Stranger Journal #2

Part 1:  In my opinion Matthew Ward has the most literary value because he keeps some of the literal translations.  The opening page contains the word "Maman" where as in Stuart Gilbert's translated version of The Stranger he translates the french word "maman" to "mother".  Also Matthew Ward uses European measurements for distance, using "eighty kilometers" compared to Gilbert's "fifty miles".  These two instances show and help orient the reader.  If I did not know before that the book was translated from french, as many people wouldn't. then I would have honestly assumed it was somewhere such as the United States beacause we use miles instead of kilometers.  It also helps us to realize and see the culture that the book comes from.  Another reason Ward's translation is valuable because he uses more sharp and direct sentences which create a better tone because it helps to characterize Meursault even more.

Part 2:  I would assign the English translation the name of "The Outsider".  I believe this would be a better fitting title because not only is Meursault indifferent about things that take place, but he seems to be on the outside, looking in and observing what is going on.  He does not seem to know a lot about what happens, or why people say things, or why he even says certain things, but he does observe what happens around him and what people do and say.  "My bedroom overlooks the main street of our district. [...]  A typical Sunday afternoon. . . .  I turned my chair round and seated myself like the tobacconist, as it was more comfortable that way.  After smoking a couple of cigarettes I went back to the room, got a tablet of chocolate, and returned to the window to eat it.  Soon after, the sky clouded over, and I thought a summer storm was coming" (Camus/Gilbert 26-27).  I only quoted a small portion of pages 26-27 but on these two pages, Meursault sits at his balcony watching the bustling streets until they clear out, but he still watches them, observing the stores, "a typical sunday afternoon" he calls it.  This is why I would assign the English translation the name of "The Outsider", because Meursault seems to be on the outside, looking in and observing what is happening.