NOVEL: https://www.slps.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=27607&dataid=78367&FileName=The%20Stranger%20-%20Albert%20Camus.pdf
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We will be discussing in class two of the many ways that you can approach a literary text: internally, which is to say working exclusively with the text, analyzing the literary features of plot, theme, tone, setting, point of view, characters, conflict, symbolism, and/or allegory. You would look carefully at the author’s choice of vocabulary and grammatical elements (syntax, which is to say: sentence structure and length and punctuation) and how those decisions strengthen the story.
In this approach, you would rely heavily on the actual novel, story, poem, or play, citing direct quotes from the text which strengthen your understanding of the answer to questions such as:
Why is this a text of literary significance?
Why did the author write this?
and/or How is this text to be understood?
You might use outside texts that support your arguments, but they are not necessary, and your argument of the story should be original, rather than a simple regurgitation of some previous scholar’s interpretation.
externally, which to say working with the text and outside sources (historical documents, biographies, autobiographies, other works by the same author, interviews with the author, works of fiction contemporary to the author, etc…) to explain how history and the author’s biography influenced the creation of the novel, story, play, or poem.
In this approach, you would rely on making connections between the actual text and historical texts, other works by this same author or her contemporaries, and/or the author’s biography (or autobiography, when possible) to answer such questions as:
How is this work a product of its time?
How did historical events contribute to the author’s train of thought?
and/or How did events in the author’s personal life contribute to her or his train of thought?
You might also take the approach of using historical documents and outside texts to take a more radical stance: that the work you are studying was not only influenced by its time, but actually influenced its time. Recognized works such as Carl Ginsburg’s Howl, for example, are widely said to have had “a cataclysmic impact… not just on the literary world but on the broader society and culture.” (Fred Kaplan, How “Howl” changed the World, Slate Magazine, 2009)
Your Assignment
You are to write about Albert Camus’ The Stranger and seek to respond to the questions:
What is the point of this book? What is Camus telling us?
You are to select either one of the two approaches explained above: internal or external. Please indicate which approach you have chosen. (You are to choose only one of the two.) Using standard MLA format, you are to answer the questions posed by your approach in an organized, well-written, cohesive 750-word essay. You are to cite any outside texts.
Text requirements:
750 words
MLA format
No points will be removed in Paper 1 for improper MLA formatting.
You will lose 5 points for improper MLA formatting in Paper 2.
You will lose 10 pts for improper MLA formatting in Paper 3.
See the link on our homepage on how to format a paper in MLA style.
Alternatives: Students are encouraged to propose alternative writing prompts, of equal or greater length, for this assignment. If you would like to approach your understanding of the novel from a different angle, please email your professor with an idea and he will work with you to develop an alternative prompt.