The Emotionless Reader

Emotion is everywhere. On TV, in books, on radio, in news. It’s impossible to get away from it. Unless you’re like Meursault, someone who genuinely feels nothing. Or like me, someone who keeps all emotions hidden from the rest of the world. I realize how people might judge me and keep me at arm’s length, or even punish me, because I don’t have the same reactions that they do. In many situations I can seem distant and uncaring– a simple defense mechanism– yet after reading The Stranger by Albert Camus, I see how that can hinder my daily life.

It is easy for me to control my emotions, to keep them bottled up, never to be seen. I can’t remember a time when I let my emotions run freely, when I talked before I thought it through completely. I have to think about how what I say will affect the emotions of the other person. Meursault doesn’t. He genuinely doesn’t care, doesn’t understand, how his words affect others. When Marie asked Meursault if he wanted to marry her he just said, “It didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to”(41). Then, when Marie asked if he loved her he said, “It probably didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t love her”(41). Both of these statements show how Meursault doesn’t understand how his words might affect the feeling of another person. Meursault says only what flits through his mind, he doesn’t use a filter. To Meursault, these statements aren’t rude or odd, but to the rest of society, including myself, they shouldn’t be said.

Sometimes faces speak more than words. People often mistake my neutral face for one of uncaring and because of that they get annoyed, or even angry; my step father and I butt heads about it at least once a week. Because of this I get defensive, stating it’s not my fault for the way I react. Meursault is the same. After telling his boss that his mother died and he needs two days off, he says “It’s not my fault”(1). His proclamation of “It’s not my fault” shows how his defensiveness causes him to make the death of his mother trivial, like a child would say that it’s not their fault for making a mess or breaking something. While the reader knows Maman’s death is not the fault of Meursault he feels he has to defend himself because his lack of emotion makes him uncaring.

When one doesn’t care about anything they tend to not talk much. I keep most things to myself, preferring listening over talking. Because of this people perceive me uncaring. For example in a classroom situation I might appear uninterested because I don’t talk or actively engage but in fact I am listening intently. Meursault is similarly silent but unlike me he does not listen because he in fact does not care. When at the home, Meursault’s only recognition of the caretaker is that he “talked the whole time” while Meursault waited to talk to the director(4). Later, when sitting in front of Maman’s coffin, Meursault only vaguely remembered things the caretaker had said. Meursault cares only about himself. When people talk, he only listens to what may interest him, or may affect him. If it doesn’t then his ears are closed.

Meursault was judged harshly by society and because of that he was put to death. They couldn’t accept him, he was different, strange. Meursault’s mix of emotionlessness and carelessness creates a man who won’t conform because he doesn’t see the point and doesn’t see that he is different. Modern day society hasn’t changed much since Meursault’s time. People like me are still judged for being different, for not reacting in the correct way, and while we may not be sentenced to death we are still ostracized and punished. Is society right in judging Meursault and people like me? Is it society that should change, or is it me? I think this is the question that Camus wants us to consider.

Works Cited

Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York:

Random House, Inc. (1988): Print.

Sounds: Occupation

Eliza Griswolds “Occupation” is about how the invasion of a military can affect the use of a woman’s body. She use rhyme in her poem “Occupation” to give the reader and enjoyable reading experience about a less enjoyable subject.

This repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, mostly at the end of each line creates rhythm in a poem. In the fifth line there is internal rhyme, ”Dead” and “unfed”. The first rhyming words are denoted by ‘a’, followed by ‘b’, and so on. For instance, in this poem, the rhyming words are “feet”, “heat”, “bed”, “unfed”, “twentyfold”, “sold” and “alone”, “stone”. The rhyming throughout this poem gives a beat for the reader to read with, the beat is the “tap[ing]” of “The prostitutes in Kabul.” This rhyme scheme gives emphasis to each ending word and also creates a feeling of disdain towards the “Occupation” —meaning the invasion of the US military into Afghanistan.

The emphasis given to each ending word is what makes the poem flow to the ending. The seventh and the ninth lines take away any value given to the female body. The speaker says “women’s flesh now worth its weight in tin” and then “A woman then was worth her weight in stone.” The rhyming of “tin” and “then” make those two lines go together creating meaning.

“Occupation” is a surprisingly upbeat poem about a sad subject using rhyme to create this contrast. The speaker highlights the struggles of women in Kabul after the “Occupation” to make the reader sympathize with them.

Symbol, Allegory, and Irony: Casual Wear

James Merril’s “Casual Wear” is a poem about two people involved in a terrorist bombing, the bomber and the victim. The title of this poem is ironic in that the initial impression is one of comfort and practicality, but the actual subject is a casualty, an unforeseen consequence of a political statement.

The poem is a study in contrasts which highlight the irony. The contrast in the poem is evident in the separate stanzas. The first stanza is about “Your average tourist”, and the second is about “Your average terrorist.” The idea of an “average” terrorist makes no sense because a terrorist, by definition, is an extremist. Thus, the Merril sets up a contrast between these two figures. When describing the tourist, the speaker says, “Dressed, this year, in Ferdi Plinthbower / Originals.” The clothing the tourist is wearing symbolizes wealth and stature, even if the reader doesn’t know who Ferdi Plinthbower. They can infer that this person was a famous, and expensive, designer. These descriptions work to trivialize the characters, who, ironically, feel themselves to be very important.

