The stranger essay

Exploring the language in The Stranger
-how the "simple" language makes the reader think Meursault is a simple character, but he is not. (translators note)

He's a man who does not care about love, prison, or death...does this seem like a simple man?

Using the language as evidence, is Meursault a simple or complicated character?

Translator's Note applied to text

Meursault is a stranger to the norm of society. He is an outsider, seemingly distanced from any emotional contact. However, a seemingly clear situation can be easily disguised by what seems different. In Meursault's case, he appears to be a man without a conscious who is detached from emotion. Even when his mother died, he appeard to be indifferent to the circumstance. "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." Although Meursault acts like he does not care about his mother's death, this is not the case. In fact, Meursault is an extremely complicated man; nevertheless, he can not effectively communicate his emotions, which is why he is such a confusing character. Consider one of his conversations with Marie. "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. She looked said." Normally, it is justified to consider Meursault as a simple man, considering detached response to Marie. However, his complexity is masked by his inability to communicate his emotions. The numerous pauses are not blank spaces in his head, they are filled with emotion and opinions, yet, Meausault's "problem" causes him to be unable to convey these feelings.

How writing style fits attitude

Meursault's short and decisive sentences reveals his own detachment from the outside world. In fact, even under the tragic circumstance of his mothers death, Meursault seems to not even care. "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know." His sentence structure demonstrates his unemotional attitude. If he had a normal reaction, he would react in a more emotional way filled with more description of the event. However, Meursault speaks in a "simple" style, not even aware of when his mother died. This seemly uninterested style effectively illustrates his apparent detachment.

Comparing Darwin with Agassi

Considering the intended audience of both Origin of Species and Open, both effectively let the reader into the mindset of the author. In fact, both works have a specific audience, which explains the writing style of each. While Darwin writes for a group of scientific elites, Agassi inspires many who are involved in tennis. For example, "I have now recapitulated the chief facts and considerations which have thoroughly convinced me that species have changed, and are still slowly changing by the preservation and accumulation of successive slight favorable variations" (Darwin). Darwin directly writes through his mindset to effectively justify his theories. He employs intellectual language, which responds well, considering the intended audience. Clearly, through his use of scientific terms and vocabulary, Darwin writes this solely for the interpretation of scientists. Morever, Agassi strives to inspire tennis players by illustrating his experiences around the game. "You don't actually hate tennis. Yes. But you don't hate hate it. I do. I hate it" (Agassi). Indeed, by recalling a conversation he had with his future wife, Agassi lets the reader directly into his mind and explains his thoughts. This style makes Agassi more relatable and the reader feels what he feels. They learn from his past mistakes and respond well to the text. Both Darwin and Agassi employ their unique style of writing in order to effectively reach the reader. 
 

Analyzing Style of Writing

One would have to consider an intended audience when analyzing writings such as Genesis and Darwin. That being said, while Genesis is intended for everyone with a religious belief, Darwin's work is meant for a select number of scientific enthusiasts. Thus, keeping in mind the audience, it is evident that Genesis effectively attempts to convey a story with a meaning. "And G-d said." This repetition adds flow to the writing, which makes it seem as though it is a story, appealing to a wide range of audiences. However, Darwin's syntax is more decisive and simply concludes a thesis with evidence. He does this because he is writing this for scientific nobles who positively respond to this style of writing. 

Ending of Metamorphosis

I did not really like the ending. We are taken on an emotion journey with Gregor, only to see him die at the end. To be honest, I was not surprised by the ending, I could tell something bad was destined to happen, yet I would have liked to see him live.

In-class writing quiz

Kafka illustrates Gregor's apparent contradiction of animal and human as a vehicle that reveals what the world would be like if humans demonstrated their true animalistic nature. He agrees with Freud's analysis of the id and immoral desires, yet he cleverly connotes this through Gregor's physical state of a bug and his family's reaction to this metamorphosis. In fact, Gregor's id is "reversed" and is shown on the exterior, instead of being buried deep inside his subconscious like a human. Despite his appearance, Gregor has human emotions on the inside, emotions that bugs cannot posses. For example, he has an emotional attachment to his sister's music. "And yet his sister was playing so beautifully...Was he an animal that music so captivated him?" (Kafka 45). If his appearance was not recognized, the reader would appreciate that Gregor has meaningful emotions. However, his emotional attachment to music often confuses the reader. Indeed, Kafka reminds the reader that Gregor is a bug and effectively demonstrates his animalistic desires. "However, his sister should not be compelled but would remain with him voluntarily...his sister would break out in tears of emotion, and Gregor would lift himself up to her armpit and kiss her throat..." (Kafka 45).  Freud would argue that these immoral desires are contained in the id and a human would choose to hide these emotions from the judgement of society; however, Kafka transforms Gregor into a bug to see what happens when one cannot hide their id. He goes on to prove that the outside world does not recognize what is on the inside of someone, all society does is judge what is on the outside. Thus, Kafka reveals Gregor's own family resenting him as he begins his ill-fated downfall. Initially, his parents completely ignore Gregor and rely on their daughter to take care of him. Eventually, his sister does not even have the will to take care of him. Indeed, this typical human reaction to what is believed to be the id in an physical state proves what humans would do if they were exposed to someone's id.