But that is the beauty of living in the world. Opening ourselves
up to vulnerability allows for living in the world, open to not only pain but the highest forms
of joy. In our lives, the doors should be open for all guests.
Your Phone is Not Your Lover
Rules of phone exposure and general courtesy in Mr. Kim’s
class:
1. If your phone is out when I am talking, and you are texting,
or looking at it, or sliding your finger across the screen, I will
call your parent and say, “Your child was rude to me in
class.” I will not stop class and let your disrespect interrupt
the rest of the students, I will simply call them after school.
2. Phones will ONLY be used when you need them for
assignments and polls.
3. If you interrupt me with inappropriate comments, I will call
your parents and say, “Your child was rude to me and
his/her classmates.”
Therapy Assignment
Write a “therapy letter” for Meursault.
It is due on the beginning of class on Thursday,
1/30/2014.
Therapy Assignment
Start with an outline. Make a list:
RUBRIC
• You must highlight 3 aspects of existentialism or absurdism.
– Look up the powerpoints online and look for 3 aspects of existentialism…you
can even use the videos!
• You must offer 3 suggestions for Meursault.
– Look up methods to “attach” in therapy online. Or come up with your own
creative suggestions.
• You must reference 3 occurrences from the novel, “The Stranger.”
– Review the novel and look for 3 moments Meursault acts “strange.”
Therapy Assignment
Dear Meursault,
RUBRIC
• You must highlight 3 aspects of existentialism or absurdism.
– Life is pointless because we all die eventually.
• You must offer 3 suggestions for Meursault.
– Look up methods to “attach” in therapy online. Or come up with your own
creative suggestions.
• You must reference 3 occurrences from the novel, “The Stranger.”
– Review the novel and look for 3 moments Meursault acts “strange.”