/lit/ - Literature

>>2934628
So if those sweat marks aren't damage, your words not mine, what's the problem?

i'll bet Saturn is awesome.

>>2934600
What is we only cared about what was inside the shell?
Or what if we could change the shell easily enough so that no one ever has to care about aesthetics again and fully focus on important things.

>>2934596
Wear gloves, or become a nihilist,
it doesn't really matter which.
Personally I love when my books get damaged, it means they have been read and loved.

>>2934585
It's all about the ghost man, the shell is just for show.
I never thought I would get a chance to use this image.

Fiddlesticks, I forgot to capitalize my 'I's.

Alright /lit/, I want to write a personal essay for class,
yeah yeah do your own homework,
and i was wondering, if i made the essay similar to the twilight zone, and used the opening monologue for the intro, what do I have to put in my works cited?

Prometheus bound.

>>2834605
I'll admit that it is a part of it, but I was also trying to say (but didn't really make clear) that they realized that Meursault is also the embodiment of their collective actions and they are basically putting their society on trail, if that makes any sense.

>>2834558
Thank you,
although I don't think I ever said they understood him, but rather he made them understand themselves.

Many of the witnesses acted emotionally only after having answered the questions, because after having to think about all of what has happened and what it means, they are horrified at what they realize; “It looked to me as if his eyes were glistening and his lips were trembling” (93). “Marie began to sob, saying it wasn’t like that”(94). “all of a sudden, he blurted out that I was innocent” (95). The witnesses who did not have as emotional of a reaction as tears or shouts were at the least uncomfortable talking about Meursault, they did not make eye contact or had a wavering voice, in any case all of the witnesses are not in support of this trail, and actively attempt to prove his innocence or at the very least remove their involvement with the crime and Meursault.
Because they fail to disprove anything or at the very least break the mirror so that they can pretend that any of it was ever true, Meursault is sent to his death and simply proves what everyone else had made themselves forget after the trial ended and Meursault was removed from their sight. With that fact Camus is trying to convey the notion that at the zenith of self awareness, people see that no matter what they do they will have and have had almost no effect on the outcome of their actions and nothing that they do can change that or the notion that everything comes to an end abruptly and is forgotten swiftly. Because this realization is at the highest point of someone’s self awareness, they will inevitably make themselves forget it, and return to a blissful ignorance, like Sisyphus and the rock.

But that isn’t all, because of all the death surrounding Meursault, when they see themselves in him they a reminded of their mortality. Because his mother recently died and he does not know when or how old she was they are reminded of how easily they will be forgotten after they die. Because he is on trial for killing a man when reacting to sun in his eyes they are reminded of how quickly they can die at any time for any reason. And because he is facing a death sentence they are reminded that they are going to die no matter what they do. When they look at him and they see themselves on trial they realize all of this and try to disprove the evidence to falsify what they realized or their involvement and show that Meursault is not a mirror and none of it applies to them.

When The witnesses did talk about Meursault in court, they were very unwilling to do so, often times the witnesses who were closer to him tried telling the court that the whole incidence is no one’s fault and that it should be overlooked; “The way I see it, it’s bad luck. Everybody knows what bad luck is” (92). “She was being made to say the opposite of what she was thinking, that she knew me and I hadn’t done anything wrong” (94). “Salamano kept saying, ‘You must understand.’” (95). Raymond said that my being at the beach was just chance” (95). All his friends tried as hard as they could to say that even though what they were saying was true, it also was no at the same time. Even his lawyer shouted at the court the blatant misrepresentation of the truth that was occurring; “Everything is true and nothing is true” (91). During the trial the witnesses are desperately trying to prove Meursault innocent or convince everyone that the whole event is a misunderstanding that should be dismissed entirely. The witnesses however, hardly care about Meursault, non, people are more selfish than that, the only reason that they deny that what they say is true or cry after answering the question is because Meursault is a mirror and when they look at him sitting on trial, they see themselves.

The questions posed to the witnesses were about things that they either told Meursault to do or things they did not discourage from doing; The caretaker told him it was alright if he did not want to see his mother, as well as accepting the cigarette he offered giving an indicator to Meursault it was alright to smoke there offered Meursault the coffee, Raymond invited him into his apartment and fed him calling him a pal afterwards, Salamano told him that it was fine that he put his mother in a home and that people knew Meursault loved her but could not take care of her, Marie was the one who wanted to see the comedy, and Celeste was supportive of anything he did and did not mind his distant attitude. Because the witnesses were all somewhat responsible for creating the evidence being used against Meursault makes the metaphorical mirror even more prominent at the time making the witnesses almost see themselves on trial instead of Meursault.

