FILM Regeneration - Wilfred Owen Craiglockhart Hospital WW1

#12 The Outsider - Albert Camus Review

Edward Said on Camus in "Culture and Imperialism"

Quote from Camus which was reproduced by Edward Said in his book on Eurocentric viewpoints in literature. 

As far as Algeria is concerned, national independence is a formula driven by nothing other than passion. There has never yet been an Algerian nation. The Jews, the Turks, Greeks, Italians, or Berbers would be as entitled to claim the leadership of this potential nation. As things stand, the Arabs do not comprise the whole of Algeria … The French of Algeria are also natives, in the strong sense of the word. Moreover, a purely Arab Algeria could not achieve that economic independence without which political independence is nothing but an illusion. (cited by Said, 1993 p 179).

Comment: Although Camus was 'left-wing' on domestic French issues, the fact he was born as a French white citizen in French colonial Algeria, led to his refusal to support Algerian independence. On this issue he was in the view of many people 'on the wrong side of history'. There remains the fact none of the Arab characters in "L'Etranger' have names.
However, his novel remains an important work, Meursault's emotional detachment is perhaps a symptom of the wider state of European sensibility in the aftermath of World War 2. Beckett and Camus both struggled with the big questions facing humanity in the wake of such carnage. Where is God? What does it mean to be human? What are the limits of power? What is the role of ethics and morality in a world which lacks the certainty of religious faith? Is the repetition of simple daily actions - removing a hat or shoe (Beckett) or cleaning one's flat (Meursault) the only way to punctuate the boredom and pass the time away in a meaningless or at least indifferent universe?(Mr C)
**************************************************************
Further reading for advanced students: Alice Holbrook, Knox College, USA

"In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, imperial forces use naming as a tool of oppression, forcing language which represents their point of view upon those they have conquered. However, in their novels, Conrad and Coetzee also portray imperialists as perverting the correspondence of naming and characteristics and destroying the basis of their own power, precipitating a moral, and finally a physical, downfall. Heart of Darkness and Waiting for the Barbarians use similar perspectives on the inabsolute in imperial language to reach the same conclusion about imperialism itself: it is misguided, and, ultimately, doomed."

http://departments.knox.edu/engdept/commonroom/Volume_Eleven/number_two/Holbrook/index.html

INTERACTIVE ORAL -Saturday 19TH- 10am - 1130am IBSEN/ 12 noon HL CAMUS

The interactive oral is a focused class discussion in which all students and the teacher participate. Each student should be responsible for initiating some part of the discussion in at least one of the interactive orals for one work. Students may participate as a group or individually, and teachers may organize the discussion in a variety of different ways.

The discussions should address the following cultural and contextual considerations.

• In what ways do time and place matter to this work?

• What was easy to understand and what was difficult in relation to social and cultural context and issues?

• What connections did you find between issues in the work and your own culture(s) and experience?

• What aspects of technique are interesting in the work?

Formal requirements

At least one oral must be completed in relation to each work studied in part 1.

The suggested minimum time for discussion of each work is 30 minutes.

Stage 2: The reflective statement

The reflective statement is a short writing exercise and should be completed as soon as possible following the interactive oral. Each student is asked to provide a reflection on each of the interactive orals. The reflective statement on the same work as the student’s final assignment is submitted for assessment.

The reflective statement must be based on the following question.

• How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?

Formal requirements: Length 300–400 words. 

**************************************************************

 "DOLL'S HOUSE"  - 2 KEY QUOTATIONS

*Michael Meyer argues that the play's theme is not women's rights, but rather "the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person."

 *In a speech given to the Norwegian Women's Rights League in 1898, Ibsen insisted that he "must disclaim the honor of having consciously worked for the women's rights movement," since he wrote "without any conscious thought of making propaganda," his task having been "the description of humanity.”

SPECIAL CLASS SATURDAY 19TH FOR ORALS

Hi students


We have made such progress that we can now hold our interactive orals one week earlier than planned and free up more time for your exam revision.

• YOU MUST COME ON SATURDAY MAY 19TH LIBRARY 10am - 1130 am 
• INTERACTIVE ORALS ON IBSEN FOR ALL STUDENTS HL and SL
• Break 1130-12 noon -  SL STUDENTS DEPART
• 12 NOON HL STUDENTS ONLY RETURN FOR CAMUS INTERACTIVE

130PM TASKS COMPLETED - SPECIAL CLASS OVER.

Thank you everyone, 
Mr C in BD in Mumbai.

ENG HL STUDENTS TEST ON THE OUTSIDER

Just a reminder to complete reading of "The Outsider".

Ibsen's Doll House to post #10 of 10