Directions: Read Act 1 of Albert Camus' play Caligula. On
your blog, answering the following questions as best you can and as thoroughly
as you can:
1. We have spoken
about the 4 truths of the “I” which make up our innate human experience. In
classical terms, this was referred to as the "heart" of man. How does
Camus demonstrate Caligula’s heart? What is the implication of this for
Caligula?
Caligula
wants the impossible. He says, “I want the moon, or happiness or eternal life—something,
in fact, that may sound crazy, but which isn’t of this world” (Camus 8).
Caligula is searching for what he doesn’t have and doesn’t have the ability to
achieve no matter how hard he tries. He knows it’s impossible but he tried to
search for it anyways. His sister dies and he doesn’t know how to handle it so
he runs away from the palace in search of answer and while away, he began to
think about what his life really meant and what he really wanted. Caligula says
that he knows what to do to help his kingdom find meaning to life, “For I know
what they need and haven’t got. They’re without understanding and they need a teacher;
someone who knows what he’s talking about” (Camus 9). The death of his sister
opened the doorway for him to find the truth he has been searching for, the
answers to his impossible questions.
2. How do those in power (the patricians, etc.) view
Caligula, and his "heart"? Do you agree with their view? Why or why
not? (Give examples from the text to support your answers to both questions.)
The
patricians view Caligula is an immature man who doesn’t know how to handle
grief. They expect him to just get suck up the pain and get over it because it’s
not worth the time. “Is there anyone capable of mourning a loss for more than a
year on end?” (Camus 4). They don’t have
any sympathy for him and wish that he will just come back to the palace so they
can speak to him. “Oh, he’s a mere boy; we’ll make him see reason” (Camus 6).
The First Patrician sees Caligula as malleable and doesn’t think that he will
be able to stand up for himself. He thinks he can change whatever Caligula has
mind set to when he returns.
I do
not agree with their view. Caligula may be still young but that doesn’t mean he
doesn’t know about life. Caligula is the emperor and the patricians can’t even
trust him. All that Caligula wants is the truth about his sister’s death and
the impossible. He wants what he can’t have and that’s just how human minds
work. Humans want the impossible just because they need something they can hold
on to, something they can believe in.
No comments:
Post a Comment