Journal 14

6 questions from chapter 6, with some notes pointing towards an answer.

1.   Why does Camus include Mersault's cigarette tasting bitter?  I believe there are 2 possible reasons Camus could be doing this.  He might be setting a tone for the "waking up" feel and the bad taste in one's mouth.  Or, he may be giving us an opinion about Mersault, that he is somewhat of a loser. 
2.   Why was Merault's statement not checked?  I think apart from the possibility of the ever-present sexist undertone, I think this was to highlight the obsession with justice applied to Mersault later in the story.   
3.   Why is Masson's tendency of "and I'd even say" repeated?  Because of the way Mersault describes this I think that this is supposed to show Mersault's opinion that some things don't matter.  And it creates a dichotomy of things that matter vs. things that do not.
4.   Why does Camus go into greater description of the beach tan anywhere else?  I think there are to possible reasons for this.  Firstly, he may be doing this in order to establish the beach as a place of significant importance, and almost foreshadowing the major event that will happen there.  Secondly, he may be creating a closeness for the reader with the relaxed way Mersault is describing and acting on the beach.  Because when Mersault has a distance from the emotional world, this creates an opposite effect.
5.   Why does Mersault refer to characters by nationality (Parisian, Arab)?  Well, I noticed the whenever Mersault does this, it is only to smaller, flat characters.  So I think he is almost describing them not necessarily in a racist manner, but rather that they are "one of the group".
6.   When describing days, Sundays and Saturdays are constantly referenced, why?  I'm not completely sure why Camus does this.  I've noticed that during the week Mersault is stuck in the day by day cycle, where nothing new happens.  So maybe it is supposed to represent freedom or something or a change in his schedule which he normally has planned out to the bone.