Meursault feels hot

The sun and also the temperature/weather itself have been a constant yet underlying issue that seems to really affect Meursault. Immediately at the beginning of the novel, Meursault complains about the heat and the sun during Maman's  funeral. "The glare from the sun was unbearable" (16). While I was first reading the novel, I didn't think too much about this. Yeah ok, he's bothered by the sun. But while continuing to read, I noticed this theme coming up multiple times. And most importantly the reason he shot the Arab on the beach was because the sun was in his eyes.

I think the sun and the weather's impact on Meursault is a big example of how he really uses impulses to determine what he will do. Both during and after the funeral for Maman, Meursault really wants to go to bed, and thats really the only thing on his mind. This seems to be a result of the burning sun. "The room was filled with beautiful late-afternoon sunlight. Two hornets were buzzing against the glass roof. I could feel myself getting sleepy" (7). To some extent getting tired in a warm room is understandable, but knowing that Meursault is probably the least emotional character we've encountered, the affect the sun has on him is pretty huge.

Looking to the passage where Meursault kills the Arab, we can see once again where the sun plays a role in Meursault's actions, however now there are much bigger consequences. "It was this burning, which I couldn't stand anymore, that made me move forward. I knew that it was stupid, that I wouldn't be able to get the sun off of me by stepping forward" (59). That's when the Arab draws the knife. "The light shot off the steel and it was like a long flashing blade cutting at my forehead" (59). To Meursault, the sun basically caused the murder, which he also states during his trial. This is what makes figuring out Meursault's actions and reasons so confusing, because even though I knew that he was extremely passive and basically did what he felt like doing, I didn't expect something as natural as the sun in his eyes to cause him to pull the trigger. However, this just further enforces Meursault's impulsive actions that he basically bases on his unrestrained passions. While there might be another underlying reason that Meursault kills the Arab, to him it was only "because of the sun" (103).

*Today during the panel presentation in class, we touched on whether or not the sun was some higher authority that made Meursault do all these things. While I don't think the sun had any intent at all, I do think it exemplified Meursault's behavior to act in the present.

Kafka and Murakami

Last year I read a book called Kafka on the Shore, written by Haruki Murakami. I immediately like his style of writing, and it wasn't until I started reading Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis this year that I realized the direct connection (other than the obvious reference to Franz Kafka in the title): dream-like. If you haven't heard of or read any of Murakami's books, he is a Japanese writer (so his books are also all translated) who writes about crazy dream like worlds, and he was recognized with the Franz Kafka Award in 2006. So obviously you can guess that his books are probably pretty similar to Franz Kafka's in its ability to create these dream-like situations and the weird logic. Kafka on the Shore was filled with creepy men who killed cats, talking cats, and a 15 year old's (he calls himself Kafka) journey running away from home. All in which time seems to be irrelevant. This description of the book definitely seems a lot more mystical than The Metamorphosis, who's plot seems at first glance pretty realistic with the change of one single variable (that Gregor became a bug) rather than a bunch of different variables. However, I found one really interesting thing about these two stories.

We touched on in class recently, that the end of The Metamorphosis was sort of like a reverse metamorphosis. In the last line of the novel, Grete (Gregor's sister) "lifted herself up and stretched her young body (110)." Which shows the family undergoing their own metamorphosis, but in the opposite sense that Gregor underwent. They were finally getting to actually live their lives, and riding themselves of the alienation that Gregor caused them. I'm sure plenty of people would love to see a continuation of The Metamorphosis in this sense or another story where a bug wakes up as a human. Which is the way Murakami writes his novel.

In Murakami's novel, he really addresses this situation. Murakami takes the idea of a bug waking up as a human rather than the other way around, although much more symbolically. Kafka (the character in Kafka on the Shore) basically interacts with everything as if he's just been made into a human and in some way's there's the "clean background" trick that Baker uses in The Mezzanine. But it's not that easy to spot, because the main character doesn't physically change from bug to human, he is discovering so much that could be tied with this reverse metamorphosis. 

It was really interesting to read Kafka after reading Kafka on the Shore, and if anyone really enjoyed Kafka, I would highly recommend Haruki Murakami books.

Brett and Jake's Relationship

Towards the beginning of reading The Sun Also Rises, we established that this novel could be seen as a sort of unrequited love. However, Brett and Jake's relationship seems pretty interesting and different from what I usually thought. Unlike the normal star crossed lovers, Brett and Jake actually do spend quite a lot of time together. And really the only thing that stops them from being together is Jake's war wound. 

Throughout the novel, we see Jake attempting to forget about Brett and his war wound. He really enjoys the company of Bill, because Bill's dramatic demeanor really helps Jake forget about other things. In addition, Jakes time spent in Spain away from Brett (both when he first gets there and afterwards when he is there alone) is probably the most relaxing part of the book. Also seen towards the beginning of the novel, Jake states "It is awfully easy to be hard-boiled about everything in the daytime, but at night it is another thing" (42). This shows that he is constantly focusing on something else and distracting himself during the day so he doesn't have any opportunity to think about Brett. 

Many times in the novel Brett also confesses her love to Jake. However, on the outside, she seems like she doesn't actually love Jake and is simply using him. For example, when Brett asked Jake if he loved her and then proceeded to confess her sudden love for another man. I believe that is her way of forgetting about her love for Jake, by constantly engaging herself in trivial affairs. While I don't think that is the only reason she does this, I think that is an important factor in her reasons. In the same way that Jake distracts himself, Brett does the same. 

We also find that throughout the novel whenever Brett is in trouble she will always ask for Jake. This might seem like another time that Brett is taking advantage of Jake, however she seems genuinely happy around him. And because both Brett and Jake seemed to have already accepted their fate, their relationship can have this honesty that might seem exploitative to others. Nothing is stopping them from spending time together, so their love is constantly being re-sparked, however, I think over time, this love isn't as intense as when they first met. And in some ways, their love has transformed into a very valuable friendship. Putting their relationship into words is incredibly complex with all their history, circumstances and culture.