September 20, 2005
Intro To Politics
Estrangement and Unity
One of the most important elements in Albert Camus final Novel, "The First Man" is the portrayal of Estrangement and Unity. This same element was also very important in a movie that we watch a few weeks ago. This movie was called Rwanda: History of a Genocide. The portrayal is both similar and at times different. Although Camus was never able to finish this novel because he died in a car accident, while still in the process of writing the novel. He still managed, in what he did finish, to express some of his views of Estrangement and Unity, especially when it comes to the former French colony, now free country, Algiers.
Although Algiers is located in Africa, it is located in the northern part where there is a large population of Arabs. I believe that the Arabs out numbered the French colonist, but I am not sure. Some of whom have been there for many years, still were able to suppress the Arab people. When some of the more militant Arabs started to rebel against the control of the French. Many of the French began to discriminate and blame each and every Arab for the crimes that only a few were committing. A good example in the novel is when James is sitting in his mothers home and he hears a bomb go off outside of where his mother live. Since James is a curious person, he must go out and explore the situation. He witnesses many of the Arabs running and trying to hide since they know what is likely to happen next. For one of the Arabs who wasn't able to hide, he is approached by a group of angry men who blame him for what someone else did. One of the men in the angry group said "That filthy Race"(pg75) towards an Arab who wasn't able to hide. The Arab rep ...