Although it is instinctual for people to a share a strong connection with one another due to the subconscious need for acceptance and compassion, it can easily become a fatal flaw. This same instinct can manifest itself as something much more worrisome. The human condition, compromised of these instincts and experiences, is the fundamental making of what it means to be human. This can be seen as a great advantage created by the evolution of the species, but when looking at it from a subjective viewpoint, it can easily become detrimental. For example, denial towards varying aspects of life can be the precursor towards a false sense of reality or overall loss of rationality. Overall, denial and the inevitable isolation brought upon by it are default rationalizations of the human condition due to the need for self-preservation and the lack of …show more content…
In the book, everything was well within the dismal city of Oran until many citizens begin to die off due to a mysterious illness (Camus 13). Instead of taking action against this malignant occurrence, the people of the city including the officials decided to deny the fact that anything bad was happening. This denial mainly manifested itself from the simple fact that humans have the tendency to rationalize everything even to the point that it becomes irrational. They tried to distance themselves from the plague while pretending that it was not their problem (Camus 35). This shows that to protect themselves the citizens would rather stretch the truth than to deal with the dilemma. All of these accounts are voiced by the narrator of the novel, a doctor by the name of Richard Rieux. He was portrayed as the voice of reason when it came to the plague, but he was sadly ignored, which showed a parallel between the denials of the citizens towards the plague and Dr.
The interesting concept of the absurd hero is classically presented by the author, Albert Camus in many of his novels, including The Plague. An absurd hero is a person who does what he has to do regardless of whether or not he can control that situation. Dr. Rieux, a physician in the plagued town, for example, still performs his job daily and just as diligent as he ever has, instead of caving in to the worry and fear that his town experiences because of this widespread epidemic. Camus uses this concept of the absurd hero to develop the four main characters, Tarrou, Rambert, Grand, but especially Dr. Bernard Rieux.
This failure in government can be seen as somewhat of a selfish act in order to preserve the country’s secrecy. Because they did not take the initiative to tell anyone else about the disease, people were unable to take caution and prevent themselves from contracting the plague. Similar to the book Blindness, nobody understood that the disease was amongst them at first. People were suddenly beginning to go blind with many unanswered questions. However, there was never any real truth to be revealed to the citizens in Blindness as there was in World War Z.
Eventually, Grand contracts the plague and is spared death. His recovery marks the turning of the tide for the citizens of Oran. Grand’s recovery gives a sense of hope to the citizens of Oran. The narrator tells us early on; “and if it is absolutely necessary that this narrative should include a “hero,”it should be one with “goodness of heart” and “a seemingly absurd ideal” (Camus, 137).
According to Boccaccio’s account, civil order broke down during the plague as panic swept Florence. People were terrified by the inexplicable disease and the resulting massive death toll. In this state of distress, Boccaccio notes, “that the laws, human and divine, were not regarded” (Boccaccio 168). It became a mindset of every man for himself, or as Boccaccio states, “every one did just as he pleased” (Boccaccio 168). As people abandoned the laws, and officers—either sick or dead—could no longer enforce them, civil order in Florence turned to chaos.
When the rats show up in the beginning, even after they have been around for a while, no one seems to care. In the early stages of the plague things seem to go down as usual, After sometime, the citizens of Oran start to get anxious and everyone begins to feel the sting of exile and separation. Death ensues and begins claiming victims of the plague.
The Plague (French, La Peste) is a novel written by Albert Camus that is about an epidemic of bubonic plague. The Plague is set in a small Mediterranean town in North Africa called Oran. Dr. Bernard Rieux, one of the main characters, describes it as an ugly town. Oran’s inhabitants are boring people who appear to live, for the most part, habitual lives. The main focus of the town is money. “…everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, 'doing business’” (Camus 4). The citizens’ unawareness of life’s riches and pleasures show their susceptibility to the oncoming plague. They don’t bother themselves with matters not involving money. It is very easy for the reader to realize that they are too naive to combat the forthcoming calamity. The theme of not knowing life is more than work and habits will narrow the people’s chances of survival. Rieux explains that the town had a view of death as something that happens every day. He then explains that the town really doesn’t face towards the Mediterranean Sea. Actually it is almost impossible to see the sea from town. Oran is a town which seems to turn its back on life and freedom. The Plague was first published in 1948 in France. “Early readers were quick to note that it was in part an allegory of the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, which cut France off from the outside world; just as in the novel the town of Oran must close its gates to isolate the plague” (“The Plague” 202). When the plague first arrives, the residents are slow to realize the extreme danger they are in. Once they finally become aware of it...
