#5 Personal Philosophy

Aveces Negra, Aveces Color Rosa

1.  Know that there's a higher power than us. If this means believing in God that's wonderful but I know that's not the case for everyone and that's fine. But there is something greater than us and you have to know that. I believe in God and that he never leaves anyone alone. I think it's important to have a relationship with Him and when I face tough times, I know that he will never give me more than I can handle. This helps me get through things because I feel confident in myself and I know that God will always be with me no matter what. This developed through my culture.

2. Have strong relationships with your family. I believe this is key to being a happy person and being successful in life. This is because at the end of the day that's all you really have is family. I believe we should not take any family member for granted. I know that my family supports me in whatever I decide to do and for that I thank God because I am very blessed. I think that family really gives you that strength that you need in order to face hard times in life and they never let you fall. They're always on your side. Specifically I think we should be thankful for our mothers because they are the ones who gave us life so if it wasn't for them we wouldn't be here. We owe our lives to them and I feel like we forget that from time to time, but we shouldn't. We should tell our mothers that we love them every day. This developed through my personal experiences with my family.

3. Be grateful. Each day we wake up we should be grateful that we are here. This will help us be happier people overall, because if we focus on the positives the negatives just fade away. I really believe that there's a million reasons to be happy and that shouldn't be ruined for one thing that happens. Every morning, which I know that for me is the hardest time of the day, I think of how grateful I am to be healthy, have a bed, have blankets that kept me warm throughout the night etc. Its those little things we need to appreciate and altogether they seem not to be so little anymore. You could also think of being grateful as appreciating everything you have. This again developed through personal experiences.

4. I believe that to live a life that has meaning you need to have a purpose. If you don't know what that is  that's not bad it just means you need to work on it and find out. There are many ways this can be done. The important thing to keep in mind is that, when you leave this world what will you have contributed? Of course you don't have to limit yourself to one thing. This developed out of my own thinking.

5. Be kind to everyone you meet. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and a simple gesture of kindness doesn't cost anything but can go a long ways for someone else. How we treat people matters because it shows how we really are inside. If we're kind to others chances are that others will return your kindness. We need to learn how to get along in this world and help eachother out whenever possible. 

6. Always have constant long and short term goals. This will help you set challenges for yourself and you'll feel good when you accomplish something that you have set for yourself. Even if you don't accomplish every single goal that's okay. Because its simply a learning experience. Goals also help us refine ourselves everyday and make us better people. It also gives us purpose. Never stop setting goals for yourself. And keep track of your accomplishments. This developed when I realized that goals are an important part of life and are very needed.

7. Laugh. Laughing is something that I think is one of the best things you can do in life. I know there's so much stress especially now and everything seems to be attacking us all at once, but it's important to laugh. We shouldn't forget about the simple things that makes us happy like being a kid all over again. Of course we don't want to become bitter because that's not fun for oneself or others. Laughing doesn't take much but it helps a lot. This developed through personal experiences.

8. Use your experiences to help others. Help other people whenever you can for that matter. Being a helpful person is a reward by itself. I love helping people everyday and it truly makes me happy. The best part is that anyone can do it. You don't have to have some magical skill in order to help others, just the williingness to help is enough. And it's not hard either. So why not? Let's be helpful whenever we can and make someone else's day just like we would like others to do for us. Again, this developed through personal experiences.

9. Stay humble no matter what. Don't ever let things get to your head, no matter who successful you may become or how many valuable things you may own. I will always be humble. I am determined not to forget where I come from, my roots, or ever be ashamed by it. I do want to be successful and happy with my life but never arrogant. I think this is truly important in ones life. This principle developed from personal experiences.

Journal #4

At the end of the novel Meursault comes to the conclusion that there is really no point to life since everyone has the same fate which is death. He thinks that no matter what you do in life, whether it's right or wrong, that doesn't matter because everyone has the same ending anyway. In a way, he has given up on life since there is no meaning behind it. Meursault also comes to a conclusion about the world as well. He believes that the world is indifferent which is very much like himself and that's why he is more connected with nature and his physical surroundings, that with people. The world is the only thing Meursault can really connect to. 
I think Camus might agree with Meursault thinking but I dont believe that he is trying to persuade his readers to think the same way. He is simply informing and giving us an option of what we could think. But then again he might not want us to think like Meursault because he did end up having to go through the death penalty.

Stranger #3

I think Camus divided his book into two parts to highlight Meursault development in the book. Ex: "I worked hard at the office today. The boss was nice" (25). This quote is from the third chapter from part 1. This shows Meursault's thougths and how they are short, quick, and to the point. The following quote is from the first chapter in part two, "Right after my arrest I was questioned several times, but it was just so they could find out who I was, which didn't take long. The first time, at teh police station, nobody seemed very interested in my case" (63). From this we can see Meursault is a little more descriptive in his thinking. Meursault's thought pattern does change but I feel that the way he speaks remains the same. "I didn't say anything, because I didn't have anything to add" (Part 1, 42). "It's just that I don't have anything to say. So I keep quiet" (Part 2, 66). I feel that Camus might be trying to say that change first has to happen within ones self before others are able to see it.

Stranger #2

Option 2

I think Camus uses first point of view because he wants us to really get a sense of Meursaults character and what he thinks. Obviously Meursault is a very different type of character and Camus wants us to feel like what it is being in Meursault's head , and only Meursault is reliable in that sense since no one around him really knows him. Other people's perceptions of Meursault could mess with how we think of him. That could also have a negative affect to what Camus is trying to convey, which is that you don't always have to make sense of the absurdity of the world, because if there was another character they might try to figure out Meursault.

Stranger #1

Marie Cordona
She was a typist at the office Meursault works in. She and Meursault have a relationship. Marie seems to care a lot about love and getting married and gets sad when she asks Meursault if he loves her, because he says he doesn't know and things like that don't make a difference. She likes the fact that Mersault it peculiar, but also realizes that Meursault "might hate her for the same reason" (42). Even though Meursault feels indifferent about his boss's proposal about going to Paris, Marie is quite excited. She often laughs throughout the chapters in various situations, she seems to be the only person who is able to do so.
Salamano
He is an old angry man that always beats and curses at his dog. He seems to have the same routine everyday. One day he loses his dog and he is worried and searching for him. He even goes to the police but they tell him they don't worry about things that like because they happen so often. Later he tells Meursault how he got the dog when it was just a puppy and after his wife had died. This dog does mean a lot to him because otherwise he wouldn't be worried. He takes his anger out on the dog but I think he regrets it now that the dog is gone. I think Camus is trying to say that we tend to take out on frustrations on those who we care most about, in this character. The last line of the chapter ends with Salamano saying, "I hope the dogs don't bark tonight. I always think it's mine". This to me just shows how much Salamano does care about his dog, but it's not until the dog is actually gone that he starts to value him just at he did before.
 Raymond Sintes
This is a man who becomes Meursault's friend. His pride is hurt when he realizes that his mistress is cheating on him. He tells Meursault about it. Raymond ends up beating the woman because he feels that he has been taken advantage of and acts on his range. A policeofficer goes to his apartment and stops him from beating her. He asks Meursault to be his witness for the case and Mersault accepts.