The Stranger

One of my summer reading books for school this year was The Stranger, written by Albert Camus. Everything about this book, the characters, the emotions and the ending were so unexpected and strange if kept me guessing. Throughout the story things were constantly changing and I never fully understood the main character Meursault. Meursault is the protagonist and narrator of the story. He sees no point to life and is constantly being negative and what we call a "Debbie downer." But he had a lover named Marie; now this is what blew my mind. He says he has no emotion or feeling towards anything but calls Marie his lover. Another reason I was befuddled by him was how emotional he became when he was sentenced and had to hear from others their thoughts on him. He being frustrated and angry showed deep down he had some emotion and saying he did not care was a front. Now, I could be completely wrong and he could have no emotion and his front is actually who he is but who knows.. See my dilemma! I never fully understood Meursault but he being the way he is captivated me. He is one of the reasons I liked this narrative so much. He was so different and discombobulated and I found that so interesting. Especially because everyone is different in their own way and his emotional frustration helped me along with other readers relate. Marie is Meursault's lover and she is also a strange character. She knows him better than anyone and how he feels, this attracts her. Someone who pushes her away by certain actions and does not marry her but makes love to her. It is the most confusing relationship and I questioned why she stayed. Did she stay because she was concerned, because she was in love or was she emotional confused as well and felt comfortable around him. Why would she stay knowing he feels no emotion and will not marry her, what is her motivation ? Is it for the love making or is there something she is hiding? I constantly asked myself these questions trying to put the pieces together but there was always one missing. Their romance, if you can even call it that, confused me but kept me on my toes which I liked; it was never boring. The ending was very surprising and I never even thought he would commit murder or go to jail. It was a twist in the story and the characters emotion. All in all it was a great narrative and one of my favorites.

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" -Joyce Carol Oats

When I first started reading, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oats, I was lost and confused as to what the moral/point of the story was. As I continued to read and learn more about the main character and the supporting characters it became a tiny more clear but still a little foggy. The story to be overall was captivating because you never knew what was going to happen next or if the person was who they said they were. I caught myself trying to jump ahead and guess what was going to happen next but I was mistaken each time; this kept me interested. As the story went along I noticed Oats used multiple contents of detail when describing characters and the objects they were using or surrounding them. This helped me as a reader related to the characters and the plot more because I could put myself in the situation. Connie's life was relatable to girls my age because we focus on our looks, boys, and life and we have the sibling that we call "the favorite chid." I believe Oats portrayed Connie this way so we could relate and enjoy the story more. The plot was very strange and weird to me; I liked it. Like I said in the beginning you never knew what was going to happen next and this kept you on your toes and thirsty for more. Arnold Friend is a character I will never be able to figure out, is who he says he is or is he a creepy man. It threw me when he knew everything about Connie and her family, my reaction was "oh my goodness Connie do not fall for it!" The way he spoke to her as if she was already showed me how demanding he can be and he takes pride in ownership; what is his is not one else's. I think Oats used the dialogue between Connie and Arnold to describe their characters and show another side to them. Overall Oats story was one you had to keep reading until to end to find out what happens but when you get to the end she does not reveal what happens. Now, this made me so mad I was like "noo did she go, did she stay, what did he do?!" Actually some girls and I were discussing it in class and we were saying how we wanted to know the ending and we were all shocked Oats did not say what happened. It was a great story and I recommended it already !