I typically forbid the word "just". When I was wee, my big, bold, brilliant sister told me that "just" was a weak word to use, and I've never forgotten her comment. In almost any context, the sentence is stronger without "just".
On Saturday, I had 11th grade students analyse the effect of the opening line from The Stranger by Albert Camus.
"Maman died today. Or maybe it was yesterday. I don't know."
The students revealed their compassionate side by coming up with myriad excuses for Meursault to have such a reaction to his mother's death
- maybe he is overcome with grief, and doesn't know what day is which
- maybe he is trying to avoid thinking about it- the "denial" stage of grief
- maybe he lived far from his mother and messages are a long time in getting to him
- maybe he's trying to sound tough or manly in front of a crowd of buddies (who are thugs?)
- maybe he's suffered a brain injury and doesn't actually understand the facts of an otherwise straightforward report of his mother's death.
We looked then at the following rewriting of the opening, from the perspective of a third person narrator:
"Meursault doesn't know on what day his mother died."
Again we had a round of comments, these identifying what different impression we get of Meursault from this opening. Some people found the narrator more credible, since he was not blinded by the event the way Meursault seems to be. Others were less trusting of the narration, and found Meursault's own words better conveyed the possibility for complexity in this circumstance.
Then we looked at how another character might talk about Meursault's reaction: first person narration, but not from the protagonist's perspective.
Yasmin said another character might say "Meursault knows when his mother died. He's saying that he doesn't." A few people commented on how this changes the reader's understanding of the scene, then Yasmin raised her hand again. "Can I add 'just' to the quote? 'He's just saying that he doesn't.'" Delighted, I asked her why she wanted to add just. She wasn't sure. I asked the rest of the class - what impact does it have to add "just"? Several comments moved in a convincing direction, then Laith clearly expressed what others had been getting at: the "just" diminishes the importance of what Meursault is doing, challenging the legitimacy and integrity of Meursault's behaviour, with one word. Others chimed in that this gave us a clear impression of the other character's attitude toward Meursault, and it wasn't too favourable.
This was one addition of "just" which I was happy to entertain. The power of a word!
On Saturday, I had 11th grade students analyse the effect of the opening line from The Stranger by Albert Camus.
"Maman died today. Or maybe it was yesterday. I don't know."
The students revealed their compassionate side by coming up with myriad excuses for Meursault to have such a reaction to his mother's death
- maybe he is overcome with grief, and doesn't know what day is which
- maybe he is trying to avoid thinking about it- the "denial" stage of grief
- maybe he lived far from his mother and messages are a long time in getting to him
- maybe he's trying to sound tough or manly in front of a crowd of buddies (who are thugs?)
- maybe he's suffered a brain injury and doesn't actually understand the facts of an otherwise straightforward report of his mother's death.
We looked then at the following rewriting of the opening, from the perspective of a third person narrator:
"Meursault doesn't know on what day his mother died."
Again we had a round of comments, these identifying what different impression we get of Meursault from this opening. Some people found the narrator more credible, since he was not blinded by the event the way Meursault seems to be. Others were less trusting of the narration, and found Meursault's own words better conveyed the possibility for complexity in this circumstance.
Then we looked at how another character might talk about Meursault's reaction: first person narration, but not from the protagonist's perspective.
Yasmin said another character might say "Meursault knows when his mother died. He's saying that he doesn't." A few people commented on how this changes the reader's understanding of the scene, then Yasmin raised her hand again. "Can I add 'just' to the quote? 'He's just saying that he doesn't.'" Delighted, I asked her why she wanted to add just. She wasn't sure. I asked the rest of the class - what impact does it have to add "just"? Several comments moved in a convincing direction, then Laith clearly expressed what others had been getting at: the "just" diminishes the importance of what Meursault is doing, challenging the legitimacy and integrity of Meursault's behaviour, with one word. Others chimed in that this gave us a clear impression of the other character's attitude toward Meursault, and it wasn't too favourable.
This was one addition of "just" which I was happy to entertain. The power of a word!
This is just marvelous. Bravo to your students!
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