The Stranger - Day 7

Exploring philosophical questions

Today you will each have a chance to explore a philosophical question related to the text, and how it appears in two different chapters.

A. Norms - who sets them / who goes against them - expectations of following them
B. Judging of others
C. Routines / patterns - what role do they play?
D. Control - when do characters have / lack / want it
E. Emotions / happiness - when are they shown / hidden / prioritized?

Chart for 1st period
*Use this chart for 1st period
Chart for 2nd period

The Stranger - Day 6

Today we'll finish the book together. Then we will have time to read through the assignment.

• Essay assignment for The Stranger

The Stranger - Day 5

Today you can once again work with a partner or small group as we turn our attention to Meursault's imprisonment and the start of his trial. Use this handout for your work.

• The Stranger - Part 2, chapters 2 & 3

The Stranger - Day 5

Here is a link to the questions / chart we'll use for today. Make a copy to share with people in your group.

Choose one of these three questions to discuss with your partner / group:

• Why do we expect other people to feel a certain way? (p. 65)
• Why do the beliefs of others give our lives meaning? (p. 69)
• How do we deal with labels other people give to us, but are not the way we identify ourselves? (p. 70)

The Stranger - Day 4

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend!

For today, we'll look back at our first impressions of Meursault - I'll hand back the story writing you did last week.
Open the document (for your period) below and type your responses into it.

• 1st period
• 2nd period

Then we'll look at the climactic moment at the end of part 1. We'll approach it from a number of perspectives, trying to understand what happens there on the beach.

We'll also check out the song "Killing an Arab" by the Cure - here are the lyrics:

Standing on the beach
With a gun in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring down the barrel
At the Arab on the ground
See his open mouth
But I hear no sound

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm a stranger
Killing an Arab

I can turn
And walk away
Or I can fire the gun
Staring at the sky
Staring at the sun
Whichever I choose
It amounts to the same
Absolutely nothing

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm a stranger
Killing an Arab

I feel the silver jump
Smooth in my hand
Staring at the sea
Staring at the sand
Staring at myself
Reflected in the eyes
Of the dead man on the beach
The dead man on the beach

I'm alive
I'm dead
I'm the stranger
Killing an Arab

(Oh Meursault)

The Stranger - Day 3

How well do we know each other? We'll start today with a short conversation about how well we know the people around us every day.

We will get into groups of three and quickly share thoughts about these questions:

• other than academics, what has been important to you in high school?
• what are your future plans - college / work / gap year / etc.?
• what is the best thing you ever ate?
• what is an issue you care about - something beyond yourself / Deerfield

Which of these was the easiest to talk about? Which one was the hardest? Why?

Then, we'll make a list of the different characters we have encountered in the book so far. Your group will focus on three of them, and for each one, you will:

• identify the parts of the book where they are mentioned
• describe what we know about them and their past
• name their values - what is important to the character? how can we determine this, based on the little information we've heard up to this point?

For the weekend, you are reading the rest of part 1. Enjoy! Pay close attention to the last page!

The Stranger - Day 2

I was not in class today.  You had time to read chapters 2 & 3, and then complete this writing:

• The Stranger: Chapter 1-3 writing

Existentialism and The Stranger

Before we get started today, can you please take this short survey:

• Senior English choices survey

Here is a link to the calendar for our next unit.

Then, I will share an overview of Existentialism with you, using this slideshow:

The Myth of Sisyphus

On Thursday in class we will read and discuss an essay by Albert Camus, the author of our next book, The Stranger.

• "The Myth of Sisyphus"

Please be sure to own a copy of the novel by the start of class on Tuesday.

Life of Pi - work days

Yesterday and today are designated work days to complete your essay on Life of Pi. I look forward to reading what you have to say about it, and hope there is a chance for all of us to hear a bit from each other.

We will start our next book, The Stranger, on Tuesday. Please own a copy of it by then.

For those of you who will not be working during class today, we'll have the chance to watch a video interview with Yann Martel as well as some clips from the recent film version, directed by Ang Lee.