Author: Arianna S.

You’re Authentic Identity

On By Arianna S.In Exit West1 Comment

In the novel, Exit West, a dilemma is brought up between the two lovers and they question if they are really in love or if they’ve just gotten used to each other’s presence. The topics of falling out of love and romantic vs. platonic relationships come into play and bring up more for discussion.

Falling out of Love

The topic of falling out of love is such a sensitive yet scary topic. Usually, when people first realize they fall out of love, they don’t allow themselves to accept they are falling out of love and continue to stay in denial. This forces them to stay in a relationship or situation where they are not getting what they need nor can they be their true selves. The person may think they are also sparing the other person’s feelings by prolonging the inevitable but essentially, in the end, it ends up even worse for both parties.

Platonic vs. Romantic Relationships

Relationships lie on a spectrum that can be anywhere from platonic to romantic. The idea of relationships that aren’t romantic tends to fly over people’s heads and they can’t fathom the fact that these two people love each other but aren’t in love with each other. Saed and Nadia have a platonic relationship although they may have shared some sensual experiences at the beginning they quickly realized they don’t actually love each other in that way.

The Ideal Mother/Child Relationship

On By Arianna S.In Stranger1 Comment

In The Stranger, Meursault has a strained relationship with his mother and people cannot fathom the fact that maybe he has a right to not be upset about his relationship with his mother. Anybody that feels as if Meursault is in the wrong must have the ideal mother/child relationship which is a privilege that tends to go unknown. Those who aren’t blessed with the type of relationship I alluded to can probably sympathize with Meursault and understand why he may not have had the “ideal” reaction to his mother death. There’s this notion that you’re supposed to respect and care for your parent but it goes forgotten that it goes both ways. You cannot shit on someones existence and expect them to not have any underlying feelings surrounding it. The nature of their relationship goes unknown which is why it is unfair to judge him so harshly especially when people are dealing with grief.

No Interests?

On By Arianna S.In Stranger1 Comment

The Stranger, written by Alex Camus exemplifies the complex dynamic between a man and his lack of interests in just about everything. The main character goes about life as if nothing he says has an impact on future events nor does he care if it does or doesn’t. As a result, this leads him into gruesomely killing a man.

Exhibited behaviors

The story starts of with the passing of his mother, in regards to this he’s incapable of showing any type of emotion to her sudden death. He experiences a lot of climatic events that any other person would react to but fortunately enough, he just goes with the flow. He maintains this careless attitude throughout all of part one, whether its testifying the unjust actions of his friend or whether he does or doesn’t love the woman in which he decides to marry. His way of life sparks much curiosity as to why he is this way he is and why he exhibits these behaviors. ” I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exception silence of a beach where i’d been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body… (59)” There was no justifying the fact that he shot and killed this man unprovoked, he’s aware of how bad and unjustifiable it is but what was his train of thought leading him into murdering this man?