Meursault Dealing with Death

Unfortunately this year both my aunt and grandpa passed away in a matter of one week. And as I read the novel, especially the first chapter of Stranger, it really brought back some memories and feelings that I had and still have. I have been affected by many novels before, but this first chapter really made me engaged from the beginning because it hit home. And in a way I read about Meursault, and thought, he is so frustrating! How could he just sit there and even have a cigarette when is mother is right there, gone. Then I remembered everyone deals with death differently. I had never been through a family death in my entire life, and you see in movies, where the whole family comes together and sobs, and expresses their love and want for that person in that way. To be honest, when my grandpa and aunt died, i didn't have a dramatic experience. I was numb. I felt bad that I wasn't showing my emotion by crying and holding onto my other family members, but I realized everyone deals with it differently. And because of this, I have decided not to judge Meursalt, no one really knows how he truly felt at this point in the novel. Everyone is different.

Senior Spirit Week vs. Stranger's Meursault's Apathy!

In this blog I will be comparing the seniors to Meursault. This week, as everyone knows is spirit week. And we should be channeling everything The Stranger is not. Throughout the stranger, Meursault has a constant flat attitude and is very apathetic towards life, he also does not stay emotionally connected to pretty much anything, whether it be, people, family, love, or even a hobby, he seems to not really care much, and maybe its just that he is protecting himself? I believe he is actually really passionate, and has love for people, but is afraid of getting hurt. This is twisted way of protecting himself. So moreover, in spirit week, SENIORS MUST DO THE OPPOSITE!!! We must give everything we have, put our hearts and souls on a silver platter and hand it to the judges! Channel everything Meursalt is not!

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Being involved with Pride and Prejudice just after reading Pride and Prejudice:

It was so interesting being cast in the P&P this year, as Mrs. Bennet, after just reading the novel. Usually whenever I am in a show, be it musical or straight play, I immediately read the script, try and find a movie version, or even go see the show. But never before have I done something where just weeks before I read the whole book. It gave me such knowledge on the show, and on the background of the characters, it made it so much easier to connect to the role that I played, and the show in general. I really enjoyed being apart of the last show I will ever do on the Buckley stage, and it was very interesting to have such knowledge on story of the sisters, and the family, and the parents, and that time period going into the audition.

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Connecting Hamlet, and Pride and Prejudice into everyday, senior year life. I felt that this was a good topic to discuss because so many of us are going through this right now. Pressure. Whether it is peer-pressure, pressure from our families, our teachers, or our college counselors, we are going through a very important time in our lives. Just like in Pride and Prejudice, where women are usually forced to conform to the way of life, and marry someone for security rather than love, or in Hamlet, where the passion protagonist was forced to stay calm, and not act out and ordered by his step father. Pressure goes on in novels, and in everyday life. For us, the main topic is college. Which college we will get into, where we will go, what college will make us go the farthest. Sometimes I step back and have to realize that at the end of the day it is what I want, what WE want, not what all of the adult figures want for us. It is stressful. Just like the stress Hamlet faced, or the stress Liz faced when she did not want to marry Collins. Pressure is everywhere.

Introduction Paragraph

What is conformity? Conformity is the rules and regulations one gives into in an academic institution, conformity is the pressure that one's peers puts on their shoulder, conformity is the expectations one must live up to by their family's standards, conformity is complex. There are many different types of conforming, and it happens everyday all around us, and whether it is apart of our normal everyday activity, or something we rarely do, there is no doubt one must conform to something, somewhere, at one point in their life. Throughout time, and as generations pass the normal conformity, and standards for society are always changing, and as we compare different times and eras we notice how society has gone from more strict, to lenient, and then strict again. But some families and children are raised in a happy medium. Gregor Sams felt the pressure all around him, and was forced to conform to the strict German ways, while nowadays, society is completely different, but not for all. Conformity moves in importance throughout the generations, and the pressure that families put on their children is different in all cases, but moreover, at the end of the day, each person finds them self in a state of restriction, and giving into conformity at one point in their life.

Conformity

I believe that there are different levels of conformity, and it really depends on the institution that you are either working for, and studying with. For example, different southern california schools have different rules and opposite ways of conforming. Buckley, has many rules and restrictions. From not cheating, to not wearing any color socks besides white or black. But also I believe that because of Buckley's rules and because we must conform in order to stay out of trouble, Buckley breeds (for the most part) good kids that are independent thinkers. Although, I do believe that one should have as much freedom as that person desires, I know that if we were given that freedom, there would be much chaos. So I'm not saying our rules and conformity are bad, and I'm not saying that you should do whatever you want. But a nice balance between freedom and minor conformity is ok.

But... rules are there to be broken right?!