Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Stranger Post

When I first began reading The Stranger, I was incredibly upset at the book as a whole. Mersault's apathetic attitude to EVERYTHING drove me up the wall. It wasn't until we got into our small groups for concept mapping and we learned a little about Camus's past that I began to actually understand his character. He is merely a product of the society in which we live, and he feeds on the opinions of other people. He is only apathetic because he feels like no matter what, our lives will be meaningless. However, I think that when he is in the prison is when he discovers his mode of happiness. Very seldom does he actually use the word "happy" throughout the novel, but when he does, he is talking about memories of certain places or about Marie. When he is in the prison and he actually has time to think to himself about his life and what he did, he doesn't really feel guilty for the murder that he committed, but he is very upset at the thougths that people have about him for committing it. He is so dependent on the opinions of other people that he prevents his own happiness. It's ironic really because he doesn't do anything to change the opinions that people have of him, but he wishes for better opinions. His character proves that each person determines his or her own happiness in the world and yet other people impact our happiness just as much, even though we shouldn't let them. This book was utterly brilliant in so many ways and uncovered so many truths about humanity that otherwise would have lain dormant in the minds of this AP Literature class.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Metamorphosis and Happiness

In Kafka's short novel, Metamorphosis, he absolutely addresses the idea of self-created happiness. Gregor believed himself to be happy when he was working for his family's income. It was the thing that he knew how to do best and he liked having a constant something in his life. However, when he went through his metamorphosis, he realized that working at his job did not provide him happiness and he couldn't manufacture it just by helping his family.
I think his metamorphosis was in some ways a relief to him because he finally felt that he could figure out what he was really supposed to do. He was still the same person (fundamentally) and still enjoyed the things he had previously, such as art and his sister's violin playing. Gregor expected that after all he had given to his family over the years, they would help him in any and all ways possible after this difficult transformation, however, they basically tossed him aside to fend for himself. In that regard, Kafka shows that even though we may take the right steps to happiness, we cannot always create it for ourselves.
Kafka goes even further in this assertion by causing Gregor's death. Gregor realizes that he has become a burden on his family and he no longer wishes to create such stress. Though he was under the impression that they loved him, he suddenly realizes that their love did not go any further than their pocketbooks. It's a bold assertion on humanity that causes us to really wonder if working hard for our families and loving them will really ever be enough if we need them just as much one day. It certainly says something about the importance of trusting or not trusting the people around us.