Abraham Han's 20th Century Class Blog

In the beginning of The Stranger we the readers are provided startling glimpses of Meursault’s indifferent nature and the startling consequences of his neutrality. Although Meursault’s indifference sometimes allows him to sit back and relax in the moment within a hectic, worry-filled society, as seen through his afternoon spent looking out the window, pleasantly watching the people in the streets below, but on the flip side, his indifference also lets him turn a blind-eye to the evils within the society, characterized by Raymond and the cruel beating his former-lover which Meursault helped instigate. Meursault’s indifference is caused by his near obsession with his comfort in the present time. For example, he takes irrational decisions such as helping Raymond because his present comfort overrides the expense of the heavy repercussions that would be far in the future, and his ind ifference to both the evil and the good in the world allows him to take any decisions he likes. I...

To me, one of the most profound moments of this novel was when Antoinette is hit by the rock thrown by Tia and is losing consciousness on the ground in part 1. What really struck a chord with me was when Antoinette narrates “It was as if I saw myself. Like in a looking-glass”. The title of the novel itself The Wide Sargasso Sea serves to indicate the predicament that Antoinette is in socially. As Mr. Mitchell told in class, the Sargasso Sea is the sea that separates Europe from the Caribbean. The title symbolizes how Antoinette is stranded in her struggle of identity, stuck in a vast space between the two worlds. As we observe her childhood in Part 1 of the novel, we as readers see how Antoinette does not completely fit the Creole identity, seen through her dispute with Tia, and the fact that she is the daughter of a land-owner. However, we also see how she doesn’t fit within the aristocratic identity, as seen by the dispute with her mother about her dirty dress, and the way that ...