Alcala 1958

Su ch "mons tro siti es" inf lue nc edthe jury in the bel ief tha t Meurs aul t wa s a born crimi na l. Conse que ntlythe abs urd ityof a tradit ion al bo ur ge ois con cep t of con ven ­ tions, fa lsi fy ingthe me aning of beh avi or an d eve nts , is Me urs aul t's un do ing . It con firms him in hi s own robo t reactio ns as ref lec ted in tho se of hi s sur rou ndi ngs. Con demned to be beh ead ed, he rag es again st the chap lai nwh o tri esto rec onc ile him to God . Cam us' tec hn iqu eof recom bin ingfrag­ me nts of rea lity is best por trayed in the ac tiviti es ou tsi de Meursau lt's pri son cel l. Th ese fra gm en tar yimp res sionsreach him as impr ess ion sevo ked by sou nd an d the y cla sh wit h hi s cr av ing for a vi e un an ime from wh ich he is go ing to be cu t of f. Th ey sugg est a de spair ing pay sag e (Tame as he co nf id es hi s emoti on s to hi s diary and ind uce sa uniqu emood of me lan choly. Cam us' powe rful or igi na lity is rev eal ed in Meurs aul t's sun -in tox ica tion,wh ich im­ pe ls him to the mu rde r of the Ar ab , ex­ pre ssed by a gradat ion of imp res siv e imag ery . In sho rt and int ent ion allysimple clause s Camus gat her s pre cise notat ion s that fin all y expl od e int o a cat astr oph e. All in all, the abs urd con dem nat ionof a gui ltle sspri son erha s been mad e pal pab le, exp eri me nta l, pla usi ble an d terre- a-lerre. Th e sto ry is out stand ing , well -wri tten , luc idl y ob jectiv e and of cla ssic al sty le. — P. N. N .' 2 E IGHT yea rs bef ore Edward J. Rup- pelt 's Th e Re po rt on Uni de nt ifi ed Fl yin g Ob ject s ," the Ai r Tec h­ nic al Int elli gen ce Center of the Un ite d Sta tes Gov ernmen t prepar ed an "E stim ate of the Sit ua tio n" on fly in g sau cer s. Wr itte non leg al-s izepap er, bou nd in blac k and ma rked "Top Se cre t," the doc umentwa s anof fic ia l Air For ce an aly sis of inc red ibl e reports from cre dib le pilo ts, 12 Philip N. Nac ozy, profess or of Modern Lan­ guages at the Colleg e for Men. "G ar de nCity , N. Y. : Doub leday , 1956. tro ities" ced t lt nal. ently ity t io al rgeois t • l ifying t i r , lt's ing. fi s ns l te r ndings. ned ed, st l in tries ile . ' i ue bining • t lit ye ti ities e lt's . e tary res ions m es ions e !< i i e i . e t iring e d'o i es ions choly. ' rful i ality e l 's -i toxication, i • , - ion r ive ery. io al y l 11 i io s l y e ophe. L c nation ilLlc!' er le, enlal, . hlc a-ler c. l ndin~, \\ t en, i ly i e c: l lc. - 12 hd n· ' rt 01t ntif ed g jects, 13 • l l d igcnc • i cd l t e ate t' it ti n" i g s. i lcn 0 l- ize , t, e t ial Air l sis ible i le , 12 , m - 1):uai: e 1 13G en , .: l ,

Milwau kee ,and dir ect or of the Ins titu te of Human Edu cat ion . — W . A. N . 10 A LBERT CAMUS'wi nn ingof the last No bel Pr ize fo r Lite ratu re ha s rev ive dinte rest in thi s grea t French wri ter, pa rti cul arl y in hi s L' Et rang er. " It is the sto ry of the alleg ed abs urd ity of hum an ex ist en ce. Ext erio reve nts in thems elv esdo not lead to any explan ati on, but Camu s is no t at eas e with Sar tre 's ex ist en tia lis t pas sion inut ile . Camus trie s to over com e the abs urd by the life stor y of Meu rsau lt. Meu rsau lt bu rie s hismot her ,tak es amis tre ss,commit s a cri me an d is exe cu ted .He wa s astra nge r on an abs urd ear th. He simpl y revo lts ag ain st the usu al. UE tr an ge r, wri tten in sho rt sen ten ces wit h a phr ases -hac hee s tec hn iqu e,is rem­ ini sce nt of Hemi ngwa y's Death in the Af ter noon but wit h a de fin ite pro pen sity to po eti c pro se. Th ere is, howe ve r,mu ch mo re in thi s cla ssi calnovel. Th e hea rt of the pro blem is that the jud ge in Al gie rs wh o con demned Meur­ sau lt changed hi s mind ab surd ly. He fir st is fav orable to Meursa ult's ca se and nev er wou ld ha ve con dem ned th is comme rci al clerk for firs t-d egr ee mu rde r. Tha t he killed an Ara b, who ha ted an d wa yla id him, in a mood of int ox ica tionfrom sun , heat and danger, wa s tho rou gh lyexp lain­ ab le. But the "w itn ess es, "the conc ier ge and oth ers , fou nd it sh oc kin gan d typ ica l of a cri mi nalthat Me ursaul tdid not beh ave dec ent ly in the home for the ag ed , whe n at the wak e of hi s mo the rhe drank coffe e in the pre sen ce of the corp se an d did not shed a tea r. Then aft er the bu ria lhe wen t to the bea ch, wh ere he sta rted amoro us rel atio ns with a girl, Ma rie , an d took her to a hum oro usmo vie . 10 Fr. William A. Nolan, profe ssor of Soc iolo gyat the Col lege for Men . 11 Edi ted by G. Bree and C. Lyn es (New Yo rk: Apple ton-Ce ntury-Croft s,19 46 ). ke , a te H lion. - . .1° A ' ing i re i t , ic larly h tranger. 11 e . ity ence. r elves ation, s 's tialist tile. o overcome t s lt. lt ri s his , s , its a c c ted. t . y lts t l. L' tranger, ces s -liache s ique, - t · i gway's /terrwo ite sity ic s . r, l l. l rs - ge rdly. l lt's l ned i rcial r egre r. , i ic tion , ghly - l . t it es es," i ge , i g i l i al t tly , e s ce se . i l , us ti ns ~ i , us m i . 1 0 r. gy l .f . 11 t ry- rofts, 1 ).

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