from the outside A Comparative and Poetic Exploration of 's The Stranger

By bianca cody mimi “Violence and Human Nature” by Howard Zinn

Zinn argues we are not naturally violent.

He agrees with John Stuart Mill that we are influenced by our environment or social circumstances.

However, he proves we have the ability to choose to act violently or kindly within our environment. Howard Zinn: On Why We Go to War Zinn proves his thesis with four points.

First, he refutes Great Intellectuals because they give weighty support for the belief that we are naturally violent. Scientific Evidence

Zinn examines scientific studies from various disciplines--biology, sociobiology, genetics, psychology, anthropology, ethology--that show our actions are influenced by our environment. Why do we go to war?

Zinn lists many reasons we go to war:

Ruling Elites

Patriotism

Social pressures

Economic opportunity

Professional opportunity Different Responses to Social Circumstances

Zinn shows that Americans:

Responded differently to U.S. involvement in World War I

Veterans write about varied experiences in war

Obeyed, questioned, and disobeyed orders during the Vietnam War Call to Action

Zinn concludes by inviting us celebrate and be a part of a different history, one that that defies authority and imagines another world, a better place for us all. From Zinn to Brazil

● City of God (2002) ○ Depicts violent gang war in Brazilian favela ● Noted for realistic and brutal depictions of violence ● Reveals the choice in all of us pointed out by Zinn Some of the players...

Knockout Ned

● Innocent man turned to Lil’ Ze violence ● Top gang leader in the ● Chooses to fight out of city of god revenge ● Rules with violence

Bené and Zinn

● In terms of choice, Bené Most stands out the most importantly... ● Nature vs. Nurture Bené ● Continuous choice to be ● Lil’ Ze’s closest friend ● Acts as moral conscious peaceful ● Separates from ● Non-violent criminal violence Bené and Fated Choice “All Trees Have Roots”

● Zinn=the power of an ● Choice surrounds individual’s choice, us everyday ● Reflection of ● “Big” choices environment define us in the very moment ● Bené= we are not ● Bené’s Choice: restricted in our Be A Hero choice due to where we come from

Reading Theories Based on Understanding the Social, Cultural, Historical Context of Reader and Text

Based on Louise Rosenblatt’s Reader Response Theory

Kathleen McCormick’s The Culture of Reading

Yellow-Red-Blue, 1925, Wassily Kandinsky

Medium: oil,canvas Algeria Franco-Algeria 1930s 1930s

France 1930s

The Albert Stranger Camus Why is “L’étranger” important? https://yuichihirakoinstallation.tumblr.com/post/183965200633/2019-art-fa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdbLqOXmJ04 ir-tokyo-tokyo 2019, ART FAIR TOKYO, Tokyo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1YszVVybo

“I Thought About Killing You” by Kanye West death, racism, hate, choice, “Killing An Arab” by inclusion and isolation Artist’s Statement: Brown and Lovely:

A poetry collection by Bianca White inspired by The Stranger

Sis and L'il Sis, 1944, William Johnson

Trigger A Haiku by Bianca White

I pull the trigger Shots I fire again—four Dreadful knocks, I hear

My Landscape II, 1967, Joan Mitchell

Medium: oil Two Stories A Diamante by Bianca White

Algeria Lovely Free Yearning, hoping, losing Pied noirs, Frenchmen, Colonizer, Murderers Stealing, hurting, breaking Terrible, Horrible France

Convalescents from Somewhere, 1944, William Johnson Loss Of A Nation An Epitaph by Bianca White

My beloved country Algeria, You used to be ours until they stomped our ground Robbing and raping and claiming Your soil One day you will be ours again My heart can only hope.

