The stranger; far more strange then I originally thought...

The book The Stranger by Albert Camus reveals a new perspective that adds to the concept of existentialism. It is completely different then I <3 Huckabies simply because in the movie the main character is searching for the meaning of life or any meaning in his life at all, unlike the main character Mathew in The Stranger. Many search out the answer to the mysteries of the world so they can better understand the colplexity of life. Usually, from personal experience, I have concluded that it is easier for people to reach out after tradgedies have drastically effected them. Yet Mathew lacks any shock or sorrow when he lears of the death of his mother.

I wonder why Camus decided to begin the book this way, the first paragraph bluntly stating that she was deceased. His delayed reastion of not knowing what day it even happened .
The chapter goes into discussing how he wasn't really with her in the end being that she lived in a home a town away. So it wasn't as surprising to read the last sentance of the second chapter:

"It occurred to me that one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed."

This statment makes me wonder about his relationship with his mother when he was younger and how it changed when he grew up. Even though she wasn't a significent presence in his life when he was a man, didn't they have some kind of loving relationship before that would lead him to have a little grief of loss. Orignially I figured he come o acceptance with the fact that she was gone, but for him to not go through any of the typical emotions first is odd. He is truly different frm any other character I have read about in a book, and because of that it is much harder to relate to him, something I enjoy most about nmy favoriute books.

Yet it also gives him a sort of obscurity that makes me think deeper into how he apriaches life differently then I do.

(to be continued... too)

I <3 Exstestential Thinking

This unit has been a pretty complex one and far more intriguing then I would have originally thought exstestentialism to be.

Its true, as Banach so nicely said, that everyone sees the world differently from one another and therefore we may all be along in our individual thoughts and different opinions. It seemed to me thoughout a lot of Banach's lecture that many of the things humans strive to accomplish were worthless since no one ever fully understands one or another or where we came from or where we're going.

But it was thanks to the I <3 Huckabies film that help me to realize that nothing is black and white, but a mixture or cynicism and optimism according to how you choose it to be.
It was Alberts concluding statement at the end of the movie that one exstestential view was too light and seemed to avoid the crulty and bad in the world, while the other was too dark and say things in too much of a negative light.
Its was interesting how as the movie progressed, one of the major arguments was how connected we are to one another in various ways. But mainly how man is able to relate to another in a time of desperation and sadness, probable because that is when man is most vulnerable.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Random internet surfing...

I came across this video on Current.com and thought it was pretty funny.... enjoy!

http://current.com/16vdi4c

Banach, banach banach. Part IX

We've all taken a lot of time to map out how we came to be who we are and what influences effected our growth. But once you've become settled with ourselves- or even before you have- we must decide who we want as our companions.

Life would not be worth living unless we had someone to share it with. To fall in love, have a strong bond and share the beauty in the world is what life is all about. But regardless of who we're friends with or not, we must always interact with people, no matter how you decide to treat them.

Since I was a child I've heard the same expression countless times from authority figures; "treat others the way you want to be treated". Banach bring up the same theme of acting the way you'd expect others to act because "to be free, then, I must follow the golden rule and act only as I would have others act." We obviously want to be treated well with respect and kindness and the only way I've ever given or received it was when there was mutual understanding. Like Banach said "we must choose courses of action that we wish all humans to take."

A majority of the time people try to be good due to their faith. Many religions say that if you pray to him and carry our his good deeds you will have a spot in heaven for eternity. That made me wonder about the people who don't follow a religion, "if god is dead (or does not exist) then all things are allowable?" People usually hold back when a higher authority is watching, so if there was no higher power monitoring our actions would we feel more compelled to act more freely regardless of the consequences?
To me, it shouldn't matter as much about preparing a long line of good deeds as proof that we are worthy of heaven. I think its more important to make the best of the time we have on earth since none of us know for sure what to expect in the after life. We must help make lives easier for the less fortunate and live life as if it were our last because we never know how long or well it can last. "To be free, we must desire the freedom of all men." This quote best embodies the golden rule I think people should like by. "

Then again, I sometimes think some of our issues can be resolved with a good hug <3