Advanced English 10
SAT List #3 Homework: Define each word and use the site below to create a
crossword puzzle. ***Please print out the puzzle.
Puzzlemaker Website
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/CrissCrossSetupForm.asp
SAT Vocab List#3 Quiz
6th Period: Tuesday 11/24
The Stranger Chapters 1-3 Quiz
In your opinion, offer an explanation for why Meursault takes a "flying leap"
onto a truck with Emmanuel.
1st, 7th Period, and 5th: 11/25
The Stranger – Chapters 1 -3 Reading Questions
Chapter 1
1. What does the reference to "a soldier" tell you about the time period of
the story? During a time of war/Post-WWII
2. After Meursault arranged for his mother to live in a nursing home, why did
he visit her so infrequently? too much trouble; to far to travel
3. Why was it odd that Madam Meursault desired a religious burial? Never
attended church earlier in her life.
4. Does Meursault give an explanation for wanting/not wanting to see the open
casket? Why would someone respond in this way? In your opinion, is this
normal behavior? No, he does not choose to see the open casket. Perhaps, he
is indifferent to her passing. Perhaps, he wants to remember her the way she
was when she was still living. Answers will vary.
5. Where is the caretaker from? His age? Paris, 64 yrs.
6. Describe Meursault’s dream-like experience. What is happening? “After
having had my eyes closed, I had a feeling that the light had grown even
stronger than before. There wasn’t a trace of shadow anywhere, and every
object, each curve or angle, seemed to score its outline on one’s eyes. The
old people, Mother’s friends, were coming in. I counted ten in all, gliding
almost soundlessly through the bleak white glare. None of the chairs creaked
when they sat down. Never in my life had I seen anyone so clearly as I saw
these people; not a detail of their clothes or features escaped me. And yet I
couldn’t hear them, and it was hard to believe they really existed.
Nearly all the women wore aprons, and the strings drawn tight round their
waists made their big stomachs bulge still more. I’d never yet noticed what
big paunches old women usually have. Most of the men, however, were as thin
as rakes, and they all carried sticks. What struck me most about their faces
was that one couldn’t see their eyes, only a dull glow in a sort of nest of
wrinkles.
On sitting down, they looked at me, and wagged their heads awkwardly, their
lips sucked in between their toothless gums. I couldn’t decide if they were
greeting me and trying to say something, or if it was due to some infirmity
of age. I inclined to think that they were greeting me, after their fashion,
but it had a queer effect, seeing all those old fellows grouped round the
keeper, solemnly eying me and dandling their heads from side to side. For a
moment I had an absurd impression that they had come to sit in judgment on
me.
A few minutes later one of the women started weeping. She was in the second
row and I couldn’t see her face because of another woman in front. At regular
intervals she emitted a little choking sob; one had a feeling she would never
stop. The others didn’t seem to notice. They sat in silence, slumped in their
chairs, staring at the coffin or at their walking sticks or any object just
in front of them, and never took their eyes off it. And still the woman
sobbed. I was rather surprised, as I didn’t know who she was. I wanted her to
stop crying, but dared not speak to her. After a while the keeper bent toward
her and whispered in her ear; but she merely shook her head, mumbled
something I couldn’t catch, and went on sobbing as steadily as before.
The keeper got up and moved his chair beside mine. At first he kept silent;
then, without looking at me, he explained.
“She was devoted to your mother. She says your mother was her only friend in
the world, and now she’s all alone.”
I had nothing to say, and the silence lasted quite a while. Presently the
woman’s sighs and sobs became less frequent, and, after blowing her nose and
snuffling for some minutes, she, too, fell silent.
I’d ceased feeling sleepy, but I was very tired and my legs were aching
badly.”
7. What is the purpose of holding a vigil? How long does it last? A
sacrificing of sleep, time, etc. to reflect and pray; 3-4 days
8. What is Thomas Perez’s relationship with Maman? Boyfriend; he often
referred to Maman as his fiancé.
9. How do they reach the church? How is the casket transported? Horse-drawn
hearse; 4 pallbearers
10. What are three (3) of Meursault’s last thoughts of the burial?
Examples: “Some other memories of the funeral have stuck in my mind. The old
boy’s face, for instance, when he caught up with us for the last time, just
outside the village. His eyes were streaming with tears, of exhaustion or
distress, or both together. But because of the wrinkles they couldn’t flow
down. They spread out, crisscrossed, and formed a smooth gloss on the old,
worn face.
And I can remember the look of the church, the villagers in the street, the
red geraniums on the graves, Pérez’s fainting fit—he crumpled up like a rag
doll—the tawny-red earth pattering on Mother’s coffin, the bits of white
roots mixed up with it; then more people, voices, the wait outside a café for
the bus, the rumble of the engine, and my little thrill of pleasure when we
entered the first brightly lit streets of Algiers, and I pictured myself
going straight to bed and sleeping twelve hours at a stretch.
Chapter 2
1. Who does Meursault meet the day after his mother is buried? Marie Cardona
2. What does Meursault choose to do on Sunday? What does this demonstrate
about his character/personality?
Swam, slept, ate, read old newspapers. He is characterized as lazy,
unmotivated, and self-centered.
3. What does Meursault mean when he says, "It occurred to me....really,
nothing had changed."
His mother was never really important to him. Therefore, her passing changed
nothing in his life.
Chapter 3
1. What is your opinion on Meursault’s compulsion to wash his hands? His
washing of his hands off any guilt he may feel in regards to his reaction to
his mother’s death, or anything else for that matter.
2. In your opinion, offer an explanation for why Meursault takes a "flying
leap" onto a truck with Emmanuel.
He understands he is making a potentially fatal decision/choice. However,
since he believes that life is absurd (and therefore unimportant) he could
care less about the potential outcome.
3. Who is Salamano? Explain his relationship with his pet. Do you think
Salamano cares about its health care?
Elderly neighbor who mistreats his dog despite the fact that it is his sole
companion. Yet, he is indifferent to the dog’s failing health.
4. Who is Raymond Sintes? What is "the word around the neighborhood"
regarding Raymond?
Another of Meursault’s neighbors who is rumored to be a “pimp” (“He lives off
women.”).
5. What prompted Raymond’s fight with "the man"? His beating of “the man’s”
sister. p.29
6. What prompted Raymond to beat his girlfriend "till she bled"?
He thought she was cheating on him. According to Meursault, she was taking
advantage of Raymond, never appreciating his generosity.
7. What does Meursault do for Raymond to have Ray say, "Now you’re a pal,
Meursault."?
Meursault agrees to write Raymond’s ex-girlfriend a letter.
Camus link (Be warned. This translation may not be the same as the one we're
reading in class. This is simply an option for those who need to refresh
their memories.)
http://www.macobo.com/essays/epdf/CAMUS,%20Albert%20-%20The%20Stranger.pdf
