Intro Paragraph

The way that Meusault expresses himself throughout the Stranger is very similar to teenagers' use of social media. Meursault talks like he is just restating what he saw like twitter. He feels trapped and alone and lacks most human feelings which is like  a teenager who loses their humanity and feelings when they tweet. Meursault's recounting of his thoughts and sensations parallels the modern reliance on social media to overcome isolation and emptiness.

Essay Outline

Intro - I will introduce the idea of connecting Meursault to the everyday teenager on the way that he speaks. The idea that Meursault explains what he is saying in small short bursts like society today.


1st Body Paragraph - Using the scene where Meursault is at his moms funeral. Display his video camera like way of explaining his own mothers funeral without a sense of sadness.

Essay question/Thesis

QUESTION: How do Meursault's trivial thoughts and sensations that constantly run through his head relate to current day use of social media? How has our internalized thinking become public?

THESIS: Meursault's recounting of his thoughts and sensations parallels the modern reliance on social media, to overcome isolation and emptiness.

Stranger 2

The translator states that the writing style is used to depict him in a way that does not show consciousness. Throughout The Stranger he is depicted as non-emotional and almost empty headed. He struggles communicating and disregards others feelings almost like a camera man shooting a documentary that can't interact with everyday life. He refuses to get involved in pretty traumatic moments and makes excuses to get out of it "She asked me to go find a policeman, but I told her I didn’t like cops." (44) He is using excuses to avoid getting involved in the beating and is trying to stay as indifferent as possible. His disconnect is also shown through the loss of his mother. He seems so indifferent and numb about it.

The stranger blog 1

The narrator sentences are quite short but still gives enough detail to paint a picture of what's going on. "I noticed right away that the screws on the casket had been tightened and that there were four men wearing black in the room." (22) This style is quite similar to genesis in the way that in genesis the sentences are short and to the point which is very similar to the narrator in the stranger. The book is written in a way thatched detail is given in a very systematic way that describes just enough for the reader to understand but nothing more.

Blog on Style

The differences in A ClockWork Orange and ESPN are mostly through the writing style and the readers. ESPN tries to reach a large demographic of sports enthusiasts and is written in very simple short sentences. The way that ESPN writers explain situations allow for readers young and old to follow along easily "Fletcher resisted any panic moves. He didn’t trade slumping Devin Setoguchi, as many Wild fans had viewed as a needed shakeup at the time. The GM didn’t do anything rash" (ESPN). Whereas the writing style of A Clockwork Orange is dark and hard for anyone to understand. The reasoning for the intense and confusing style is that the story isn't ment to be the street culture and gang life. The story is written as if you are already an insider instead of explaining what everything is. As the story goes on you learn more and more and start to slowly understand the words but as soon as you catch on the words change. 

Darwin vs Genesis

            Both Darwin and Genesis address the origins of species, but they go about it in completely different ways. Darwin’s style is scientific, with complex sentences, sophisticated language, and analogies. On the other hand, Genesis uses an almost conversational style with simple sentences, short words, and frequent repetition. Darwin states that “The other and more general departments of natural history will rise greatly in interest …when we contemplate every complex structure and instinct as the summing up of many contrivances, each useful to the possessor, nearly in the same way as when we look at any great mechanical invention as the summing up of the labour, the experience, the reason, and even the blunders of numerous workmen” (Darwin). Comparing evolution to shipbuilding, Darwin tries to convince his readers that biology should not be mysterious but logical, orderly and understandable. Genesis does not attempt to make the process understandable, but instead aims to make the mystery of creation reflect positively on God. “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth’” (Genesis 1:21-22). There is no explanation of how, beyond God’s will. This approach makes sense since Genesis was written before the Enlightenment came around to encourage people to think rationally instead of relying on authority.

Darwin also acknowledges the presence of debate about his views and conclusions: “Although I am fully convinced of the truth of the views given in this volume under the form of an abstract, I by no means expect to convince experienced naturalists whose minds are stocked with a multitude of facts” (Darwin). His strong convictions do not stop him from respecting people with other views. Genesis does not engage in debate or admit controversy at all: “And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so” (Genesis 1:10). The short, matter-of-fact statement claims a tone of certainty with no invitation for conversation. Darwin uses rhetorical devices like analogy to make his point more accessible: “To my mind it accords better with what we know of the laws impressed on matter by the Creator, that the production and extinction of the past and present inhabitants of the world should have been due to secondary causes, like those determining the birth and death of the individual” (Darwin). By comparing the evolution of species with the life cycle of a person, Darwin makes it clear that the theory of evolution can coexist with belief in God. Genesis, on the other hand, does not use analogy, but does rely on repetition: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). The word image is used twice in this sentence, and the word created three times, which shows Genesis a storytelling style which contrasts dramatically with Darwin’s scientific writing.