Literature Analysis #2

The Stranger by Albert Camus

1.  The Stranger by Albert Camus is divided into two parts.  The main character, Meursault, shows how his life starts to change from the time his mother died, to the time he is sentenced to death..  In the beginning of the novel, his mother dies.  He doesn’t show any emotions of grief at her funeral.  Meursault does not seem to care about anything though.  He helps Raymond take revenge on a girl.  Later, Meursault, Raymond, and their friend go to a beach house for a weekend where they meet two Arabs on the beach.  They all start to fight; Raymond is stabbed, Meursault takes the two Arabs out, and he shoots the person that hurt his friend.  The second part begins with Meursault explaining his arrest and his trial.  In the trial, Meursault does not show any emotions in court.  Meursault says that he was never able to fill remorse for his actions.  At the end, he is found guilty and is put to death. 

2. The theme of this novel is how life is meaningless.  Throughout the whole novel, Meursault has no care for anything.  Albert Camus says that life is the unavoidability of death.  Since everyone will eventually die, there is no meaning to life.

3. The author’s tone in the novel is very plain and detached to everything and everyone.

“We just sat there like that for quite a while.  The woman’s sighs and sobs were quieting down.  She sniffled a lot.  The finally she shut up.”

“He went down.  I was about to help him up but he started kicking me from there on the ground.  So I kneed him one and slugged him a couple of times.”

“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.”

4. The literary elements/techniques that help strengthened my understanding were:

Symbols: “The four o’clock sun wasn’t too hot, but the water was warm, with slow gently lapping waves.”

Diction: “He asked if I had felt any sadness that day.  The question caught me by surprise and it seemed to me that I would have been very embarrassed if I’d had to ask it.”

Syntax: “I could feel the blood pounding in my temples.  After that, everything seemed to happen so fast, so deliberately, so naturally that I don’t remember any of it anymore.”

Tone: “Maman died today.  Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.”

Characters: “…The strange feeling I had when I noticed that the young perfect reporter had turned his eyes away.  I didn’t look in Marie’s direction.  I didn’t have to…”

Tools That Change the Way We Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)



I think that technology is making it so we do not have to put much effort into things; it is making it easier for us.  The information the internet gives out, makes me want to know about a certain thing.  I also tend to remember more things because when I try to remember what I read I can think "Oh, that was before this happened."  Then I can concentrate better.  When I am learning at school, I do remember things, but I just want to learn the information, take the test, get a good grade, then I can forget about it.  Sometimes I do forget about the information, sometimes it does stay with me.  The ones that I do not care for, are the ones I usually forget.

In Search Of.

A) I learned that Facebook’s ads are based on what we “like”. I found that very interesting and a little weird. I still think it is interesting that two people can search the same thing and get different sites.
B) This information makes me of all the different results that could have been up, but isn’t there. I think of what I can be missing out on. I also think of what other people might get if we search the same thing.
C) A new question I have is if you can stop the filter bubbles when you want to.
D) To improve the effectiveness of searches, I can use different words and different search engines. I can also put quotation marks around the phrase for a certain result I want to find.


While I was searching William Shakespeare, keeping in mind the "filter bubble", I noticed that most of the search engines I used showed the same results for websites.  Since I do use Wikipedia frequently, that was why it was the first result most of the time.  

Notes on Hamlet

I have never read the novel Hamlet before.  The first time reading the play was very difficult for me.  I could barely read the words because it was in Old English, something I was not use to reading.  Now, reading the text of Hamlet has become easier to read.  I can understand what is going on in the play.  I didn’t know anything about the plot of Hamlet or any of the characters.  At the beginning of the play I thought that Hamlet was indecisive because of all his emotions.  But, by the end of Act III, Hamlet seemed to know what he wants.  He was able to function and do what he needed to do.  He killed Polonius without any hesitation.  He did think that Polonius was King Claudius, but he still did not stop or think twice about killing “the rat” behind the curtain.  I think that Hamlet will continue trying to kill Claudius without hesitation.

Who Was Shakespeare?

search engine: http://www.dogpile.com/

searched: who was shakespeare

urls: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

http://shakespeare.about.com/od/shakespeareslife/a/Biography.htm

William Shakespeare was a man that was born and raised in Stratford.  His birth date is still unknown.  He wrote many different plays, sonnets, and many different poems.  He is one of the greatest English writers in history.  His works were mostly comedies, historical events; his later years were mostly tragedies.  Shakespeare’s plays and poetry did not get well known until the 19^th century.

Most students’ think that Shakespeare’s work is hard to understand and boring.  I have to agree that at first, reading Shakespeare is difficult.  If you spend enough time reading and trying to understand what he is trying to say, then you have a better chance of interpreting what the words are saying.  I still have a hard time figuring out is going on in the text, but now that I have read Shakespeare before, it becomes easier to comprehend.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook?

Honestly, I thought that Facebook was boring.  You get on, see what everyone has been up too, tell them what you have been up too, and then get off.  Facebook helps people stay in contact with other people such as family and friends that you do not see very often.  Another benefit is getting a hold of someone you might not have their phone number, but you are friends with them on Facebook, so you can send them a message.  The main risk on having a Facebook is what you or someone else puts about you.  That can be a picture or what someone tags you in a status, or comment.

I already know what you should and should not put on Facebook, online in general.  I learned that kids that are twelve and under are using Facebook; 7.5 billion to be exact.  Yes, these kids should be careful on what goes on the internet, because there is the “digital footprint” that stays there.  The children ages twelve and under are probably putting certain information that should not be posted online.  That is when the "digital footprint" comes to play.  If they put certain things, that will always be there.

(Don't) Be Hamlet

Most people have thought or said the phrase “Oh, I can just die.”  People use that phrase very open and common now; but not in a serious manner.  This phrase is mostly used in an embarrassing moment or as simple as forgetting to do something important.  Hamlet’s dilemma, on the other hand, is very serious.  He wonders if he should keep living knowing that his own uncle killed his father, or just taking his own life away so he would not have to deal with his uncle’s sin or his father’s death. 

Hamlet should not end his life because there is an obstacle in his way.  He should overcome this obstacle in his life; which will make him stronger person.  People want their king to be a strong brave person, not someone who is afraid to take action or a king that doesn’t know what he should do.  When life gets tough, you don’t think about death, you try to get over it, even if it is just “slings and arrows”.  Hamlet killing himself would just mean that Claudius won the throne as king.  Hamlet has to try to be strong and even though he does not know what is right yet, I think that Hamlet will know what is right.

Yes, Hamlet feels betrayed by his own mother and his uncle Claudius.  Hamlet’s life is far from perfect, but it also is not the worst possible life to live.  In my opinion, Hamlet should think of his actions before he does it.  “To take arms against a sea or troubles…” Hamlet should take action on what he thinks is right.  Killing himself is not an answer.  But avenging his father’s death is.  The old King Hamlet deserves justice and his son can give that to him.  Hamlet can’t be afraid of living his life now that he knows his uncle was the one to kill his father.  People want a strong, brave king, which Hamlet can be if he can fix the wrong in his life.

There are many obstacles and dilemmas a person has to go through.  Hamlet’s dilemma whether to live or to die is an extreme dilemma.  Yes, other people may think that they should just die to make things easier, but death is not an answer.  Facing the problem is a way to make Hamlet a stronger person inside and out.