A Study In The Imagination And Memory

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A Study in the Imagination and Memory of ConsciousnessThe kernel or even being of consciousness serves as footing for any philosophical argument. In The Stranger Camus explores the patterned advance of a adult male without consciousness. I will turn out that one time the tribunal triggers Meursault s memory and imaginativeness, it in bend flickers Meursault s development of consciousness. Camus introduces Meursault devoid of an effectual memory or imaginativeness. Without these, he is non genuinely witting. He urges Salamano to state him more about his Canis familiaris because Meursault does non hold the imaginativeness or want to use the attempt to entertain himself. Meursault s relationship started with Marie, non because he dreamed of passing his life with her, but merely because he felt attracted to her. The span between his deficiency of imaginativeness and deficiency of typical memory comes when Meursault comments, I did it as it came to me, but I tried my best to delight Raymond because I didn Ts have any ground non to delight him ( 32 ) . He writes the missive for Raymond non because he can retrieve Raymond being a great friend in the past nor does he take a long clip to contemplate the diction of the missive. He does this because he can believe of nil better to make. Subsequently, he looks back on his actions and comments, I didn t know what wickedness was ( 118 ) . While Camus shows the patterned advance into an active memory, he besides notes definitively that Meursault began without adequate imaginativeness or memory to understand wickedness. Because he lacks memory he has nil to compare current feelings to past 1s and because he can non conceive of he has trouble in groking intangible thoughts. Therefore, Meursault has limited mental consciousness. By keeping Meursault accountable for his past attitude toward his female parent and killing the Arab, the tribunal besides stimulates him to develop and utilize his memory. Camus expresses the new universe of thoughts and emotions this unlocks as the priest inquiries Meursault. But he stopped me and wanted to cognize how I pictured this other life. Then I shouted at him, One where I could retrieve this one! ( 120 ) . Camus proves Meursault s consciousness has evolved. Descartes said that Je pense donc je suis, but this does non cover the being of others. Meursault struggles with this subject as he wishes he could populate and compare his current life to another point of view. This besides shows a new thirst for cognition. Indeed he notices that, Once I learned how to retrieve things, I wasn t bored at all ( 78 ) . He can entertain himself through his memory. Before, when Meursault lacked memory, he was seldom world-weary. Now, he is non bored because he can utilize the consciousness of his being to excite himself. I realized so that a adult male who had lived merely one twenty-four hours could easy populate for a hundred old ages in prison. He would hold adequate

memories to maintain him from being bored ( 79 ) . By ab initio merely entertaining himself and come oning into contemplating his being, Meursault s memory provides greater consciousness.

While Meursault s imaginativeness helps maintain him sane, it besides focuses his attending on his destiny, therefore raising his consciousness. Sometimes I would acquire to believing about my room, and in my imaginativeness I would get down at one corner and circle the room, mentally observing everything at that place was on the manner ( 78 ) . With saneness under control, his development grows into contemplating his executing. He imagines a decease sentence with the opportunity of life. I would do up new Torahs. I would reform the penal codification. I d realized that the most of import thing was to give the condemned adult male a opportunity ( 111 ) . By woolgathering of a universe where those sentenced to decease hold a hope of life, he forces himself to cover with that sentence. Because of his imaginativeness he is no longer content with admiting that his decease is merely coming early. The documents were ever speaking about the debt owed to society. Harmonizing to them, it had to be paid. But that doesn T speak to the imaginativeness. What truly counted was the possibility of flight & # 8230 ; ( 109 ) . Again imaginativeness brings him to a new degree of idea. Checking himself, Meursault decides, But I wasn t being sensible. It was a error to allow myself acquire carried off in such imaginings. ( 110 ) . He could non do this remark if he did non retrieve being sensible. He uses his memory to assist command his imaginativeness. Even as his imaginativeness grows, he can non and will non conceive of an terminal other than decease. The priest inquiries Meursault s belief when he asks, & # 8230 ; make you truly live with the idea that when you die, you die, and nil remains? Yes, I said ( 117 ) . Camus shows that no affair how graphic our imaginativeness we are all condemned to decease ( 117 ) . Camus addresses fate s relationship with imaginativeness when Meursault contemplates that, Did other people s deceases or a female parent s love affair to me when we re all elected by the same destiny, me and one million millions of privileged people like him who besides called themselves my brothers? & # 8230 ; Everybody was privileged. There were merely privileged people ( 121 ) . Imagination is the tool that enables him to do such an observation. Because he can conceive of the destiny of others, he can besides conceive of his ain destiny. Camus argues that portion of consciousness is covering with the impossible odds of destiny. Even though superficially it would look that the tribunal coercing Meursault to face his yesteryear is bad for him, it really helps Meursault understand his being. Through the development of Meursault s memory and imaginativeness, Camus unlocks a critical and graphic component of consciousness. Yet even if the confrontation with his past benefits Meursault, it still leads to his ill-timed decease.

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