Alrighty, I’m back to report more on our lovely friend Monsieur Meursault. So I completely glazed over this detail in my last blog post but he’s got himself a little girlfriend named Marie. Now I know it really isn’t my place to judge but I’m starting to notice an interesting trend (for lack of a better word). It appears that Meursault’s only idea of a date goes about the following:
Go to the beach with Marie
Frolick in the water until they end up making out on the beach
Scurry back to his place with tunnel vision for one thing in mind
Do said “one thing”
Get up in the middle of the night to smoke a cigarette on the balcony
Wake up mid-morning and maybe eat brunch.
Now that I’ve clarified a typical “date night” for Meursault and Marie…I’m going to judge…sorry. At this point in the book thus far I have not identified one redeeming quality of Meursault except that he at least had the decency to take the time to travel for his mother’s funeral. I feel like he’s just living life by the waves of the wind and hardly has much morality or direction. I’m just starting the part of the book where the murder case goes down and Meursault will eventually be arrested so I’m thinking that perhaps these circumstances may change him. While I’m only moderately interested in this book at the moment, I know I need to push through, even if it’s just to make sure the guy who abuses his dog gets some kind of karma.
To catch everyone up, the book I am reading for the second semester is “The Stranger,” by Albert Camus. I’m already a few chapters into it and all I can say is that these characters are crazy. For starters, the main character, Meursault, has a boss who lacks a single ounce of human emotion. When Meursault had to take time off for his mother’s funeral, his boss’ first reaction wasn’t “Oh no, I’m sorry to hear about that” or “I’ll be praying for your family.” Instead, it was an “inconvenience” for the funeral to occur when it did like we all have a choice when we die *insert eye roll*. Now don’t even get me started about Meursault’s neighbor, Salamano. So this guy has a dog, a sweet little spaniel, who is obviously infested with mange, and not only does Salamano refuse to get the dog treated, but he physically and mentally abuses the dog. And what does Meursault do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He just walks on by his neighbor, giving him a cordial greeting like it’s perfectly normal to casually hurt animals. Anyway, if you thought that was bad, you better hold on to your head because nothing could prepare you for the jerk that is Raymond Sintés. I mean I already knew I was in for some insanity when he said “You see, Monsieur Meursault, it’s not that I’m a bad guy, but I have a short fuse.” If you have to justify your bad behavior then I think you’re the issue. Well, this guy is loaded and he uses his ample amount of money on mistresses. One mistress, in particular, was apparently “cheating on him.” (I think Raymond needs his memory refreshed on what a mistress is) So, he gets all bent out of shape because he gives money to said mistress as an allowance, and she “repays” him by cheating. He then decides that it is appropriate to beat her until she bleeds. And to no one’s surprise, Meursault does nothing about it.
Phew. That was a lot. I don’t really like any of the characters in the book so far, but I’m just interested to see what becomes of them, especially the one who abuses his dog. 🙁 I have also been thinking about the kind of influence these people may end up having on Meursault since he is around them so much. I really want to hold out hope for his character, but my hope is wavering as the book goes on.
Seeking someone who understands when they are wrong, is willing to smoke a cigarette outside in the middle of the night, and enjoys sleepovers at my place 😉
With over half of the school year completed, I have a lot to think about. I’ve applied to colleges, finished marching band, taken plenty of AP Calc tests, watched “Gone with the Wind” more times than I care to admit, committed to Clemson, and cried about leaving my dogs for said, Clemson. Oh, and I suppose I should add AP Lit to that list too.
Looking back on the first semester, I would say that I am pretty satisfied with my performance in this class. Putting grades aside, I believe I demonstrated Habits of Success by always coming to class prepared and doing all of my work with integrity and craftsmanship. But amidst my apparent success, there is also “SparkNotes: Frankenstein” in my browser history and an increased heart rate whenever someone mentions “FRQ.” At the beginning of the year, I set the goal to fully read all of the texts in AP Lit. However, as I’ve gone along, I have not only fallen short of that plan but realized what works for me, personally. While I was reading my first choice book, “The Jungle,” I began by reading every word of every page of every chapter. Who cares what the words actually were or what they were saying as long as I could say I read the book! As it turns out, I care, especially when I was trying to write a blog post about it. So, after trying to write a post based on the memory of reading and not the memory of what I was reading, I changed my strategy. I began to skim the chapters while mentally logging any important events or details. Then, I headed to my handy dandy SparkNotes and read chapter summaries to ensure I did not miss anything. Although I strayed away from what I had originally wanted to do, I am content with my decision if it means that I better understand the text and can thoroughly reflect upon it later on.