The poem is ultimately a satire of the self-righteous individual. In the last line, “Signed with a flourish, like the dead wife’s jeans,” the speaker is satirizing specifically the claim of responsibility from the terrorist’s video by comparing it to the fancy signing of designer jeans. In the second to last line the speaker says, “ ‘Claiming responsibility’ -devastation.” The use of quotation marks around “Claiming responsibility” demonstrates verbal irony. The speaker is saying that the terrorist is claiming responsibility without taking responsibility, as he feels no remorse and fears no repercussions.

At the end, the reader is left with empty, meaningless gestures from empty, meaningless people: “People…made of colored mist.”

Figures of Speech: Marks

     Linda Pastan’s “Marks” is a controlling metaphor that compares the life of a mother and wife with that of a student. The purpose of this metaphor is to create empathy in the reader.
     This poem is about a woman who feels that her family believes that she is inadequate. For example her husband gives her “a B plus in bed.” which implies that he isn’t fully satisfied. Because sex is such an integral part of a relationship, suggestions of inadequacy are especially demeaning. Later she writes, “My son says I’m average, / an average mother, but if / I put my mind to it / I could improve.” this evaluation concerns her role as a mother and by stating “I could improve” the reader sees how the speakers family judges her as inadequate. Furthering this claim the speaker says, “My daughter believes / in Pass/Fail and tells me / I pass.” Though she gets a pass that does not mean that she appreciated. The controlling metaphor of a student being evaluated demonstrates the pressure of being a wife and mother and the disappointment of not being perfect.
     The last two lines of the poem surprise the reader, not because they didn’t see something coming but because they didn’t expect the finality of it. The sentence, “Wait ‘till they learn / I’m dropping out.” suggest that the speaker, like a student drop out, is giving up. However she seems to be giving up on her families ability to accept and appreciate her rather than acknowledging defeat. She does not accept her families evaluation of inadequacy.

Images: What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (for Those of You Who Aren’t)

     Patricia Smith’s “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (for Those of You Who Aren’t) is about a woman who is describing the inherent conflict of self identity. She creates images of a confident speaker in the title by making a claim of authority, yet later in the poem she says, “feeling like you’re not finished, like your/ edges are wild, like there’s something,/ everything, wrong” creating images of a very self conscious young girl who thinks she isn’t good enough. “It’s dropping food coloring/ in your eyes to make them blue and suffering/ their burn in silence.” this sentence evokes strong images of a girl who is trying so hard to be someone she isn’t, mainly, white. The reader can almost feel the tears welling up in there eyes, the sting of the drop and the yearning to be the same as everyone else.
     Smith’s use of imagery words creates a feeling of longing but at the same time a strong woman. When the speaker says, “it’s flame and fists and life according to motown,” she shows a woman who is happy and proud, a woman who comes from a rich culture that she loves and cherishes. Conversely, “it’s growing tall and/ wearing a lot of white,” creates the image of a teen trying to be someone else, covering up her black skin with white clothing. Finally, in the last three lines of the poem, “it’s finally having a man reach out for you/ then caving in/ around his fingers.” These lines are powerful in the images they create, a woman, eager for attention, falling into the hands of a man, letting him take control of her life. Again the speaker seems unsure of her strength, thinking that a man will make her better.
    The imagery in this poem illustrates the not uncommon dilemma of a woman, the basic drive to be strong, which is in conflict with cultural expectations to be submissive.

Word Choice, Word Order, and Tone: In The Suburbs

Louis Simpson’s “In The Suburbs” is about the middle class and the meaninglessness of it. The title of this poem connotes a neighborhood of white picket fences, perfectly manicured lawns, and smiling people. However the first line, “There’s no way out.” connotes imprisonment. This connotation suggests that the middle class are stuck in the suburbs. Then, the final two lines, “Were born to walk in procession/To the temple, singing.” draws parallels to a religion or a cult where a person is born to be sacrificed. The diction in this poem creates a sense of contrast between how the middle class views itself and how an outsider views the middle class. Like his diction, Simpson’s syntax demonstrates the meaninglessness of the middle class. The last four lines of the poem, “You were born to this middleclass life/As others before you/Were born to walk in procession/To the temple, singing.” is actually only one sentence. However by breaking it up into four separate lines the reader cannot see the end of the sentence much like the middle class being born into an unknown, but predetermined life. The diction and the syntax create a distinct tone in the poem; The speaker is clearly disdainful towards the middle class and that predetermined life. By telling the middle class that, “You were born to waste your life.” the speaker shows the tone of disdain. The judgment in this line evokes a negative attitude towards the middle class. Through his use of diction, syntax, and tone Simpson illustrates a specific attitude toward the middle class life and its lack of meaningful purpose.