The Vainberg Experience

12 AP 1st Semester Reflection- The Stranger   The first semester of 12 AP English was one I have to say I enjoyed. The readings were intellectually stimulating and the discussions were engaging. However, one novel I really did not enjoy when I initially read it during this semester was Albert Camus’s The Stranger . I disliked it so much, in fact, that I wrote a highly critical blog post about it. After reading it, however, it lingered in my mind, and over time my feelings towards it have changed. It is now one of my favorite selections that I have read thus far. What originally turned me off from the novel was its absurdity. It’s main focus IS absurdism and all of its elements follow suit. The writing style and narrative structure originally made me want to claw my eyes out from boredom, and the ending really made me question all the hours I had spent reading the book, as I had thought they would have been better off spent staring at my popcorn ceiling at that point. As time went o...