Journal #17

I plan on focusing on the setting of the beach or the symbolic-ness (?) of the water and the effect it has on Meursault. My fallback will probably be Salamano, his dog and Meursault if this ends up being a bad idea.

Tentative Thesis: Albert Camus uses the setting of the beach in The Stranger to represent freedom from societal expectations. Meursault's unorthodox actions at the beach illustrate how individuals require a catalyst in order to transcend societal norms. (uh. I need help with Camus' message about the human experience)

1) "I even said, 'It's not my fault.' He didn't say anything. Then I thought I shouldn't have said that. After all, I didn't have anything to apologize for. He's the one who should have offered his condolences" (3).

2) "I wanted to hang up right away because I know the boss doesn't like people calling us from town" (40).

3) I had a hard time getting up, because I was tired from the day before. [...] I decided to go for a swim. I caught the streetcar to go to the public beach down at the harbor" (19).

4) "I had a hard time waking up on Sunday, and Marie had to call me and shake me. We didn't eat anythiing because we wanted to get to the beach early" (47).
          Meursault put aside his physical desire for food to go to the beach.

5) "Masson, Raymond, and I talked about spending August together at the beach, sharing expenses" (52).

6) "When [Raymond] said he was going down to the beach, I asked him where he was going. [...] Masson and I said we'd go with him. But that made him angry and he swore at us. Masson said not to argue with him. I followed him anyway" (55).

7) "'Should I let him have it?' I thought that if I said no he'd get himself all worked up and shoot for sure. All I said was, 'He hasn't said anything yet. It'd be pretty lousy to shoot him like that. [...] But if he doesn't draw his knife, you can't shoot. [...] [T]ake him on man to man and give me your gun'" (56).

8) "I could see the small, dark mass of rock surrounded by a blinding halo of light and sea spray. I was thinking of the cool spring behind the rock. I wanted to hear the murmur of its water again, to escape the sun and the strain and the women's tears, and to find shade and rest again at least. But as I got closer, I saw that Raymond's man had come back" (57).

9) "It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it. But the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on my back" (58).

10) "I was about to say that that was precisely because they were criminals. But then I realized that I was one too. It was an idea I couldn't get used to" (69-70)

11) "I would suddenly have the urge to be on a beach and to walk down to the water. As I imagined the sound of the first waves under my feet, my body entering the water and the sense of relief it would give me, all of a sudden I would feel just how closed in I was by the walls of my cell" (76).

12) "'[T]hat's exactly why you're in prison. [...] They've taken away your freedom.' I'd never thought about that. I agreed. 'It's true,' I said. 'Otherwise, what would be the punishment?' (78).

13) "I moved closer to the window, and in the last light of day I gazed at my reflection one more time" (81).

14) "Since we're all going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter. Therefore (and the difficult thing was not to lose sight of all the reasoning that went into this 'therefore'), I had to accept the rejection of my appeal" (114).

15) "So close to death, Maman must have felt free then and ready to live it all again. Nobody, nobody had the right to cry over her. And I felt ready to live it all again too. [...] [F]or the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened to the gentle indifference of the world" (122).

If this is a bad idea, what if I went along the lines of "Meursault and Salamano are the same in regards to their acts of violence but they are judged differently by society because of their emotions."