Six Degrees: From The Hard-Bitten Ghost to Mersault

It's time for another round of Six Degrees of Kool Books - the game that can take you anywhere! As always, you are more than welcome to play along, dear Reader! All you have to do is make a connection between one of the characters in this post (or any of the posts listed on the SIX DEGREES HOME PAGE) and a character in a different book! Just make sure you let us know if you decide to play so we can come read your post and possibly branch off from it!Last week DJ posted about the characters in C.S. Lewis' novel "The Great Divorce." I have to admit, this was one of the hardest set of characters I've come across. Finally, in the recesses of my brain, I found a link. One of the required classes in my college was called "Foundations of Christian Thought and Culture" (lovingly shortened to "Foundations" by everyone). In this class, among other things, we were required to read four novels. Out of the Silent Planet, Siddhartha, Brave New World, and The Stranger.Ugha-blugha. I apologize in advance. I'm about to write about one of my least-favorite books I've ever read. Sigh.It was DJ's explanation of the Hard-Bitten Ghost that reminded me of the last book on that list. "This man has seen it all and claims to see through the empty promises of faith and religion and hope an all that. The world is all rot to him and everything eventually ends in disappointment so why bother?" I'm sorry. I tried to come up with a better story to link to, but Brant caught a cold over the weekend, and hasn't been sleeping well - which means I haven't been sleeping well, either. The Hard-Bitten Ghost brought to mind the main character of "The Stranger" by Albert Camus. A man by the name of Meursault. He is completely detached from the world around him and has no emotional attachments to the people who love him. The world does not matter to him at all, leading him to kill a man - who is known only as "The Arab" - for absolutely no reason. He kills him because he happens to be there, and is not really all that bothered by the idea of imprisonment, trial, or any other consequences his actions may bring upon him. The Arab had done absolutely nothing to Meursault, and the mysteriousness of that character and why Meursault killed him just serves to make Meursault as a character more difficult to understand.While he is on trial, Marie Cardona stands by Meursault and attempts to support him. She is in love with Meursault, and wants to be his wife despite the fact that Meursault is completely indifferent to the idea of marrying her. Depicted as young, athletic, and high-spirited, Marie is almost the opposite of Meursault. She is drawn to him because of his peculiarities, even though his interest in her is completely physical.Another character in this book is Raymond. He is Meursault's neighbor. A volatile, violent man, he uses Meursault's indifference to everything about life to convince him to help him in a scheme to punish his mistress whom he suspects of cheating.Later in the book, Meursault's mother dies, and the focus of the book shifts away from the murder trial to his lack of grief and his atheistic world-view. Despite the fact that his mother is only in the book because she dies and begins the "action" portion of the book, the reader gets to know her through Meursault's memories of her. In the end, he believes that she shared his worldview that a person can become accustomed to any situation and that she embraced the meaninglessness of the universe and lived only for the moment, just as he does.After Meursault is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death he is visited by The Chaplain, a priest who comes and converses with Meursault. He basically demands that Meursault take comfort in God. Meursault continues to hold unwaveringly to his belief that everything is meaningless, and they have heated arguments that only serve to solidify Meursault's opinions.Another character we meet is The Magistrate, who is so horrified by Meursault's actions and lack of grief over the death of his mother that he brandishes a crucifix at Meursault and demands to know if he believes in God. When Meursault reaffirms his atheism, the Magistrate is shaken to the core and states that his belief is threatened by Meursault's unbelief.Honestly, I don't really want to talk about this book anymore. I understand why we read it, and I get the irony of the fact that it was written by an atheist in an attempt to show people that atheism is a better worldview than Christianity, and yet, the book actually does the exact opposite. At the end of the book, Meursault decides that there is really no difference between life and death, and views his impending execution with absolute indifference - neither hope nor despair troubles him any longer. The end.Yeah, the book would be seriously depressing if it weren't for the fact that it is just SO. BORING. I mean, seriously. Boring. I've read math textbooks with more entertainment value. Please don't mistake my linking to this book for Six Degrees as an endorsement. I don't recommend it! So I guess this week's rendition of "Six Degrees of Kool Books" didn't actually take us to a "Kool" book... sorry about that! I'll try to do better next time! Have a good week, dear Reader! Don't forget to swing by tomorrow for my answer to the last Ring Around the Rose question!