>>2834488
This is true, but I wanted to work in The myth of Sisyphus.
In the trial regarding Meursault’s murder of an Arab on a beach via the revolver he confiscated from Raymond to prevent said Arab from being shot, the evidence that is used to prove him guilty is obtained through the statements of his friends who were used as witnesses in the trial; “ I saw them stand up one by one, only to disappear again through the side door: the director and caretaker from the home, old Thomas Perez, Raymond, Masson, Salamano, and Marie. She waved to me, anxiously. I was still feeling surprised that I hadn’t seen them before when Celeste, the last one to be called, stood up” (86). Respectively they said that Meursault; did not want to see his mother, smoked and drank coffee at funeral, did not cry at funeral, was friends with Raymond, was an honest man, sent his mother to the home, saw a movie and went swimming the day of the funeral, and was a bit of a distant person. As a result of this information Meursault was deemed guilty and sentenced to death.

Meursault is a man who does not like to disappoint people not matter who they are, and always make at least an attempt to fulfill the wishes of anyone who asks him to.In the beginning of the book, he is a heavy smoker, often smoking with every meal and drink he has; “I was smoking Raymond’s cigarettes because I’d ran out” (31). But after the murder when he is being held in prison he is refused his cigarettes; “I had in my pockets, my cigarettes in particular. Once I was in my cell, I asked to have them back. But I was told I wasn’t allowed” (78). Later in the courtroom, he not only has the opportunity to smoke, but is offered a cigarette, something he has not once refused; “one of them offered me a cigarette, which I turned down” (82). Even the simplest request he carries out with determination, whether it be writing a threatening letter or marrying someone he doesn’t love. This provides the novel with a character that is a mirror of sorts that shows the people around him the consequences of their actions allows them to become more self aware by watching it unfold in front of them.

>>2834480
I'll post it by paragraph for you.
In L´Etranger by Albet Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, M. Meursault is a man who loses his mother, kills a man, and faces his own demise, all with relative ease. But for those around him watching the tragedy unfold, it is excruciatingly painful to watch on account of the protagonist’s calm and collected appearance through it all. Because Meursault does everything, which is asked of him by anyone without question or hesitation, he becomes a mirror of the society as a whole, showing the collective reflections of everyone’s wishes, allowing the entire society to see themselves in him. But because his mother had recently died, he killed a man on an impulse, and is now facing a possible death sentence; when they do see themselves in him, they realize their own mortality which can com at any time and will erase any and all evidence of their existence, so they respond by attempting to deny that their actions had any effect on him, which would falsify their realizations, but their failure to do so, which brings about Meursault’s death and the destruction of the mirror, is Camus saying that once knowing unbearable truth of mortality is achieved, people will destroy all evidence of it and roll back down to ignorance.

>>2834480
No, no, Its original,
I started with an essay trying to prove Meursault innocent and after a week of getting quotes and evidence and refining my outline and thesis I settled on it.
I had a day left to write the essay but it all the work I did getting the thesis was worth it.
plus i practically had to write the essay first before I could write the thesis.

ITT: we post the thesis statement from our last essay.
Because Meursault does everything, which is asked of him by anyone without question or hesitation, he becomes a mirror of the society as a whole, showing the collective reflections of everyone’s wishes, allowing the entire society to see themselves in him. But because his mother had recently died, he killed a man on an impulse, and is now facing a possible death sentence; when they do see themselves in him, they realize their own mortality which can com at any time and will erase any and all evidence of their existence, so they respond by attempting to deny that their actions had any effect on him, which would falsify their realizations, but their failure to do so, which brings about Meursault’s death and the destruction of the mirror, is Camus saying that once knowing unbearable truth of mortality is achieved, people will destroy all evidence of it and roll back down to ignorance.

>>2828838
I would rather live alone in the forest,
maybe with one other person,
and with a library,
and lab ware.

>>2828783
But it's not okay!
Seriously there are way too many cars!
and everybody stays in their car, at their job, or in their house.
In front of a screen the entire time (I realize I am in front of a scree right now but trust me I am usually not).

>>2828778
Moths are adorable, with their bark-like wings and feathery antennae, how do you not consider them your friends?

I'm the only one who every goes outside anymore,
it looks like the apocalypse happened out there,
empty streets and sidewalks,
and there are too many cars, where did they all come from?

There's a lot of Michael Chrichton, try Micro, or Swarm.