Monday, February 1, 2010

L'Etranger

What I've taken most out of our discussions of this book is the concept of honesty. In order to succeed in this society, you have to share those little white lies. There's a certain etiquette required to be "normal" and usually success happens to those who are "normal" with a touch of crazy. To be wildly successful, you have to be able to fit in with the normal crowd, but have that extra touch of insanity. Meresault was not normal, didn't tell those lies, and gave everyone the brutal honesty- for this he was put to death. It does make a difference that he believed he was successful: "I had been right, I was still right, I will always be right." I believe that in order to be successful, you must be viewed by others as successful. Meresault didn't share that conviction, and essentially didn't care what others thought of him. So perhaps in order to be successful, you must first determine what success means to you. If you agree with my working definition, you will follow the rules with a hint of spice.

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