Stranger Discussion journal

Freud developed the belief that unconscioius psychological forces influenced human behavior.
Unconscious motivation:
A Freudian concept that regers to the influence of repressed thoughts, desires, or impulses on our conscious thoughts and behaviors.

Funeral:

1. Pg 10-11, He is watching the people from across the room, and can see the woman crying. But he himself does not cry, but it seems like he knows that there should be a sad essence, but cannot express it.
2. Pg 42, "Then she pointed out that marriage was a serious thing. I said 'no." The freudian concept states that repressed thoughts and behaviors mostly occur from childhood experiences. Meursault's view on marriage must have come from his mom's relationship status growing up. On page 13, the caretaker states that Perez and Madame Meursault were "fiances" which implies she was single when she was placed in the nursing home. His mother's relationship status growing up could have affected his views on relationships and marriages.
3. Racism: Meursaults growing racism was not expressed orally, but through his thoughts, and how he catagorized the Arab people. Meursault did not bluntly state that he was racist, but by the way he his thoughts called Arabs; "The Arabs" implies that his racism is pushed into his subconscious mind and repressed.
4. His blame on the sun for the killing of the Arab highlights Frued's theory. Meursault's blame of the sun symbilizes a subconsious thought, or feeling that he repressed. I believe that the sun in this case symbolizes his racism for the Arabs. His racism is repressed, but shown through his grouping of all the arabs as "The Arabs", rather than it being shown orally. He does not directly state his racism which implies that it is in his subconscious. This repressed racism is the cause to him killing the Arab, while the sun acts as a symbol for this repression.

French Occupation in Algiers:

Racist- "The Arabs"
Feel superior over other cultures
Created Violence between opposing sides- "I said I'd killed an Arab and they were all silent"(72)

Colonialism and French work ethic:

Definition: Colonialism is the extension of a nation's sovereignty over territory beyond its borders by the establishment of either settler colonies or administrative dependencies in which indigenous populations are directly ruled or displaced.
Superiority over other cultures
Racism- "The Arabs"