The Stranger - QA

Now with quotes!

Those Other Two

This is a place for Meaghan and Spencer's projects. Sarah said she'd put hers online, so she's working on that.
But since Pamplemousse dearest is not a part of our blog and cannot make her own post, this is a place for her to comment on Spencers. And I guess Sarah's, since hers isn't up.

The Stranger Photo Essay

Here's my QA - if the link doesn't work right away i'm working on it - be patient. I don't have a facebook so I have to make do.

Margaret's Photos

Let the linkage ensue.

This above is a link to a facebook photo album. No, you do not need a facebook to follow it. It'll work for anybody as long as you have the internet which you obviously do if you're reading this.

Incidently, I'm typing this in notepad. Because Mozilla decdied that whenever I typed it would look something like this:

tltilwekot:siht ekil gnihems ool dluow ti deypt I revenh taht dedicded lazoM esuaceB .dapeton ni sih gnipyt m'I ,ynedcnI

That was me just typing the last legible sentance over again. It's some weird mixture of going to the left instead of the right while typing and occasionally going to the right regardless. Anybody have any idea why it's doing that? (It was unbelievably difficult to get the title right, too. Because spaces changes it. Besides the random changes. BAH I say, bah.)

But anyway. If you have a facebook, feel free to comment on individual photos there. If you don't or you don't want to or you don't care, feel free to make any comments you have about them here. Individual photos or the entire thing. Either way, either way.
Cheers-

Stranger Photo Post!

This posting system is so ridiculous, it makes no sense. It seems to be utterly retarded when it comes to copying and pasting.
Anyway, photos for you guys. Just a simple trio, with some Photoshopping for spice. If needed, I'll edit the post later with my explanations of the photos themselves, but right now I just want to make sure it works.
(ETA 11/14: Now with my explanations, because I'll be at Umass Dartmouth today and can't present in person. I've left a hard copy on your desk, Mrs. Richardson.)

"It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work tomorrow, and that, really, nothing had changed."

(Camus 24)

This photo represents Meursault standing at his mother's grave (say hi to Mrs. Richardson's legs!), and reflecting that nothing has really been made any different in his life overall by his mother's death. The photo was greyscaled to represent the world through Meursault's eyes at this point - largely uninteresting and bland. It can also represent a flashback of sorts.

"The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt; and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, is where it all started... I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I'd been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness."

(Camus 59)

This photo represents the death of the Arab on the beach. The sepia tone is a step up from greyscale, but isn't color just yet (the yellow tone also helps represent the sun). What is in color is the Arab's blood, dripping down his (really my) arm. The streak of blood represents the first crack in Meursault's content little world.

"Then, in the dark hour before dawn, sirens blasted. They were announcing departures for a world that now and forever meant nothing to me."

"For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate."

(Camus 122; 123)

This photo represents Meursault's cell, in which he has the most profound thoughts of the book (Although, to be fair, the majority of his prior thoughts are extremely simple by contrast). He is actually acknowledging that he is condemned to death, yet at the same time he insists that it doesn't matter to him. Nevertheless, this photo is in full color, because he is the most alive while awaiting his death.

Phil Ochs

Okay. So, this is a comic. Kind of about minimalism, but not really. That doesn't matter. The dialogue matters. Because it reminded me vaguely of a conversation we had in class about perspective. And how you can't really know if one person's blue is your purple. And basic thoughts that one doesn't even think about have a great effect on thoughts people realize they're having. Or did I just make that up?

Anyway, I though I'd share it. And I think Spencer would like it, if he ever looks at this place.
Cheers-

(Oh, I forgot- Phil Ochs is a protest/folk singer. I've never listened to a song, but I think I might. The dialogue is somewhat stolen from one of his songs.)

So, now that i have connections...

Happy birthday!

Comments on The Stranger

Check out Advanced Lit Survey's blog and comment on the two post about Sartre and
The Stranger's Merseult. Click on this post's title to link to their blog.

Grendel

While watching the movie I realized something.
Grendel is not described very much in Beowulf. And even in Grendel, he is not described that much.

In Beowulf, it is known that Grendel is strong, magically deflective towards normal weapons, lives in a cave, is the son of an aquatic/amphibious mother, has claws. Anything else?
He could be like a crab, like a bear, like a troll, like a human. Nothing much is really know besides his actions.

In Grendel, he is assumed to be furry. His mother is furry. They live in a partially-submerged cave (one has to pass through the fire-snake water to get in). He is rather whiny. He still kills people. He gains the magic against weapons from the dragon and did not have it before.

In the movie, Grendel is a Gollum-like creature. He is almost(?) hairless. He is actually sexless. He is Hrothgar's son. He has sensitive ears that apparently only started to bother him when he is grown. He is huge. He is strong.

...
just wanted to point it out.
i'll have some pictures in a bit.
maybe.
i really should finish my essay first.

