We Journal #2

The language in the second third of the dystopian, We undergoes a subtle change. The novel is focusing more on the internal conflict that D-503 is experiencing. He keeps contemplating what his real self is because in his dreams he is someone different. I believe his struggle is illuminated through the varied sentence structure, "The lecture. How strange that the voice coming from the gleaming apparatus is not metallic, as usual, but somehow soft, furry, mossy. A woman's voice. I imagine her as she must have been once upon a time: tiny, a little bent hook of an old woman, like the one at the Ancient House" (109). The syntax of this passage is complex. Zamyatin uses anywhere from sentences that are two words long to sentences that are twenty eight words long. This syntax represents D-503's struggle in finding his identity because his imagination creates two different perceptions of himself. D-503 repeatedly thinks about the imaginary number. I believe he is fascinated by imaginary numbers because of his interest in his own imagination. I noticed that Zamyatin still uses similes to describe the conflict D-503 is having, "All that had happened yesterday whirled like a hurricane within me..." (92). We see that Zamyatin uses figurative language, typically similes, when D-503 is talking about something of importance.  

The motif of the color blue is further developed in the second third of the novel. It still serves the same function of representing peace and calmness for D-503, "My thoughts tick quietly, with metallic clarity. An unseen aero carries me off into the blue heights of my beloved abstractions" (115). D-503 associates blue with "beloved abstractions", which has a serene connotation. This helps to show that D-503 has not completely changed, but that his identity still has not fully developed. I feel like colors do not serve as big of a purpose as they did in the first third of the novel, though because the other colors are not mentioned as much as previously. I noticed that the outside of One-State is mentioned frequently throughout this section. "I raised my hand, the yellow eyes blinked, backed away, and disappeared among the greenery. The paltry creature! What absurdity-that he could possibly be happier than we are! Happier than I, perhaps; but I am only an exception, I am sick" (93). D-503 starts to question what it would be like to be outside of the confinement of One-State.  He ponders whether the society he lives in is better than being out of One-State.  

More culture connections became prominent in the second third of We. Many times the characters, such as D-503, refer back to what the ancients did. Also, other characters look down upon the ancients because they feel like the society that they are currently living in is much improved.  The color red is used to allude communism in the novel, "The dark-red walls of the ancient house were already before me" (93). I didn't realize this until I was a little further into the book. My knowledge on the setting of the first third of the novel was limited because I hadn't read the entire book so I wasn't entirely sure what it was. Now that I am in the heart of the novel I can see that this book is set in One-state that has no wildlife or nature of any sort, "Man ceased to be a savage only when we had built the Green Wall, when had isolated our perfect mechanical world from the irrational, hideous world of trees, birds, animals..."(93). The Green Wall is a barrier set to purposely not let any of nature in because it infringes on the "perfect" society of One-state. Interestingly enough, D-503 sees a creature outside the green wall and wonders if that creature is happier than his society.

We Journal #1

In the dystopian novel We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, the setting is designed to represent the confinement that the characters live in. It is set in the future to encompass the dystopian aspect of the novel. It is important to know that in One-state almost everything is made out of glass, and therefore the characters lose a sense of privacy and freedom, because the glass is transparent. Additionally, One-state is entirely based on the society as a whole, which is why it's called we. It is therefore not focused on individuality. People have names that have a prefix and a number. A male will have a consonant and an odd number; whereas, women have a vowel which is followed by an even number. D-503 seems to praise to the society that he lives in. Furthermore, D-503 says that, "In half a minute she'll be here, for our daily walk" (4). This is an example that shows that D-503 follows a precise and organized schedule for his day.

I noticed some prominent motifs, such as light and color. D-503 uses colors often when he is expressing his emotions. Colors are blended in with all situations in the novel. Blue represents peace, "I woke: soft, bluish light, glimmer of glass walls, glass chairs and table. This calmed me..." (32). Also, the sky is described by the perfect blue that surrounds One-State. D-503 uses the color yellow when describing I-330. Pink is used when talking about women, especially his partners. The "pink coupons" and when he talks about women's "pink lips", which all contribute to this motif. Green is used when talking about that wall surrounding One-state to show the lack of freedom the society possesses. Lastly, light is used throughout the novel in a variety of ways. This illuminates that not all aspects of D-503's life and others living in One-state are being completely controlled.

The language is creative and uses some figurative language. An example is shown when Zamyatin uses a simile, "And the brass rhythms: "'Ta-ta-ta-tam! Ta-ta-ta-tam!' Like brass stairs gleaming in the sun, and every step taking you higher and higher, into the dizzying blue...." (5). I believe Zamyatin uses more complex language to exemplify the futuristic setting and the complicated math aspect of the novel. Certain sentences can be confusing, but the overall language is very clear. D-503 uses mathematics in his speech many times, which could emphasize the importance of math that is placed on this society. He uses math terms such as parabolas and tangent line to describe the face of a person often. Through the setting, motifs, and the language Zamyatin provides a way to get involved with the nightmare-like society that We is set in. 

