The Stranger and Camus' Absurdism

Camus was a self-proclaimed "absurdist." Based on The Stranger and Meursault’s beliefs, how would you define "the absurd"? What role do concepts like "detachment," "alienation," "acceptance," and "society" play? How is absurdity reflected in (a) the events in Meursault’s life, (b) the relationships Meursault finds himself in, and (c) the attitudes with which Meursault faces, and subsequently rejects, the world?  As always, use evidence to support your interpretations. 

The Stranger and the Weather

How does the weather - in particular the sun - affect Meursault’s mood and behavior? As always, use evidence to support your interpretations. 

The Stranger Book 2 Discussion: Meursault the Monster?

To what extent do Meursualt and his philosophy threaten “the universe” (122)?  Is Meursualt “the monster” and therefore rightfully imprisoned and punished; or is the “gentle” and “indifferent” universe and those in it “the monsters” for refusing to understand Meursualt’s plight (122)? Is he more or less dangerous than a criminal who commits a crime with clear motive? As always - use evidence to support your interpretations. 

The Stranger Book 1 Discussion: To Shoot or Not Shoot

Before he commits murder, Meursualt states,

The sun glinted off Raymond’s gun as he handed it to me.  But we just stood there motionless, as if everything had closed in around us.  We stared at each other without blinking, and everything came to a stop there between the sea, the sand, and the sun, and the double silence of the flute and the water.  It was then that I realized that you could either shoot or not shoot (56).

What are the implications of Meursualt’s realization that “you could shoot or not shoot,” and how do these implications inform us of Meursault’s approach to reality?  You might want to consider how Meursault’s declaration explains his attitude towards his family and friends and his behavior in his public and private lives.  As always - use evidence to support your interpretations.

The Stranger Essay Prompt

Below is your essay prompt for The Stranger and "The Wall". Feel free to use this post as a means to begin discussing ideas before we talk about the text as a whole class after break. 

Discuss how the knowledge of mortality affects the characters’ understanding of the realities in which they find themselves.  In other words, how does facing one’s own mortality change, reaffirm, or refute one’s understanding of reality (in this case life), and what is significant about this change, affirmation, or refutation? 

Reading Myself - a Poetry Explication (Make-Up Assignment)

Many of you chose not to participate on the poetry posts. I am going to assume it was an issue of time and studying for all those tests yesterday and therefore give you another chance. To earn credit for the poetry blog literary analysis, I ask that you take part in a discussion on the following poem over the break. This second chance is over on Sunday night, so don't wait too long to participate.


Reading Myself 

by Robert Lowell

[Note:  Parnassus is a mountain in Greece and, according to Greek myth, the seat of music and poetry.]

Like thousands, I took pride and more than just,

struck matches that brought my blood to a boil;

I memorized the tricks to set the river on fire—

Somehow never wrote something to go back to.

Can I suppose I am finished with wax flowers

And have earned my grass on the minor slopes of Parnassus. . .

No honeycomb is built without a bee

adding circle to circle, cell to cell,

the wax and honey of a mausoleum—

this round dome proves its maker is alive;

the corpse of the insect lives embalmed in honey,

prays that its perishable work lives long

enough for the sweet-tooth bear to desecrate—

this open book . . . my coffin.

Senior Selected Poems

Here are the poems selected by the groups to share with each other. Please choose at least one poem to help explicate through an online discussion (should be completed by Monday night) - remember, you are explicating as a group not providing a monologue, so your contribution should highlight one or two pieces of the poem and NOT try to deal with everything you notice. If no one happens to be engaging in the poem that you chose, find another discussion that interests you.

Of course - you could also participate in more than one poem. It definitely won't do you any harm, but it could do you some good.


"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley :  http://yorkapenggroup1.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"Oh Captain! My Captain" by Walt Whitman  :  http://apenglish2.blogspot.com/

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost  :  http://welovvvvebooks.blogspot.com/

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein  :  http://apenglishgroup3.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"Charge of the Light Brigade" by Lord Alfred Tennyson   :  http://bcp2g6.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"Alone" by Edgar Allan Poe  :  http://period2group5.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"The Heart of the Swag"  :  http://madsz4english.blogspot.com/p/poetry.html

"If-" by Rudyard Kipling  :  http://aplithardtimes.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe  :  http://aplitperiod8.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou  :  http://group5p8.blogspot.com/

"The Tiger" by William Blake  :  http://makeenglishfun8.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

"All the World's a Stage" by William Shakespeare  :  http://whereswaldo3.blogspot.com/search/label/Poetry

Quotes about Poetry

I strongly believe that poetry is a bit lost these days. Many people fear poetry; many people are never introduced to poetry (beyond Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein). I was thankfully introduced to poetry informally in middle school through a teacher of mine who just encouraged me to read poetry but not "study" it and then formally introduced in college and graduate school.

My experience with poetry is an interesting cycle I have discovered when talking through it with my students. One one hand, I would probably prefer to know poetry informally most days - to appreciate the beauty of the language on the surface level and to not delve too deeply into the larger meaning. With that said, I don't know if I was able to appreciate without first being taught techniques surrounding tone, diction, figurative language, etc. Having an comprehensive understanding of these things provided a new perspective on poetry that I think allows me to truly enjoy reading a poem, and it is that base knowledge I want to provide your students. I don't want them to be afraid of poetry but feel confident in their abilities.

Below are some quotes that I have come upon this year as I complete my own study on poetry while the students do as well. They are not necessarily my own philosophy, but they have peaked my interest for one reason or another.

"Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth."  ~Samuel Johnson

"One merit of poetry few persons will deny: it says more and in fewer words than prose." ~Voltaire

"Always be a poet, even in prose."  ~Charles Baudelaire

"Out of the quarrel with others, we make rhetoric; our of the quarrel with ourselves, we make poetry."  ~W.B. Yeats