The Stranger Theme Card

Quotes: “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.”
“She was right. There was no way out.”
“I said that people never change their lives, that in any case one life was as good as another...”
“I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.”
“As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope...I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.”

Vehicles: Symbolism- In the form of the sun,etc.
Irony- Meursalt’s actions regarding his life, his mother, and his execution.
Imagery
Characterization

Conflicts: Meursault vs. Society
Meursault vs. The Court System
Raymond vs. His mistress and the Arab

Subjects:Love and sex, Conformity and anarchy, and the Irrationality of society.

Themes: 1. Truth
2. There is no lasting piece.

Summary: Meursault, a young and seemingly unfeeling man subconsciously refuses to conform to society’s accepted ideals. Having no true purpose he later murders an Arab and is sentenced to death. He awaits execution and thinks of his life and the world.

Title’s Significance: The Stranger refers to Meursault’s inability to blend with society, as well as his lack of desire to feel and be human.

Major Characters: Meursault, Raymond Sintes, Marie Cardona

Smell Essay

In the Pepsi- Cola commercials depicting a young girl as a Pepsi enthusiast, familiar allusions and humor are used to represent the sender’s message. The sender, being the Pepsi Company, attempts to entice the viewer into purchasing their soft drink by showing that it is indeed more satisfying than their counterpart Coca- Cola. The familiar music and ideas within the commercial broaden the consumer’s imagination in thinking about the experience involved with drinking the soda. By playing to viewers’ emotions through language and logic, Pepsi- Cola implants a permanent stamp of familiarity in the brains of the people who have seen the commercial, hopefully resulting in better sales of their product.
Emotion, being the main factor that causes a person to act in a certain manner, is a very important tool for Pepsi- Cola exploit in order to get what they want. Emotion as a whole is something that sticks with someone constantly, and after seeing this commercial, the sweet little girl is never forgotten. The small, quaint young woman serves as pathos for the commercial, in that she brings out a warm and heartfelt feeling in the viewers. To automatically associate this young girl with a product is a great marketing tool that will make someone choose Pepsi over Coke any day. Backing the little girl is a soothing musical arrangement that helps to set the mood of the commercial. Along with the girl’s tone of voice, the tune alludes to the Italian mafia based film “The Godfather”. As a well known classic, this movie is quite well to do in the hearts of many Americans. The soothing, but also humorous feeling received when watching the relationship between the music and the pathos is the feeling that Pepsi wants a buyer to associate with their product, in hopes that it won’t disappoint.
The language within the commercial is quite humorous, but also familiar in order to keep with “The Godfather” type trend. The young girl breaks into a well-known voice over of the Don Corleone himself and brings a smile to the viewers’ face. The change into the different tone is the defining point of the commercial, showing the passion with which she demands a Pepsi instead of a Coke. This passion is a representation to viewers that there is a distinct difference between the two products, and Pepsi is in fact the better choice. “The Godfather” allusion is only an insurance tool to better familiarize the viewer with the product.
Through the discussed devices, the Pepsi- Cola commercial influences people’s logic and alters their views on the product itself. After seeing this commercial Pepsi is no longer just a beverage to the consumer, it’s a friendly face. When someone stares at the shelves of sodas and stumbles across a Pepsi, they will think of how adorable the little girl was, and how it reminds them of when they saw “The Godfather” for the first time with their Dad. The warm and happy sensation they got when they looked at that screen will flow back into their veins, and they’ll purchase the product. In the event that this occurs one is hooked, for the Pepsi- Cola Company has altered your train of thought, and you are satisfied.
This Pepsi commercial manifests some of the most adored things in American society by simply knowing their message, and attacking consumers’ emotions to reach their goal. After viewing a commercial of this caliber, one can’t help but want to see it over and over again, and that is how you will consume the product as well. By understanding their customers Pepsi can mold their product into anything they want it to represent, and what it represents is always what the viewers enjoy.

Coca- Cola

"Again I Go Unnoticed"

So quiet
another wasted night,
the television steals the conversation
exhale,
another wasted breath,
again it goes unnoticed.