Journal #5

Personal Philosophy

Name: Roluffsism
1. Be trustworthy. By having integrity and gaining trust from others you can be labeled as a responsible person that people can rely on. My parents taught me to be honest and trustworthy ever since I can remember. I think that honesty is a key trait to living a better life and is the basis for getting along well with others.
2. Live life to the highest of your capability. I think that whether you believe in God or not, you should live life to its fullest potential. By living your life to the most of your ability happiness can be achieved easier. Simply put, life will not be very fun if you are not happy. Do not ever take life for granted. Also, if something is worth doing, then give it your all. 
3. Create strong relationships with your family. Typically, friends come and go. In contrast, family does not. Your family is permanent; therefore, it is extremely important to be on good terms with your family members. You will be with your family all your life and by having a strong relationship with your family you will enable yourself to be happier.
4. Do not allow the small things to annoy you. This may sound simple but it can be hard to do sometimes. You cannot let the small things bother you, otherwise you will never become happy. I believe you can live a better life by not sweating the small stuff and let go of it by forgetting about them. Focus on what's important and let the little things go.
5. Positive attitude. All of my guiding principles relate back to happiness because I believe that is a key to living a successful life. If you wake up with a bad attitude, your day will most likely be bad. We should choose to have a great attitude even when things are not going your way. By having a positive attitude you can live a much more content life. You control your destiny.
6. You decide the type of life you live. If you set low standards you never reach high status. It is important to set high goals for yourself so that you have always have something to work towards and to stay motivated.
7. Volunteer and help people out. It is crucial to be a giver. I believe it has two benefits. First, it  helps to benefit the community you live in. Secondly, as a bonus it makes you feel good inside. Indirectly you benefit from the good feeling obtained from helping others. Therefore, I believe this is important to do. I've done a lot of volunteer work and I personally find it extremely rewarding.

Journal #4

I believe that Meursault comes to the realization at the end of the novel that everybody dies. He recognizes that there is no way to avoid it, so he comes to peace with the fact that he is going to die. Once he learns that he is to be put to death by the guillotine he wishes that he had a chance to escape the machine, but that isn't possible. He feels like your past really doesn't matter once you die. Meursault believes that the world really has no meaning.  Therefore, he doesn't worry about his past because he's going to die eventually and his death happened to be earlier than he anticipated. Meursault lives an absurd life where his emotions are not imminent and he lacks displaying his emotion.

Camus does not want us to follow in Meursault's footsteps. He wants us to recognize that we do have a purpose and should be motivated to live our life to the fullest. He uses Meursault as an example to show the destructiveness of living life with no purpose. Camus provides Meursault's acceptance in the end of the novel to show that we should know death is inevitable for everyone and that we shouldn't worry about it because it's unavoidable. Camus suggests that everyones life is equal and no different from one another.

Journal #3

Albert Camus purposefully divided The Stranger into two parts. Meursault experiences a change between the first and second part in the story. He starts off as a character that is disconnected from society and a person that doesn't display his emotions. The first five chapters each start off the same way with Meursault being at the office, "I worked hard at the office today" (25). This highlights Meursault's mundane and repetitive life. Additionally, Meursault transforms as a character from part one to part two. His relationship with women changes dramatically. In part one, Meursault and his mother, Maman, have a relationship that is unique and unlike the norm because they didn't spend much time together. Although, in part two, Meursault shows his emotion for Marie. This is exemplified while he is imprisoned for killing the Arab. The young man is contrasted with Meursault because the young man lacks emotional attachment, "The young man and his mother were still staring at each other" (75). Also, the prisoner uses the same endearment of "Maman" when he says good-bye to his mother which Meursault called his mother in the part one. When Meursault is in prison he no longer behaves this way, because he shows how much he misses Marie, and he says, "I was tormented by my desire for a woman" (77). He misses his freedom and is tortured by not being able to be with women. Also, the syntax changes from part one to part two. In part one, the sentences are short, choppy and direct. In contrast, the sentence structure in part two is different, they are longer and Meursault begins to voice his thoughts about his feelings. 

Journal #2

Option 1:

Albert Camus use of the sun highlights part of the reason why Meursault ultimately ends up killing the Arab. The sun beats down on Meursault and causes him pain so that's partially why he kills the Arab. Camus throughout the novel gives the sun a negative connotation. The sun is bright. In contrast, Meursault is a dull character. The sun helps to highlight Meursault's going against society's norm. Life for Meursault is different than others, so the sun for him is not a positive thing. It brings him suffering and causes him to act out of anger and made stupid decisions. The glaring light on Meursault's body is the breaking point for him, "The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes. That's when everything began to reel" (59). The sun, bright light, and glare lead to Meursault's pulling of the trigger on the Arab. This did not help Meursault to achieve happiness, "Then I fired four more times at the motionless body[...] And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness" (59). Temporary pleasure does not counter the lifelong consequences which illuminates that making decisions out of angry does not typically end well.                      

Journal #1

Salamano: Old Salamano is Meursault's neighbor and plays the role of the grumpy old man in the novel. He gets annoyed easily by his dog and beats him. Although he doesn't treat his dog very well, he finds a great friendship with his dog because they have a companionship that he didn't really have with his wife. When he loses the dog at the Parade Ground, Salamano becomes very upset because of the friendship that the dog provided. Old Salamano reacts much differently than Meursault because you could hear weeping in his apartment when he couldn't find his dog.

Raymond: Raymond is Meursault's other neighbor and is portrayed as a "pimp". Raymond seems to be using Meursault to help accomplish his retaliation that he has with the previous girlfriends. When he gets revenge on his ex-girlfriend and slaps her, it is shown that slapping a woman is perceived as wrong in society. Additionally, Raymond learns a lesson that one must respect cops because they have authority over you. Raymond acts as a contrasting character to Meursault because he reacts with much emotion.

Meursault's Boss: The boss originally seems to be somewhat selfish because when he hears the news of Meursault's mother dying he seems angered that Meursault will be gone and won't be able to work. Although, it appears he has Meursault's best interest in mind because he offers him a job opportunity in France. He tries to warn Meursault that being indecisive and having no amibition is not a good combination when working. He is put the book to emphasize Meursault lack of decision making and ambition.