The Stranger #3

          The sun causes Meursault a significant amount of pain. As he walks along the beach, he feels the sun beating on him from every angle; the sun is pushing him, telling him to keep moving toward the Arab ahead on the beach.  Though the Arab is a source of evil in his world, it does not seem to be the Arab that is causing Meursault this discomfort. He even says, regarding the earlier altercation, “As far as I was concerned, the whole thing was over, and I’d gone there without even thinking about it” (58). However through his descriptions of the “cymbals of sunlight crashing” and “the dazzling spear flying up,” there is a sense that Meursault feels as if the external world is falling in on him (59). All of the forces of the external world pressure Meursault, and finally, he snaps and shoots the Arab not once but five times. Meursault describes the experience as “knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness” (59). This is one of the very few times the audience can actually see Meursault apply an emotion to himself, and even then, he is only knocking on the door, not letting happiness actually envelope him. The external forces of the world finally cause Meursault to show some semblance of feeling even if it only is a “quick” stitch of it.

"Woman Work" Paragraph

“Woman Work” Maya Angelou

Thesis:  Through the use of a shift in rhyme scheme, Angelou contrasts what the woman has to do with what she wants to do.

                Maya Angelou uses a couplet rhyme scheme to begin the poem and transitions to four-lined rhyme scheme. The poem begins by listing off all of the things that the speaker has to accomplish in a very formulaic fashion: “I’ve got the children to tend/ The clothes to mend/ The floor to mop/ The food to shop” (1-4). The woman has many chores to tend to, and by having the rhyme scheme be so quick, it emphasizes the length of the list. Every two lines rhyme, so the audience hears the beat of rhyme after rhyme, giving this impression of a never-ending list. Then at line fifteen the rhyme scheme shifts as does the content of the poem. The speaker is no longer talking about her duties but what she actually wants.  She proclaims, “Fall gently, snowflakes/ Cover me with white/ Cold icy kisses and/ Let me rest tonight” (23-26). The woman wishes for nature to just take over. She needs a break; she needs refuge. She believes that with nature she can find it. The rhyme scheme slows down by only rhyming the second and fourth lines of each stanza, showing that what she wants is much less than what she needs to do. Nature is not a laundry list; it is something to stop upon and enjoy.

The Stranger #2

                Camus writes, “I said I didn’t think anything but that it was interesting” (32). This response, however, comes after  Raymond, Meursault’s neighbor, has just outlined an elaborate story about his feelings and abuse towards a woman. All Meursault musters is an expression of indifference. He listens to the entire story and solely responds by saying that he has no opinion. Moreover, this is not a one-time occurrence for Meursault; he uses this attitude of indifference in describing pretty much everything going on in his life. He paints himself as a simple, stationary observer in a world where everything is moving. Even in a decision as pivotal as marriage, he gives a disinterested response: “it didn’t really matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married” (41). It didn’t really matter? His marriage has no impact on his life? Meursault has taken on a very detached persona that is immensely frustrating for a reader trying to understand him. He removes himself from every situation and becomes just another spectator. He is witnessing his life rather than living it.

"Dover Beach" Paragraph

“Dover Beach” Matthew Arnold

Thesis:  The tone being expressed in “Dover Beach” is one of longing and nostalgia, wishing for religion’s influence to be the same of the past.

                Arnold expresses sadness for the loss of faith he sees occurring around him. He feels that what once used to be a resounding entity has now been reduced to a weak being. He compares faith to a sea, and states that it “was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore…but now I only hear/ Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar” (22-25). Arnold has realized that religion is waning. There was a time where religion was extremely prominent in society, but now that influence is fading. Moreover, Arnold believes that this regression is detrimental to society. He writes that “we are here on a darkling plain/ Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,/ Where ignorant armies clash by night” (35-37). More or less, society has entered into a dark age. Without religion Arnold feels that the world is truly lacking. There cannot be progress and peace without faith, and so Arnold mourns for the society he once knew.

PODG #7

“There are moments, psychologists tell us, when the passion for sin…dominates a nature” (139).

                Dorian Gray has in many ways turned into a monster. Though his face is the same, he is an unrecognizable person to those who knew him before the portrait was created. That or he killed the ones that still recognized him. However, the question is whether he has hit this point of no return where sin truly does “dominate” him. Wilde writes that when a person hits this point, “chance is taken from them, and conscience is either killed, or… lives to give rebellion its fascination, and disobedience its charm” (139).  Dorian’s conscience, however, does not truly appear to be dead. Basil’s death is still ruminating in his mind. In fact, he still carries around Sibyl Vane’s death with him as well. Dorian does horrible things, but there is definitely still a sense of guilt with him after he commits these acts. Though he tries very hard to pretend like it does not affect him, Wilde purposefully shows the thought popping up in Dorian’s mind. Dorian very much wants to be this type of person where he can just let sin take over, but it is safe to say that he is not completely succeeding.

PODG #6

          Since Dorian met Lord Henry, he has been a changed man. He has become cold, heartless, and practically emotionless. He has lived his life for solely himself and has lost most of his friends along the way. No one wants to associate with a man as corrupt as he is. However, the one man that has always been loyal to him is Basil. Even as Basil is hearing all these rumors about Dorian’s actions, he tells Dorian that “if you tell me that they are absolutely untrue from beginning to end, I shall believe you” (112).  Even knowing what Dorian has become, Basil is willing to put it all aside and remain friends with Dorian. Though some will say that this only because Basil is enamored with Dorian, Basil is still a truly amazing friend to Dorian, which makes what Dorian does so much more horrible. When Dorian kills Basil, he is killing the last person that believes in him, the last person that believes that Dorian is still a good person inside. Up until the very moment Basil is killed, he is trying to help Dorian, praying for Dorian and begging Dorian to repent. Basil’s death is truly a tragedy. Now, Dorian is truly alone, and it is solely his fault. Dorian took away the one person who had hope in him.