The Stranger #3: The Questioning

            In the third reading we discover more about Meursault’s character, especially in his interactions with his attorney and the prosecutor.  Meursault believes that his case is extremely simple and that all of the questioning is a waste of his time.  He is not a traditional criminal.  Meursualt knows what he has done and not even the religious pleas by the prosecutor change how he feels.  The prosecutor believes that “no man was so guilty that God would not forgive him, but in order for that to happen a man must repent” (Camus 68).  Meursault finds the prosecutor’s though process hard to follow and he does not see how religion has anything to do with his predicament.  Meursault, being fed up with listening to the prosecutor, acts like he always does “whenever [he wants] to get rid of someone [he’s] not really listening to, [he] made it appear as if [he] agreed” (69).  Meursault realizes that fighting this man’s argument is pointless and a further waste of his time, so he tries to get rid of him.  Meursault is a person who knows what he likes, and when something does not make sense to him or he does not like something, he attempts to eliminate it from his life.  

“Nothing Gold Can Stay”

Thesis: Robert Frost utilizes a variety of literary devices to convey his belief that innocence, though an essential part of youth, must be relinquished before adulthood.

            Color symbolism in Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” sets up the idea of innocence in children.  The beginning of the poem states, “Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold” (Frost 1-2).  “Nature’s first green” is the first sign of life in the spring and can be metaphorically compared to childhood.  Describing this first sign of life, or childhood, as gold elicits a feeling of goodness since gold is often symbolic of wealth and prosperity.  However, in this poem gold is symbolic of a child’s innocence.  The second line of the poem establishes how hard it is to keep one’s innocence because inevitably one grows old.  Frost sets up the idea that the innocence of childhood is the beauty of life, yet it is one of the most challenging things to hold on to.

The Stranger #2: What Salamano is Really Telling Meursault

            In this reading we are introduced to Salamano, an old man with an odd relationship with his dog.  He seems to be unhappy yet he is devastated when his dog goes missing.  Salamano seems to be a look into Meursault’s future.  We find out in this reading that Meursault is going to marry Marie.  When Meursault is talking with Salamano about his dog, Meursault is told that Salamano got his dog after his wife died and that “he hadn’t been happy with his wife, but he’d pretty much gotten used to her” (Camus 44).  Salamano’s tale about his marriage is supposed to warn Meursault to be careful with marriage unless he wants to end up as a lonely old man with a dog who he hates yet cannot live without.

“My mistress’ eyes”

Thesis: The speaker makes use of a tone shift to show that although his mistress’ looks are not great he loves her anyways.

            In many love poems the poet focuses on strong comparisons of the woman’s physical features with aspects of nature.  Shakespeare’s “My mistress’ eyes” seems to follow the traditional structure, yet it puts a twist on the traditional style by inverting the common comparisons.  The speaker describes his mistress by saying her “eyes are nothing like the sun” (1), “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun” (3), and “no such roses see I in her cheeks” (6).  Each of these comparisons is the exact opposite of the traditional.  Normally, comparisons such as these would complement a woman, but Shakespeare chooses to invert these comparisons and describe her unflattering features.  Through these demeaning comparisons Shakespeare establishes dejected tone that leads the reader to believe that he does not love his mistress.  However, in line twelve there is a major tone shift that unlocks the speakers true meaning.   The last two lines of the poem read: “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/As any she belied with false compare” (12-13).  The speaker’s tone shifts to loving and establishes that although his woman is not the prettiest woman he still loves her, and his love for her is like any other man’s love.  Shakespeare’s use of a tone shift helps to establish the point that although the woman is not as beautiful as others the speaker still loves her as any man loves a woman.

The Picture of Dorian Gray #8: Unlocking the Preface

 “All art is at once surface and symbol.  Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.  Those who read the symbol do so at their peril” (Wilde 2).

            The reader is first introduced to the idea that art is both surface and symbol in the preface, yet the idea is not fully explained until the last chapter of the text.  Wilde claims that there are two aspects to every piece of art, the surface and the symbol.  He also claims that those that attempt to understand the artwork do so with the chance of harm.  Basil’s portrait of Dorian serves these two purposes; on the surface it is just a painting that seems to be aging, but this visible aging symbolizes all of Dorian’s sins.  Although Dorian notices the surface before the symbol, he attempts to read the symbol first which then leads him to go beneath the surface, literally.  It didn’t take long for Dorian to realize that the portrait was displaying his sins so that he could keep his young features, but in the last chapter Dorian attempts to understand the symbol even more.  Dorian begins to wonder if the increase in blood on the portrait means “that he [is] to confess” to his sins (227-228).  As Dorian further understands the symbolism of the portrait he begins to question everything he has done and he blames the portrait for his actions.  He is then led to destroy the portrait.  When Dorian drives the knife through the portrait he is literally going beneath the surface and when he does this he ends up dying because of his relationship with the painting.  Since the portrait is the representation of Dorian’s soul he cannot live without it so when he destroys it he essentially kills himself.  Through his delving into the meaning of the symbol and going beneath the surface Dorian causes himself pain and trouble.  Unlocking the symbol led Dorian to commit such horrid things as the murder of Basil and the blackmail of Alan Campbell, and his attempt to destroy the painting by literally going beneath the surface caused his death, unlocking this part of the preface in the context of the story.