Read Pages 17 - 27 by Thursday. Finish at the end of the 1st paragraph on the page.
Also, don't forget to do the take-home essay for the AP Exam. If you have not received a prompt please come see me.
It is a short assignment, so please read carefully, thoroughly, and slowly. Jot down any ideas you'd like to discuss on Thursday.
More specifically I'd like you to write down your favorite quote, or aphorism, and be prepared to lead a short discussion on how it contributes to the novel.
Please respond to the questions below on this blog by Thursday before we meet after school. Your response should be one to two paragraphs in length.
I would like you to write about why he does all these wonderful things for everybody? What causes his generosity? Furthermore, apply this question to your life and the world around us. Why do people devote their lives to saving a rainforest, homeless kids, or alleviating poverty?
He does all the nice and wonderful things for everybody, to sate himself. He mentions how he likes to be in high place. I think it symbolizes how he wants to be and already considers himself to be higher and superior than the rest of the people. Although he boasts about his generosity and tries to make himself sound like a munificent person, in fact, he also implies how he feels pleasure in seeing other people thanking him and revering him. Therefore, he's using the rest of the people and his 'generosity' to satisfy his own ego.
ReplyDeleteI believe people are showing their generosity because they feel pleasure in doing so. This pleasure might not be as obvious and as selfish as the former lawyer's, however, this is the subtle and hidden reason behind the actions of generosity. Not only humans, but many animals help each others, but in fact, they do so that they would benefit from this generosity. The action might be done so subconsciously and habitually. I think that we are basically trained and spoiled by this pleasure for a long time, that we don't even remember the presence of this pleasure. Yet, the purpose of the generous actions can be very pure and subconscious in my opinion, unlike the perverse joy of the former lawyer.
Jean-Baptiste is egotistical in a manner unlike many narcissistic characters seen throughout literature, for it seems as though he does not realize that his actions are based on self-content rather than for the benefit of others. He recalls of several anecdotes, and casually boasts of his generosity, mentioning how he takes "pleasure in life and in my (his) own excellence" (Camus 25). Thus, helping others makes him feel excellent, like somewhat of a angelic figure, which indicates how his motives are based on wanting to sustain his satisfaction on the way he views himself.
ReplyDeletePeople who dedicate their lives for the benefit of others do not calculate the outcome of their actions. People reach out to solve these problems in life because it's something that the majority would benefit from. In a sense, Jean-Baptiste does feel pleasure in helping people, yet somehow his intentions seem to lack the pure feelings of a philanthropist.
There are many reasons for people to act kind and to help others in need. I believe that we humans are genetically programed to possess an innate talent for socializing and understanding others' problems, that is because these qualities are necessary for survival. Also, helping others leads to a feeling of self worth and accomplishment when the individual you helped succeeds or thanks you. Even the most primeval organisms form symbiosis and live cooperatively helping each other for mutual benefits. Jean-Baptiste Clamence is full of pride in my opinion. He does all the wonderful things such as helping the blind, poor, strangers and even criminals for his own satisfaction. He said "used to exult" when a beggar approached his house. He needs that reassurance that he is doing something right and this gives him joy.
ReplyDeleteThe man initially does all these wonderful actions for those he does not know because it satisfies him. He enjoys the idea of making someone else's life easier, and he sees it as an act that is easily done, but can make another very happy, so its like giving a little and receiving a lot. He does seem like quite a narcissistically character, but that is because he is narrating the whole time, and that is all he can talk about. "My heart was on my sleeve. You would really have thought that justice slept with me every night I am sure you would have admired the rightness of my tone, the appropriateness of my emotion, the persuasion and the warmth, the restrained indignation of my speeches before the court. Nature favored me as to my physique and the noble attitude comes effortlessly" ( Camus 17 ). This shows how he could be perceived as narcissistically since he speaks of himself in such a high manner and he uses word such as admired and effortlessly.
ReplyDeleteI think people devote their lives to saving others, and having hobbies that benefit the people and environment around them for many reasons. One could be, they see the world as a constant changing place, where to evolve, it needs help from as many willing, and another reason could be that some just feel as though they need to, to express thanks to all they have received, as sort of a homage back to society and the world around them. It is in some to just naturally want to help, but for a lot of people, something has promoted the idea of "helping others" and not being selfish, and this is the overall reason they take up "helping"