THIS POST IS JENNIE'S FAULT

TODAY'S POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY JENNIE AND BEOWULF. THAT'S WHY IT'S IN CAPSLOCK.

SO I TOLD JENNIE I WANTED TO DRAW AN EXTREMELY STUPID CARTOON BEOWULF. REALLY BADLY. SHE TOLD ME TO SCAN IT AND PUT IT HERE.

SO I DID. THIS HAD BETTER WORK.

ALSO, A BONUS FROM GRENDEL:

National Public Radio Movie Review

Click on title to review the review.

Boston Globe Review of Beowulf

Click on the title above to read review and tell us what you think.

Grendel's View of Beowulf

For Spencer's benefit, I've illustrated my post with a picture of Grendel. Somehow I feel that this depiction isn't too accurate though.

Grendel sees Beowulf as being insane - in some ways it seems that Grendel could even see Beowulf as not being human (for example when Grendel thinks that Beowulf suddenly has wings) although on pg. 169 Grendel refers to him as his "dear long-lost brother, kinsman-thane" and says "he is only a man."

In Beowulf, it says that Grendel was killed by Beowulf's extreme strength. However in Grendel Beowulf seems to win through his rhetorical tricks and brainwashing.

Grendel refuses to accept that Beowulf could possibly be stronger or smarter than he is. He continually reminds himself that Beowulf caught hold of him through trickery and accident. His last words echo this: "Poor Grendel's had an accident." He cannot believe that any living creature could get the better of him. He thought that he was immortal and this new realization is hard for him to believe.

Blake Reference

Grendel begins with a quote from Romantic poet William Blake: "And if the Babe is born a Boy/He's given to a Woman Old,/ Who nails him down upon a rock,/ Catches his shrieks in cups of gold." What does the quote mean and how does it relate to the novel? Mayb want to revisit it as you read each section....

Grendel vs. Frankenstein: Battle of the Monsters

Grendel and Frankenstein's monster exhibit some similarities, especially in the beginning of the novel, Grendel. What do you think?

Pick a passage

The meter and imagery in Beowulf is very different from modern English poetics (and remember to include Shakespeare in that modern category). What are your favorite lines? Why? Could be a cool image, description, etc. or maybe they're just fun to say (like HROTH-gar!)

Beowulf: the New Old Dark Knight or Just Some Weird Guy with Too Much Gold and Testosterone

OK -- time to travel back to freshman year, The Odyssey, the epic hero. What do you see in Beowulf that would still be considered "epically heroic" today? Will Beowulf replace the Dark Knight (Spencer...) in your pantheon of heroes? What is dated or downright bizarre in the poem for a modern reader?

Language Arts

The Miracle of Language book mentioned redundant words and the growth of a language.
I think that some of the redundant words he mentioned have changed their meaning so they would not sound correct without the second, technically redundant, word.
Also, there are some words that seem to come into existence as a family joke, but then you can notice that other people use the same word, or mispronunciation of a store. My father, for example, calls Target "tar-jay (soft 'j')" as if it was French. And when I was at one of my friends' house, I heard her father call it the same thing. It was weird.
Also, there are some words that become widely used and then pretty much disappear. I have a dictionary that states that "absquatulate" is slang.
Today I was chatting with my mum and the Mr.Dolan and I called somebody a slacker and he commented how that's such an old word that he hasn't heard for thirty years.
Did anybody else notice anything/ have any comments on this book?

-And if you're wondering, absquatulate is slang. It means "to make off, decamp, or abscond." It's just from the 1830s.

Why do the characters live in "solitude" and why 100 years?

Please comment on the role of solitude in 100 Years of Solitude and the use of 100 years to frame the beginning and end of the novel. Are we isolated by our individual inability to see and understand the people and world around us? Is it some other type of solitude Marquez is talking about? Is solitude the inevitabe fate of all individuals as it seems to be for these characters? Do any of the characters avoid the solitude which consumes most? Does the theme of solitude play out in any of the other novels/stories we read this summer?

100 Years of Solitude -- Paradise Lost?

Take a look at the Paradise Lost (John Milton) excerpt in your text and read the background info (page 465ish) or just think about the Biblical creation story. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a much more sprawling saga but do you see any parallels? Has Garcia Marquez created a modern Paradise Lost?

Please let me know what you think of this novel in general as well or ask any questions you have for the rest of us!

Speaking of monsters.....

Any responses to the other crazy murderers depicted in our summer reading? The Misfit? Alex? I'm still waiting for one of you to tell me why A Clockwork Orange deserves a place in the literary canon...

Frankenstein: Who do you love?

So what do you think of our friend Victor? Has he started to get on your nerves yet? Do you feel sorry for him? Or do you feel sorry for the monster?

Frankenstein

What is Shelley saying in this novel about human nature and what people need in life? Give evidence from what you've read.