Please tell me you're just feeling tired
cause if it's more than that I feel that I might break
out of touch, out of time.
Please send me anything but signals that are mixed
cause I can't read your rolling eyes
out of touch, are we out of time?

Close lipped
another goodnight kiss
is robbed of all it's passion,
your grip
another time, is slack
it leaves me feeling empty.

I'll wait until tomorrow
maybe you'll feel better then
maybe we'll be better then
so what's another day
when I can't bear these nights of thoughts
of going on without you
this mood of yours is temporary
it seems worth the wait
to see your smile again
out of the corner of my eye
won't be the only way you're looking at me then.

Again I Go Unnoticed

In “Again I Go Unnoticed”, Dashboard Confessional uses repetition, imagery, and symbolism to portray the slow and painful loss of love. As the relationship manifested in the song drags on, the couple turns indifferent and silent towards each other for lack of other ways to cope. While the love quietly disappears, the mind of the speaker races out of control, begging only to be noticed by his female counterpart. Through these literary devices, an intense need for satisfaction shines through, as a man comes closer and closer to losing his love for good.
Through repetition, a listener to Dashboard Confessional can truly feel the longing and hope in the voice of the speaker. By repeating words, as well as phrases throughout the song, it becomes apparent that the speaker feels as though there is nothing he can do to fix the situation at hand. The line, “Out of touch, out of time”, represents his awareness of how it’s too late to do anything. By repeating the word “out”, the idea that both people have checked out of the relationship is apparent. When “Maybe you’ll feel better then, maybe we’ll be better then” is sung, it shows that the speaker knows the relationship depends upon his love’s feelings. If she doesn’t change, and give him her whole self, then the love will surely disintegrate.
In “Again I Go Unnoticed”, the writer uses imagery to bring forth the hidden reasons why everything is falling apart. The woman replaces the speaker with other thoughts and other things, leaving him unnoticed. Through imagery, a listener can better identify with those replacements, and the feelings brought along with them. “The television steals the conversation”. A television, being an insignificant piece of technology, is transformed to mean something drastic to the song. The television doesn’t really steal the couple’s desire to speak to each other, but by bringing it in, a listener now understands how easy it is not to talk to a partner, and how a relationship can ruin because of it. By singing, “It leaves me feeling empty”, listeners now truly feel the speaker’s pain. Everyone has felt that sick feeling inside, when one feels more than just alone, that feeling is this song. Emptiness goes along with the loss of a loved one not because of death, but because of two people’s lack of interest.
Through the use of symbolism, the natural essence of loneliness while belonging to something creates a feeling of missed opportunities throughout the rest of the song. When describing “Your grip”, the speaker institutes his love’s powerful hold on him in the work. He succumbs to this grip, all while it chokes him through silence and fatigue. “Another wasted breath, again it goes unnoticed”. The breath he takes is a waste because his girl is not fully his during it. Normally people don’t notice someone’s breathing, but the fact that he is alone in a relationship makes him feel as though she doesn’t ever care if he does breathe.
The dismantling of love is a lonely experience that always ends in heartbreak. As one begins to ignore the other, a piece of the two people slowly dies, as the speaker in this song does each time his love doesn’t notice him. He breathes, as everyone does, but she is too tired to care, or more interested in something else. The resentment that forms is unbearable, leading to nothing but more quiet, and more breaths.

What Have You Done

Do not tell me what you have done
For I saw you, as clear as day
But I will let you have your fun

There and back you constantly run,
To Hester’s cottage is what you say
Do not tell me what you have done

If your parents knew, they would shun
For if they knew where you sometimes lay
But I will let you have your fun

The guilt you carry must weigh a ton
For your sake I kneel down and pray
Do not tell me what you have done

I ponder should I fetch my gun
I swear to god, someday you’ll pay
But I will let you have your fun

Tell me, what should I tell our son
About the hearts you keep and love to play
Do not tell me what you have done
But I will let you have your fun