Beloved

Trying to understand why a ghost-person-baby come back to life does what she does may be quite difficult, but may give a lot of insight as to basic human behavior.

The past seems to influence all of the characters in some way. Denver seems to want to move away from it; it (meaning slavery) was something that she was not a part of. Sethe seems trapped by it, constantly letting it affect her frame of mind. Sethe doesn't want her children to go through what she did. Beloved only seemed to exist in/ because of the past. She died before she was able to experience freedom.

Love is a big part of the book, and the people in it. They are all trapped by, consumed by, moved by, or wary because of it. Beloved can survive as a human only when she is loved, so it causes her to act in certain ways because she craves more and more of it in order to survive. Denver often feels lonely, and Beloved seems to be her only friend, so she (for a while) would do anything for Beloved's love and attention.  Sethe "loved too much" causing her to take ownership and caring too much for her children, causing her to go as far as killing them because she thought it would be better.

Freedom, hope for a better life, and survival are also major themes in Beloved. Sethe runs away for a better life, even though it causes her pain and suffering. She sent her children on without her because she wanted them to survive and live a better life than she had had.

The Stranger (L'Etranger)

Why does Meursault act the way he does?
a) He refuses to lie
       -He wouldn't say he regretted shooting the man because, honestly, he didn't.
       -He didn't confess his sins and turned to Christ because it wasn't what he believed.
b) He does what he needs to, and what is easy.
       -He chooses to stay in one room, because it is easier.
       -He goes to work because it is necessary.
c) It didn't matter to him one way or another
       -He didn't care if he was married or not, because it didn't matter to him. He would still be with Marie either way, even if he didn't really love her.
       -He was going to die anyway, so did it matter when?
d) Something outside of his control affected him
        -He shot because the sun was in his eyes
e) It was natural
        -He slept because he was tired

Why do the people convict Meursault?
a) They are afraid
b) They don't understand him
c) They dislike the idea that he was relatively unaffected by his mother's death, and 'buried her with murder in his heart.'

Another big idea is that people (like Meursult's Maman) just get used to something.
--Maman didn't like living in Meursault's apartment because it was not what she was used to. She also didn't want to move because she had gotten used to living with Meursault.


Something to take note of: The author (Camus) is Algerian/French, so many customs (like the courthouse) are different than in America. This has an affect on how the people act and how life is conducted.

Metamorphosis

Why does Gregor...

1. Protect the picture?
• It is his connection to the familiar.
2. Hide under the couch?
• To be courteous (he doesn't want to scare his family)
3. Try to go to work initially, despite his change?
• He cares for his family and believes they cannot get along without him working.
4. Change?
• He was stressed and put under a lot of pressure, which could cause a person to become sick.
5. Lock his doors to his room in his own house?
• He became accustomed to locking doors before he fell asleep because of travelling all the time.

Why does Gregor's family...

1. Lock Gregor up, mistreat him, barely feed/clean up after him?
• They are afraid of him and don't understand him.
• They are afraid of what others might think if they see him
• They forget he is/was part of the family
2. Take in tenants?
• They have to make money somehow, even if it means inconveniencing themselves and swallowing some of their pride. However, note that they never mention Gregor or voluntarily allow the tenants to see Gregor.

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

Seeing inside Stephen's mind as he writes in a stream of consciousness allows for one to understand why he acts different ways.
-Fear: As with a fear of hell, stephen begins praying
-Past Experiences: "do you kiss your mother?" "do you love your mother?"
-Want to be true to himself
-love
-curiousity
-confusion

Playboy of the Western World

Why did Christy act the way he did? He seemed to lie about who he was and what he did. As it turns out, his 'lie' was an exaggeration, played up with the help and encouragement around him.

Could it be that people tend to make expectations of others based on first impressions? If this is true, then it could explain why Christy exaggerated his story. He could have been trying to live up to the expectations of the town, and wanting to impress them.

Also, the people of the small town rarely encountered travelers. There is the chance that they have gotten bored of their town and usual day-to-day occurrences. When a mysterious, young man happened upon them, they may have fantasized about who he was, and they probably made his story more extravagant than it was in reality. For Pegeen, the chance of falling in love instead of being in an arranged marriage sounded exciting and fantastic.

Christy's story sounded gruesome and frightening; why would anyone want to be around such a person, or even marry him? It could be that people can make excuses, and in fantasy and delusion, change bad qualities into good ones. He killed his da?!?--- He must be strong and brave! ---He must have had good reason; He's probably been through a lot! ---Poor Christy!

The people quickly turned on Christy when his tale turned out to be exaggerated and his dad not truly dead. Though he may not be as much of a criminal, his tale wasn't as exciting, and he wasn't as brave and not very honest. The people's impression was wrong, and they felt as if they had been lied to. Also, their relief from their boring day-to-day life wasn't as fantastic as they had hoped, or as it had been made out to be.

King Lear

What influences Lear and the people around him to do what they do? Some possibilities could be the images of authority and want for love. Power can also play a role in why they act in certain ways. Could Desperation also play a role?

• Authority
• people want to serve Lear (Kent and Oswald) and want him to reward them for their servitude. in a similar way, his daughters profess their love for him, wanting to please him and earn some of his land.
• Love
• Lear's daughter profess their love for him in order to gain something from him.
• Cordilia truly loves her father, and thus, chooses not to say it elegantly because she believes love is more than just words. However, her father does not understand this and thinks she does not love him and sends her away.
• Edmund likes both Regan and Goneril and decides he will be with whichever one does not die.
• Power
• Many people strive for power, and when they are in the position of power, they can abuse it.
• Lear goes crazy when he realizes he is loosing his power.
• Others try to undermine him for his power
• Desperation
• In Lear's desperation and loss of his kingdom, he goes mad, and acts erractically.

First posting and a half.

The reason for which I have picked my question is that I am very interested in the interactions of people. Why do people act the way they do? How does it differ from when they are alone to when they are in a group? Around authority? It may be possible to gather some answers from literature.

Currently, I am taking a sociology class in which some of these ideas are addressed. The main focus of sociology is how people interact in a group. From time to time, I can include the ideas from my sociology class into my Big Question.

• Some current ideas: Authority, fear from it/ of it, wanting to be included, information surrounding them has suggested that they should act a certain way (ie. media).