Although I only slightly increased my SLO Midterm score from what it was at the beginning of the year, I’m honestly still pretty happy with it. It is well in the passing range and that’s enough for me. I recognize that I still need to work on poetry analysis since I have a tendency to miss out on how pieces of the poem fit into a bigger picture. Also, on another note, I think I’ve found my superpower. Somehow, I have the ornate ability to narrow down multiple-choice questions to two answers, pick the correct one, think about it, convince myself it is the other answer, change it, and subsequently get it wrong. Moral of the story? Trust your gut, because statistically speaking, your gut is more reliable.
Let’s talk lit now. Overall, I enjoy the class as much as I can, considering I am not an avid reader. While I never thought I would say this, I have found a real-world application of English class in the form of constantly considering the deeper meaning of things. Even when I watch movies, I find myself over-analyzing the little details, like the props or even the outfit choices. All of this is to say that I have gained a greater appreciation for artists of all kinds, as their work is more than just simply putting words on paper, slathering paint across a canvas, or reading lines aloud. As far as what I want to accomplish in the second semester, I think I am going to focus on maintaining my current habits and quality of work. It may not be my favorite class, but I have never allowed my personal attitude to interfere with my professionalism, and I intend to keep it that way.
Now just to be clear, the type of person and student that I am would never allow myself to simply not do my work or mindlessly skip school. However, as the days until graduation dwindles down, I can feel myself lose my patience with high school piece by piece. I’m at that point in a hike where the summit is so close, it’s almost tangible, but your legs are weary and you’re almost out of provisions. I know that this is the time when I just have to take a deep breath and push through. But in all honesty, with college on the horizon, and a major that will have me deep in the trenches of math and science, it’s hard to keep AP Lit as a priority. So, as I am in the final stretch of my high school journey, I suppose I will strive for balance now. Balance in living in the now and preparing for the future.
In my wonderful eighteen years (plus one month) on this Earth, I’ve found myself chasing so many different goals and ideals thinking that they would fulfill me, just like how Frankenstein constantly pursues his next big scientific achievement. And just like the Creature, I have hoped for things and worked for things that in the end, did not happen. For two consecutive band seasons, I took lessons and practiced all spring with the goal of becoming drum major in mind. However, fate had different plans, and both times, I was not chosen. I also chased after relationships that I thought would fulfill me, only to be taken advantage of and betrayed. I guess what I am trying to say is that while you can chase every goal and aspiration, at some point you just find yourself exhausted and realize that only yourself can truly fulfill you.
As I go into 2024, I am so excited to go to college in the fall and be in a new environment. I am looking forward to meeting new people and starting to study a field that I am thrilled to one day have a career in. But the real challenge will be living away from my dogs while I am in college 🙁
Characters in literature allow readers to study and explore a range of values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and cultural norms represented by those characters.
So, at this point, Jurgis has gone through every type of luck possible. I mean he’s gone from a meager factory worker to a homeless widower to a high-up crime boss and now, back to an unemployed hobo. While I kind of want to feel bad for him, he abandoned his children and ran away to become an alcoholic, which isn’t really “father-of-the-year” material. Now what piques my interest is how his values and morals have changed so drastically since he immigrated to America. Though I definitely do not condone any of the careless actions he has made thus far, I do believe that the circumstances of the ruthless capitalistic society of the time have tainted the positive motives he once had.
I’m starting to think that whatever care these immigrant parents once had for their children is slowly beginning to dissipate with each chapter I read. When I found out that Teta Elzbieta’s youngest son, Kristoforas, had fallen ill and died, I was shocked, but most definitely not surprised. I would say that he had started his life off on the wrong “foot,” but given that he was incapable of walking due to a congenital disease, I don’t think that would make much sense. Anyway, the feelings and dialogue that follow his death are nothing short of unimaginable, at least for someone like me. Perhaps it is because I have never had to endure such an experience, which I am grateful for, but it nonetheless baffles me how one could feel the way his family and friends felt about his death. The only one who showed emotion was his mother, Teta Elzbieta. Aside from her, everyone felt relief following his death, as he was seen as a burden because he was ill and unable to work. This paints an obvious picture that families felt that their children’s value was merely another source of income. I found this to be an interesting concept as it closely relates to the principles of capitalism and Darwinism that are presented throughout the entire book thus far. The idea that humans are only valuable for what they can provide and that only the strongest or smartest will survive in the end has clearly been engrained in the minds of Kristoforas’ family. While I wish that they may come across a change of heart and find some morals, I now know better than to get my hopes up in this book.
If you are not already aware, the book I am reading, “The Jungle,” represents a sort of metaphor for the brutality and wild nature of the meat-packing industry. Now as much as I love a nice steak, I think I like to forget that the meat has to come from somewhere. And unfortunately, one of those sources is cows.
I know…I know…go ahead and take a moment to wipe your tears and mourn the loss of such precious animals. If it makes you feel any better, Teta Elzbieta, Ona’s stepmother, was oblivious to the entire practice! As I was reading this portion of the book, I appreciated its setup into the “meat” of the story. The “meat,” being actual meat, ironically. As the cows and many other animals are “pressing on to their fate, all unsuspicious — a very river of death,” a connection is faintly made to the sneaky practices of the meat packaging business. We are introduced to one of the Packingtown guides where it is stated that “they don’t waste anything here.” Maybe it is different because I already know the context of the story, but I think that Sinclair still does an effective job of implying that something more sinister is going on. I guess what I’m trying to say is that as unfornate as it is that so many innocent animals are being ruthlessly slaughtered for profit, I am eager to see how Sinclair develops the plot and builds upon the theme of unethical workplace practices
Okay, I am disgusted at the conditions these people are forced to live in. Sinclair did not hold back when he described their “made” town. He mentioned “hollows of stinking green water” where the children played. Not only is that utterly unsanitary, but it makes me think about how they will grow up believing this is normal and acceptable. I know that revealing the flaws in America is partially the point of the book, but I still cannot shake away the thought of how they are essentially set up for failure from the start. I think that Sinclair needed to expose these types of living conditions because from what I can infer, I do not believe the residents would put up a fight themselves. Up until this point, we are given some backstory to Ona and Jurgis’ life back in Lithuania which is obviously not the place anyone would want to be. Jurgis was so determined to move him and his betrothed to America that he spent months away working in dangerous conditions just to afford the fare. The risks that they took just to end up living in a dump yard makes me realize how fortunate I am to not have had to make those kind of sacrifices for freedom.
So far, I’ve been really invested in the character, Ona, whose personality seems to be unraveling to me piece by piece. At first, I thought she was only marrying her now husband, Jurgis, just for the sake of being betrothed. I mean, at one point in the book she was even talking about how “wonderful it was to have a husband, just like a grown woman.” I wondered if she even really loved Jurgis, especially since she was only 15 when she got married. Now that age almost gave me a heart attack when I first read it, but then I had to reground myself and remember the societal norms of the time. I think my biggest issue was that I felt like she only saw him as a tool so that she did not have to do any work. She described him as “a husband who could solve all problems, and was so big and strong!” I had some suspicions about this whole relationship until I got to the scene at the end of their wedding night, where the narrator spoke of how everyone must return to work the next morning. Even Ona and Jurgis, despite their newlywed status. However, as Jurgis carried the exhausted Ona home in his arms, which in itself was just so heartwarming, he told her that she should not go to work the following day so that she could rest. But what surprised me the most, and what gave me some hope for Ona’s character, was when she protested the idea, claiming that “it will ruin us!” Her concern for the well-being of both her and Jurgis was such a redeeming event for her and it makes me eager to see how she develops, especially now that she is a wife.
