Stranger things tab notes3/1/2023 This focus on the narrator while simultaneously distancing the narrator from events and responsibility is central to the tone created by Camus. The first statement in quotation marks we hear from any character comes from Mersault as he claims that his mother's death and his having to miss work are not his fault. The reader should thus pay close attention to the speech which is presented in dialogue form. The paradoxical situation presented is that the text is not in the present tense, but the past tense predominately, and very few lines of dialogue are given. The reader is advised of nearly all of Mersault's movements as he makes his decisions - from which bus he will take, to what he said to his boss, and where he likes to eat. The sentences are sharp and concise, consisting of mainly simple action verbs. The jarring effect of his curt and emotionless description is reflected in the style of the prose. He mentions nothing else of the telegram's effect on him. The details of the telegram which he does discuss only concern his uncertainty of the date. This indifference to detail and time will categorize Mersault's personality throughout the novel. Mersault is not sure whether it was today or yesterday his mother died. What is especially noticeable though is the sentence which follows. The first sentence of the novel, "Maman died today", is one of the most famous in literature. He notes that the entire funeral moved so fast and deliberately that he remembers nothing except a comment of the nurse and the image of Pérez crying. Pérez begins to fall behind but catches up using shortcuts. Mersault feels he can understand his mother better when he is told that she and Pérez would take walks often to the village. The procession walks along the long road to the village, nearly an hour away. It consists of himself, the nurse, the director, the undertaker's men, the priest, and Monsieur Pérez, a member of the home who is allowed to attend because of his closeness to Maman. Mersault refuses to look at his mother before the casket is sealed, signs forms, and the procession in underway. In the morning, Mersault cleans up a bit before the funeral procession. He falls asleep as do most of the friends and the night passes. Mersault perceives that perhaps all of the friends feel very little toward his mother. When a woman continues to cry softly the caretaker explains that his mother was the only friend the woman had. They all sit on the other side of the coffin with the caretaker and Mersault feels as if he is being judged. He nods off until Maman's friends come in to sit at the vigil. Mersault decides, hesitating at first because of his mother, to have a smoke. The caretaker stays and tells him about his life, explaining how he is not a resident at the home and the differences with a Paris funeral. He requests not to be shown the body and sits by the coffin. He agrees.Īfter the director explains the funeral arrangements, Mersault moves inside the mortuary to see his mother. The director mentions that his mother was happier at the home than with Mersault because she was with people her own age. At the home, the caretaker and then director speak with him. He asks for two days off from his boss and takes the bus to the old people's home, Marengo, two hours away. Mersault is notified by mail that his mother has died, though he is not sure of the exact date.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |