Resigned

In the final pages of The Stranger I noticed that Meursault takes a practical approach to dealing with his impending death. He laments not having read further into the specifics of execution and fantasizes about executions that give the victim a slim chance to survive. Meursault thinks about these external factors instead of what he could have done himself--despite the desperation he's displaying through his fantasies he doesn't regret his actions or wonder how he could have acted differently. That is, until his outburst when the prison chaplain visits his cell. Meursault says "I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another" but then denounces anything that he could have done and anything he had done as meaning nothing. Every event in his life was leading to the same end, and so does every event in everyone else's lives. To Meursault, everything anyone does eventually culminates in death and there's nothing that can be done to change the fact. This outlook on life makes me wonder about Meursault's character...

Trying to characterize Meursault in my own words brings to mind the lyrics of a song titled "Resigned" by the band Blur. In general I feel like the word itself, resigned, describes Meursault's character well. In applying it to him I see the word as meaning submissive acceptance, which can be seen, for example, in Meursault's lack of moral assertion when he interacts with Raymond.
Anyways, the opening lyrics are the lines;

"I think too much
on things I want too much
It makes me hateful
and I say stupid things"

These lyrics don't really apply to Meursault as we see him in the novel, but at one point Meursault does say "as a student I'd had plenty of ambition...but, when I had to drop my studies, I very soon realized all that was pretty futile." This line establishes that Meursault used to think differently from the pessimistic outlook we see in the novel. Did Meursault realize the sentiment expressed in the excerpted song lyrics, and did that lead him to losing his ambition? Does Meursault only speak when he needs to so he can avoid being "hateful" and saying "stupid things?" Song lyrics can be interpreted in any number of ways, so my interpretation can't truly be correct or make complete sense, but those were some of the thoughts I had.
Another part of the lyrics are the lines;

 "I wish the sun
could just keep me warm
and I'm resigned to that"

The way I interpret these lyrics is that having the simple, basic necessities of life (the sun keeping one warm) is all that one wants (wishes) in life and they're accepting (resigned) of that fact. They're not aspiring for anything higher--they just want the sun to keep them warm. Meursault appears to be comfortable with his life and as previously stated he doesn't have much ambition. Considering his thoughts and actions in the novel I feel Meursault is rather resigned to what happens in his life, a couple examples being when he says to Marie that a marriage wouldn't really matter and when he doesn't seem outwardly emotional about his mother's death. He is also resigned to his status of working in an office, which is seen when he shows indifference to "a change of life" in Paris. He doesn't aspire for anything higher and is okay with that fact, and even seems to get irritated when people question why he doesn't think differently.

A final connection I'd like to make concerns the final verses of the song, which are; "I'll forget to breathe someday; I've never stopped to think why." Before his execution, Meursault thinks to himself, "I couldn't imagine that this sound which had been with me for so long would ever stop." (112) Both Meursault and the song lyrics express a similar idea on death--that of one not having ever thought about death actually occurring to one's self.

At the very end of the novel Meursault realizes that he'd "been happy" and "was happy again." Any desire or hope for his execution to fail has left him. Instead he says "I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they should greet me with cries of hate." (123) At this point Meursault is fully resigned to what will happen to him, and the novel ends.

Gregor and Work

While the story is not completely finished, so far I've enjoyed the juxtaposition of reality with the surreal in The Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa has become a giant insect but his greatest priority is still getting to work. He initially questions "What has happened to me?" but then immediately turns his thoughts to his job and how tiring it is. Not before long, he realizes that he's late for his train to work, and seems more shocked about this than inexplicably being an insect. The sentence "The next train went at seven; to catch that he would have to make frantic haste and his samples weren't even packed up yet" demonstrates this. (66)
Gregor attempts to get out of bed but finds himself unable to because of his unfamiliar body. The inability to functionally move should certainly alert him to something being wrong, yet Gregor still resolves to be on his way and eventually rocks himself out of bed. Eventually the Samsa family learns of his predicament with shock and sadness (but little horror). Despite their reactions Gregor begins a long speech directed towards the chief clerk concerning his job, defending himself from earlier accusations that he wasn't a good worker. The people around Gregor can't even understand him and are upset at his appearance, which should be another clue that something is amiss, but Gregor acts as he would if he weren't transformed.
I interpreted Gregor's preoccupation with his work as a sort of commentary on how people so absorbed in their obligations forget or are unable to further their own individuality. Gregor's mother describes to the chief clerk how "he never goes out in the evenings" and "the only relaxation he gets is doing his fret-work." (70) These insights and the fact of Gregor's obliviousness to the peculiarity of his situation suggest an unhealthy state of mind. He's so consumed by his job that even at home he doesn't go "out in the evenings" and doesn't realize he's become an insect. However, Gregor's thoughts reveal that he isn't really that happy with his job and only works there out of duty for his family. Even without a positive attitude towards it, he continues to focus on work heavily and since he's working for his family and not himself that even further diminishes Gregor's individuality.
These sorts of ideas are what struck me when I read the first few pages of the story. As an ending thought, Gregor's transformation is something that makes you wonder why or how it happened, but the answer will never be given. His attitude towards it only heightens the surreality.

Rambling on Robert Cohn

It's obvious that Robert Cohn doesn't fit in with the likes of Bill, Mike, Brett, and Jake. Discussions in class enlightened me about the reason for why--Cohn doesn't participate in the same ironical manner that his "friends" do. He takes things too seriously, which we see when someone like Jake tells him to "go to hell" and Robert says that he take that back. (47) It's suggested that Robert gets his perception of the world from literature when Jake describes a conversation where Robert says he'd like to South America since he's apparently tired of Paris; "He got the first idea out of a book, and I suppose the second came out of a book too." (20) Another way to describe Cohn's behavior is that his ideals belong to the pre-war era. What happens in a book doesn't always exactly translate to real life, and no longer do the ideals of pre-war society in the modern times the novel takes place in. Robert Cohn's actions, based on the ideals of worlds that don't exist, provoke the ire of Jake and the ironic crowd he hangs around. This comes to a head during Jake and the gang's time in Spain, where about everyone on the trip expresses scorn towards Robert. This is exemplified when Mike gets drunk and says to Cohn "Don't you know you're not wanted?" (146)

If Robert Cohn isn't wanted, then why is hanging out with these people? The answer is that the vacation in Spain was originally suggested by Robert Cohn himself as a fishing trip, of which he asked Jake if he'd like to come. (87) Jake invited Bill along and then Brett and Mike asked if they could come as well, which Jake agreed to. Brett's involvement with Robert is another reason for him staying with these people, but her dumping and him and his inability to fit in with her ways makes this element a reason for him to leave. What still remains is Robert's supposed friendship with Jake.

Despite being friends, Jake shows a lot of animosity towards Robert Cohn. His narration of Cohn's life in the opening pages of the book downplay Cohn's achievements with a mocking air, adding details like "I never met any one of his class who remembered him." (1) An explanation for Jake's behavior is that he's putting down Robert's masculinity (boxing) to keep up his own, since Jake's war injury has created profound insecurity and shame for him. He can never completely fit in with the people around him (as he most intensely experiences with Brett) but Robert Cohn doesn't fit in his surroundings either...could this be part of why Jake is friends with him in the beginning? Or is this similarity between them another reason for Jake to resent Cohn?

Jake says "You know I do know how he feels. He can't believe it didn't mean anything," when he and Brett are discussing Cohn's behavior during the fiesta. (185) Jake is referring to Cohn's brief relationship with Brett and his heartbreak over her going on to another man, a trend that Jake is already well accustomed to. Brett says Jake wouldn't behave as poorly, to which he responds "I'd be as big an ass as Cohn." Jake has established that he and Cohn have some similarities, but suggests that if he weren't different from him and everybody else because of his injury he would be even more like Cohn. Could one of Robert Cohn's roles in the novel be an idea of what Jake could have been like if he weren't injured? Cohn's ideals relate to that of before the war, which was when Jake hadn't had his injury. He's also had a romantic experience with Brett, which angers Jake but is something he can relate to. At an earlier period in time maybe Jake would have felt more openly upset over Brett's actions, maybe in the way Cohn did, but in the present this is no longer the case.