The Stranger Essay

In the passage when Meursault tells the caretaker that he doesn't want to see Maman after she died, Albert Camus shows that Meursault did not have a good relationship with Maman because of how he did not want to look at her body when she died. For humans, this symbolizes that not all people have close relationships with family members. Also Meursault may have feared the death of his mother and was embarrassed and had feelings of guilt because he did not visit her while she was in the home.
When the passage begins, Meursault starts by saying "Maman died today"(p.3). Meursault says he will take the two o'clock bus and get to the old people's home in the afternoon. He slept the whole bus ride which shows that his thoughts were not on Maman's death.
Meursault wanted to see Maman right away but the caretaker told him that he had to see the director first. The director told him, "Madame Meursault came to us three years ago. You were her sole support. You don't have to justify yourself, my dear boy. I've read your mother's file. You weren't able to provide her properly. She needed someone to look after her. You earn only a modes salary. And the truth of the matter is, she was happier here"(p.4). "You're young, and it must have been hard for her with you"(p.5).
When Maman was at home with Meursault, she used to spend her time following him with her eyes, not saying a thing, which further suggests a distant relationship. She cried a lot the first few days because she wasn't used to the home. "A few months later and she would have cried if she'd been taken out. She was used to it"(p.5). That year of Maman being in the home, Meursault did not go there to visit much. He also said it took up his Sunday, ad it was too much trouble to buy a bus ticket and spend two hours traveling to visit her. This shows Meursault had no thoughts or feelings toward Maman.
The director spoke to Meursalt again. "I suppose you'd like to see your mother. I'll leave you now, Monsieur Meursault. If you need me for anything, I'll be in my office"(p.5). Meursault thanked him. Meursault went in the room and soon after, the caretaker came in. "We put the cover on, but I'm supposed to unscrew the casket so you can see her. You don't want to?" "No." "Why not?" "I don't know." "I understand"(p.6).
Life is too short because just like Maman, we will eventually die someday and will regret our actions of not having the chance to be close to a loved one that we may lose at any given time.

Independent Reading Book Essay

In Tony Pacitti's memoir My Best Friend is a Wookiee, the character Tony Pacitti's passion for Marion conflicts directly with his feelings of happiness ultimately resulting in different feelings of happiness and sadness and showing that he and Star Wars are very close. This is important because his passion for Star Wars is strong.

Tony was 7 years old when he got introduced to Star Wars. His parents showed him his first Star Wars movie which was The Empire Strikes Back. Tony enjoyed it so much that he kept watching it over and over again. It was the middle movie of the Star Wars trilogy but he still loved it.

As Tony go older and saw the rest of the movies, it all started to make sense to him. When Tony saw trailers, he got excited and when he was in theaters he could not wait to see them. He loved watching these movies over and over again and he could not wait until they came on tape.

Tony would get beaten up but Star Wars helped him out. He looked to Star Wars for help when he needed it. He would think about parts in the movie that he thought would help him out an it is very fortunate that they did help him out in a big way. Star Wars was always there for him.

When Tony met Marion in college, Tony was a sophomore and she was a senior. They started going out and realized they couldn't be together because Marion was graduating. They had been friends for two years and they learned alot about each other. They shared their passions and they both wanted to make something of themselves as writers. Tony of course talked endlessly about Star Wars. Marion never rolled her eyes when Tony talked about Star Wars.

When Marion left, Tony sent her an email about him making a huge mistake. Marion wrote back saying they will always have their friendship and that short time together. Tony was speechless, heartbroken, and exhausted however, the breakup was for the best.

Finally, Tony says that Star Was has been there for him during those toughest formative years when he really needed it. he says he needed to face the world on his own and that it was time for Star Wars to serves as some other kid's security blanket. "Star Was and I had become like Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. They'll always have Paris. We'll always have the HBO bootleg of Empire."