Annotated bibliography for Albert Camus’ The Stranger

"Maginot Line." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction.
Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1709-
1711. Gale World History In Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.

Summary:
The Article talks about France during 1942, and explains the Reconstructions after World War in
France. Also it shows the difficulties people faced during and the War depression, and how they
want spread of pacifism.

Important quotes:
“Good sense would have dictated the further development of these two kinds of armament, in
the production of which France excelled in 1919, but psychological factors (the continuing
spread of pacifism) combined with financial considerations brought any such course of action to
a virtual halt. Military service was likewise reduced (to just one year in 1928). It is true that not
all the politicians and military leaders—notably Marshal Ferdinand Foch—were in agreement on
this issue; nor, a priori, was the idea of a line of fortifications necessarily incompatible with
mobile warfare, once the mobilization and concentration of troops had been effected within the
defended zone. But the views of Maréchal Philippe Pétain (1856–1951) prevailed, and the
military option quickly chosen was all-out defense behind this line. Feasibility studies were made
from 1925 to 1929 under the direction of war minister Paul Painlevé. The law of 13 July 1927
decreed that "the protection of the integrity of the national territory" should become "the
essential objective of the military organization of the country." Construction was already under
way by the time parliament, on 14 January 1930, passed the law that authorized the project and
appropriated 2,900 million francs to support the work over a five-year period.”

Purpose:
This Article relates to the stranger, because they both face a cautions time period, where the
war struck France in and Meursalt is convicted to life in prison, and now both France and
Meursalt are going through a process or reconstructing, reconsidering.

“A locked house” by W. D. Snodgrass

Summary: This poem is about a locked house that stood still, hidden by the trees, and this
house caught W.D. Snodgrass attention.
Important Quotes:

The house still stands, locked, as it stood Untouched a good Two years after you went. Some
things passed in the settlement; Some things slipped away. Enough’s left That I come
back sometimes. The theft And vandalism were our own. Maybe we should have known.

Purpose:

This poem relates to the stranger because I felt that Meursalt and the Locked house were alike
because there both closed, The house is locked meaning it has no expression and Meursalt
expressions also were locked.

ROYAL, DEREK PARKER. “Camusian Existentialism in Arthur Miller's After the Fall”.
Modern Drama 43.2 (2000): 192. Literature Resource Center. Web. 17 Dec.
2010.Document

Summary:

it explains existentialism thought characters being used in the story, and they also talk about
how characters use existentialism.

Important Quotes:

As with Camus's judge-penitent, elevation is equated with judgment in the symbol of Christ.
"[T]oo many people now climb onto the cross merely to be seen from a greater distance,"
Clamence warns his interlocutor (Fall 114), and at times Quentin is all too willing to play that
martyr. In his relationship with Maggie he refuses to see her as anything but the innocent girl he
first met, even after her recording career takes off and it is obvious that she is using him. He is
never able to admit to her what she feels herself to be -- "a joke that brings in money" (After 92)
-- and deals with this inauthenticity by submitting himself to her increasingly meaningless wrath.
Playing the part of a Christ figure, "he turns and spreads his arms in crucifixion" and then
laughingly asks his Listener, "What the hell am I trying to do, love everybody?" (75-76). Quentin
becomes, like Clamence, a poseur martyr, one who willing takes on others' troubles, but who
does so in a demonstrative manner and knows that it will suit his purposes.

Purpose:
Camus relates with this article, in The “Stranger” written by Albert Camu there are also symbols
of Christ. Also the term existentialism matches a lot with Meursalt’s character.

Arnold, A. James. Albert Camus: Overview." “Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed.
Lesley Henderson. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource
Center. Web. 22 Dec. 2010.

Summary:
This Article tells us about how Camus was a great writer throughout his live and also talks about
an essay on the notion of the Absurd, entitled Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus).

Important Quotes:

Camus's view of his own career involved cycles of trilogies. The cycle of the Absurd antedates
his experience of the war in the Resistance. It was essentially complete by 1941, and in 1942 he
began work on the cycle of Revolt which owed a great deal more to the war than did its
predecessor. Once again the trilogy included a novel, La Peste (The Plague), an essay,
L'Homme révolté (The Rebel), and a play, Les Justes (The Just Assassins). The Rebel was
attacked in Les Temps Modernes, a pro-communist magazine edited by Sartre. The subsequent
polemic caused Camus to break with Sartre and to become disgusted with left-wing
intellectuals. Several works written after this experience testify to a deepened awareness of
human motivation, resulting in a more complex and satisfying style. The most substantial of
these is La Chute (The Fall). During the 1950s Camus turned progressively to the theatre for
both solace and stimulation. At the time of his death he was preparing a third cycle, to be called
Nemesis, and had begun a novel entitled Le Premier Homme [The First Man], which was
published in 1994. He left interesting Carnets (Notebooks), in three volumes, and an important
collection of journalistic writings, Actuelles

Purpose:

This article relates to “The Stranger” ,the main character Meursalt also takes cycles of Absurd,
also Meursalt has a little rebel side, like the essay, L'Homme révolté (The Rebel).

class="ct_Newspaper"THOUGHT OF THE DAY." Independent [London, England] 22 July 2005:

37. Gale World History In Context. Web. 22 Dec. 2010.
Summary:
Camus’s Quote on how a person always recognize there homeland when there about to loose
it.

Important Quotes: 'It is a well-known fact that we always recognize our homeland when we are
about to lose it'

Purpose: Albert Camus uses this quote to state how people only pay attention to what they
really like when they loose it, for example Meursalt misses his mom, and appreciated her when
she died.

Poetry out loud

"A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow