In The Stranger, Meursault is concerned with his physical needs. When his mother died, he thought about how hot and tired he was. He felt nothing when she died. Meursault befriended his neighbor Raymond, even though he was not a good person. When they went to the beach together, Meursault killed an Arab. During his trial, everyone tried to get him to show emotion, but he didn't care. Meursault was convicted of murder. As he was waiting in his cell, day after day, he noticed the way the sky looked, and was very descriptive. When it came to talking, he was very short. When a priest came in to get him to say he believed in a higher power, Meursault refused. He became very emotional at the thought of death, and his last thoughts were that he hoped there would be a lot of people watching him die.

Today in society it seems like people tend to be concerned with their physical needs. After awhile, they will tune into their emotions because it eats at a person. When people get married and are unhappy, they tend to stay together because they know they will be physically comfortable. Eventually, people will divorce due to their true feelings because emotional needs weigh just as much as the physical.

I believe that life would be much easier if everyone could tune out their emotional needs, but it's nearly impossible to do so. Their problems could be easily solved. Psychiatrists wouldn't exist. Marriage wouldn't exist. Religion wouldn't exist. You'd just be here waiting to die. Imagine, not caring about anything...

Monthly Connection

Being alone is necessary in finding yourself.  In "The Awakening" Edna discovers who she is when she is left by herself on vacation.  She learns that she really enjoys sketching.  When she goes back to her home with her children and husband she stops doing everything her husband expects from her.  She decides to go out during the day by herself, ad return when she pleases.  She turns a room into a space where she can practice drawing.  Her husband is dumbfounded and cannot comprehend why she is acting this way.  When her husband leaves for business and her children go to their grandmother's house she is completely alone.  Being by herself reminded her who she was all along.   Eventually she moves out of her house and into a smaller house that suits her needs.  She discovered who she was by being isolated.

In the world, this happens all the time.  Married couples that get separated and learn that they have different needs and wants then they did when they first got married.  Some people stay married even though they are not being who they are and it eats at their souls.  When you rely on someone for so long you forget who you are.  You can lose yourself, and that's why so many marriages come to an end.  If two people know who they are when they get married then that is the only way it can work.

I believe that so many people don't take the time to find out what they need in life.  So many people don't know who they are.  If you take time to be alone, it's amazing what you can find out about yourself.  The things that make you happy will always change but being with just your thoughts you can be reminded what you want out of life.  Once you lose who you are, it's hard to remember why you are alive.