Things Fall Apart 10-26-12

Is the community represented as civilized? Does it have a strong language? What is the relationship between civilization and language?
The community in Things Fall Apart is civilized. For a nation to be civilized they have to have a set of rules that people follow, a governing body, and a secure position in the community. The community represented in this book is a civilized one because it has, to an extent, all of these things have been seen or implied. The community also seems to have a strong sense of language. The main character Okonkwo communicates with the man that he wants to get seeds from very well. This implies that overall, the community has a strong language. There is a big difference between language and civilization. Language is a part of civilization but civilization entitles much more than just language.

The Stranger Blog Response 10-22-12

Is this text (The Stranger) an example of Camus resisting French colonialism or supporting it?
Answer in the point of view of Kulkarni and yourself.

Kulkarni would argue that this is an example of Camus resisting French colonialism. He believes this because Camus does not portray an accurate representation of the French Colonial system of punishment. Kulkarni believes that "In practice, no French court in Algeria would have condemned a European to death for shooting and Arab who had drawn a knife on him and who had shortly before stabbed another European." Kulkarni also believe that Camus is resisting French colonialism because he continuously refers to the man Meursault killed as the "Arab". Kulkarni argues that this causes the reader to feel bad for Meursault because there is no emphasis on Meursault actually killing another human being. 
I agree with Kulkarni. Camus is resisting French colonialism. This is clear because of the lack of accuracy in Camus' writing and because he de-personifies the Arab which had a huge role in the story.

The Stranger, Chapter Two Response

What are the things Meursault doesn't like talking about?

I think that Meursault does not like talking about the freedom that he has lost now that he is prison. Also he does not like to talk about the fact that he thinks like a free man. Meusault really doesn't like that when he gets the urge to take a walk or smoke a cigarette that he is suddenly forced into the realization that he is not able to do any of these things he once took for granted.

What explains the unspoken nature of these things? Why is there silence surrounding them? Is this silence positive or negative? 

There is an unspoken nature about freedom in prison because Meursault knows that there is nothing he can really do. Even if he tries to be outspoken and get these freedoms, he knows that he never will in jail. This is a very negative silence, a defeated silence. It is a silence that was once very similar to Meursault's personality. He used to think that he did not really care what he did so he never cared to talk about it or share. But now he realizes the privileges he once had but feels defeated because there is nothing he can do to get them back.