Ethan's insight on the 20th century

Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea , the reader is exposed to two very different characters (Antionette and Rochester). What is most interesting is that the narrator shift in Wide Sargasso Sea gives the reader insight into the thoughts and feelings of both these characters. In my English class, people tend to sympathize with Antionette more than Rochester, but I think that both characters have valid reasons to be sympathized with. The beginning of the book starts off with Antionettes childhood. Part 1 is crucial because it shows the reader that Antionettes situation is less than ideal. Her father (Mr. Cosway) was hated around the area because he was a slaveholder and had many illegitimate children. Added on to that, Antionette's mother was from Martinique which made her even more of an outsider. Mr. Mason did not help the situation because he thought that he knew everything about the world and thought lowly of slaves. This lead to Mr. Mason being the primary reason for the slave revolt...

From the start of the book, we realize that Meursault is not a typical protagonist. He seems to be a nice guy but without a lot of emotion. As the book goes on we follow Meursault on his journey from living an ordinary life to being sentenced to death. Meursault obviously killed an Arab which is a terrible thing, but did he deserve to be killed? The case for Meursault Meursault is more complicated than what he may portray at first glance. Although he did not act to sad about his mother's death we can see that he processes events and emotions differently. Meursault focuses on the facts. He never shares how something makes him feel, or any of his emotions toward anyone or anything. Meursault also lives in the present. If he wants to go for a swim, he does so. If he feels like spending an entire day sitting on his balcony, he does so. Because of this, to me, his reaction to his mother's death is expected. The bad things start happening to Meursault when he talks to Raymond. Th...