A Green Thought in a Green Shade, 1981, Helen Frankenthaler

Medium: acrylic,canvas Brown And Lovely An “I Am” poem by Bianca White I am brown and lovely I wonder why he beats me

I hear heavy chains lifting

I see my old home I want someone to love me I am brown and lovely I pretend, Raymond that you love me so as

I feel feel every pound of oppression

I touch what could be mine- freedom but I worry you will kill me- would you? I cry out and keep repeating I understand that I am in vain I am brown and lovely I say what I hope would be true I dream of real love that’s freeing I hope to get rid of you I am Brown and Lovely Harlem Street, 1941, William Johnson Read Conmigo: Artist’s Statement:

Some Poems by Cody Evans Inspired by the Work of Albert Camus.

Orcus (Stranger in the Garden) - Saddo Absurdism: Lie, Steal, Cheat, and Kill A poem by Cody Evans If there was meaning, he’d be alive. If there was a purpose, he’d survive.

If there was intention, the gun would have jammed. If there was a purpose, he wouldn’t have put it in my hand.

If there was a purpose, no one would die. If there was meaning, I would have cried.

If there was a difference, we all wouldn’t end up in the same place. If there was meaning, I wouldn’t have a smile plastered on my face. Raymond, Subject for your Approval An Alphabet poem by Cody Evans

Affairs; Beatings; Characters for neighbors. Deaf to the yelling; Every night it’s the same. Feel nothing; Go to court; “Handle it for me.” I’d do anything for a friend. Lost Dog A haiku by Cody Evans

Run! Run far away. I know he’ll cry when I’m gone. Never when I’m there. From The Writer’s Statement: Outside:

An assortment of poetry by Mimi Hopper (inspired by L’ Étranger by Albert Camus).

Self-Portrait, 1984, Jean-Michel Basquiat

Medium: acrylic Bad Guys A Shadorma by Mimi Hopper

Anger fills The cracks of the heart Silence spills From within We have all done evil things Yet, we’re not all bad.

Daniel Richter (German, b. 1962), Das Auge War Kaputt [The Eye Was Broken], 2011. Oil on canvas, 100 x 270.2 cm. The Point A Triolet by Mimi Hopper

Was there a point to it all? I watched their pathetic tears. I watched the Arab’s body fall. Was there a point to it all? I couldn’t believe the audacity, the gall. They said they knew Maman for years. Was there a point to it all? I watch their pathetic tears fall.

Lepanto, Part II, 2001, Cy Twombly “From the Outside” A Sijo by Mimi Hopper

From the outside, Meursault did not smile, only watched us with blank stares. His Maman died, and he did not know how, but he still came to mourn. But he didn’t cry, only watched the rest of us from the outside.

Woman Leaving Her Bath, 1888, Edgar Degas Medium: Pastel Some Special Spoken Word

The most beautiful thoughts are always besides the darkest Today I seriously thought about killing you I contemplated, premeditated murder And I think about killing myself And I love myself way more than I love you, so Today I thought about killing you, premeditated murder You'd only care enough to kill somebody you love The most beautiful thoughts are always beside the darkest

WhatWhat aboutabout Kanye?Kanye? ● Rapper raised in Chicago ● Figurehead of culture “from the outside” ● Similar themes to The Stranger ○ Modern Context Kanye Fast Facts

● Seen as overly “narcissistic” ● Deals with mental health disorders ● Stresses importance of family ● Brings faith into hip-hop ● Highly controversial Now, it’s your turn... ● Create an “I Am” Poem

OR

● Create a “Haiku”

About Kanye West, yourself, or Chicago Camus, Albert. The Stranger by Albert Camus. A.A. Knopf, 1969

Evans, Cody. “Read Conmigo”

Hopper, Mimi. “From the Outside”

Ribeiro, Andrea Barata, et al. City of God. Miramax Films, 2002.

“Violence and Human Nature .” Passionate Declarations Essays on War and Justice, by Howard Zinn, Harper Perennial, 2003.

White, Bianca. “Brown and Lovely”

Salvador Dalí (Spanish, 1904-1989), Couple aux têtes pleines de nuages