Luca's 20th Century Blog

Throughout our discussion of  The Stranger,  Mersault's behavior   was often a topic that sparked all sorts of conversation. His personality and attitude were constantly questioned. Why is Meursault the way he is? Many things can be said about the fact that he is commonly emotionless and unaffected by the world around him. It is strange to me how he can care so little about so much.  He does not seem affected by his mother's death. This could, however, be simply because he was very detached from her in her final years. He sent her to live in a home where she could be taken care of, and some might think Meursault has no heart for doing this, but he had fair reasoning. When Maman's funeral comes around, Meursault displays no emotion in the presence of his mother's casket, even having a cigarette and a coffee with the caretaker, who later scrutinizes him for it. Is there an explanation as to why Meursault acts this way? Some might say he has already gotten over Maman's...

  In  The Sun Also Rises,  the change in setting ultimately affects the characters. Throughout the book, we see the environment in Paris, where a large part of the book occurs. We were exposed to the atmosphere early in the book and discovered a lot about how things work in Parisian nightlife.  We saw characters out late at night, hopping between Cafes, clubs, and different restaurants, all while consuming copious amounts of alcohol. This can take a toll on someone. In this case, I want to highlight Jake as my subject. Jake in Paris is witty and ironic; he does not take pretty much anything seriously (then again, nobody but Cohn takes anything seriously). This witty and ironic sense of humor is the only way to be taken seriously in Paris. Cohn is constantly ridiculed by Jake and other characters in the book for his lack of irony and his uptight behavior. Everything is so lax in Parisian life. After the war, everything has lost its importance in the grand scheme of so...