Journal #12

I find Ward's version of the story to be more relevant to the themes, and also more unique. Ward creates very small sentences, while Gilbert uses semicolons and commas to make his version less fluid. On the first page, there are huge differences between the two translators simply in the words they choose, and the connotations that come along with them. For example, Gilbert says "Which leaves the matter doubtful; it cold have been yesterday"(Camus 1). This sentence makes it feel like Mersault is simply unsure, whereas in Ward's version, "That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday" gives the feeling that he doesn't care or doesn't want to care. There are major differences in other parts of the novel, and most of them obviously stem from word choice and connotation and sentence structure. Overall, I prefer Ward's translation because I think it fits Mersault's character better. I feel like he doesn't want anything to mean anything, and he is trying to hide his emotions.

I think that the title of the book could have been The Outsider. This would have produced interesting changes in how the book is perceived, instead of Mersault simply being unknown, he would have been completely different. In the scene where he watches the streets of Algiers from his window, it feels almost as if he is not connected to the real world, but instead viewing it at a great distance. Camus says, "Then the street lamps came on all of a sudden and made the first stars appearing in the night sky grow dim. I felt my eyes getting tired from watching the street filled with so many people and lights." (Camus 24). This passage shows how he is very detached from the people on the street, just like an outsider would be curious of the goings-on in a city. He is watching the world, and not participating in it, just like someone unaccustomed to society would.