Around 1347-1348 the most well-known epidemic struck the European world. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death or the Black Plague, rained sickness over millions; for most people, death was the only end to the sickness. The Black Death is known as one of the most depressing occurrences in history. It attacked the three most important aspects of a person’s well-being, their mental, emotional and physical health. While the plague impacted early society, authors, Jean de Venette and Giovanni Boccaccio, described the epidemic in their own words. Modern author, Charles L. Mee Jr., describes the plague with the scientific knowledge he has living in today’s society. These three authors wrote about the bubonic plague with their own voice’s and reasoning’s but many of the accounts they mention are similar to one another. Jean de Venette, Giovanni Boccaccio and Charles L. Mee Jr. explain the symptoms, the causes and the way people acted because of the black plague.
Character development in The Plague plays a significant role in illustrating the way that man will endure against an incomparable being or force. In this case, the plague. The people of Oran have an understanding, though an indefinite one, of the power of the plague because Dr. Rieux publicly accepts the situation. Rieux makes it clear that he plans to “get busy with [the plague]” (89), but “[he] knew: that this wasn’t the easiest course” (89). In other words, Dr. Rieux us fully aware that he is up against something much stronger than himself. However, he is intent on combating the plague. Dr. Rieux, however, does not represent all of the people. Not all of the people are immediately awake to the fact that the plague is a force to be reckoned with. Because a majority of them do not know the true power of the plague, they have no desire to counteract the early stages of the disease. Without knowing the actual severity of the situation, “the risk of the plague seemed insignificant” (70) to them. The overall nonchalant attitude of the citi...
An individual’s imagination of an object or place can change how they perceive the world around them. Karen Armstrong in her essay “Homo Religiosus” talks about how “a poem, a play, or indeed, a great painting has the power to change our perception in ways that we may not be able to explain logically but that seem incontestably true” (25), which is implying that it is definitely possible to change our false, impractical perceptions into accurate, practical perceptions. Daniel Gilbert extends on this idea by discussing how in order for positive views to actually be valid “they must be based on facts that we believe we have come upon honestly” (135). To what extent does an individual need to experience various situations in order to gain several perspectives of one thing? To what extent do we need to change in order to obtain a different perspective compared to someone else? An individual’s outcome from various events in their life causes them to create either an optimistic or pessimistic response to the event “by unconsciously cooking the facts and then consciously consuming them” (135). In the essays “Homo Religiosus” by Karen Armstrong and “Immune to Reality” by Daniel Gilbert, both authors discuss how change in an individual’s life by means of the psychological immune system, their emotions, and their interpretations can provide them with different perceptions which is beneficial to having an abundance of knowledge.
The Black Death that plagued Europe from 1347 to 1350, is the single most important historical event, covered in class this semester. The disease plundered the cultural and economic aspects of Europe, during that time period. The darkness of the plague is estimated to have killed between 75 million and 200 million people, roughly 30 to 60 percent of Europe's population. The disease, as horrible as it was, gave way to the end of feudalism and the birth of capitalism, unions, the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation. Its importance is beyond measurable, and helped to transform Europe into the Europe that we are familiar with today.
As a Christian speaking to the people of Oran, it would be very difficult to say anything to a people facing such terrible affliction. Even though Father Paneloux believed what he was preaching, I believe he was completely wrong. This would make what I would say much different from what Father Paneloux said. However, some strong points did emerge from his sermons. Overall, the two sermons in Albert Camus’ The Plague fail to help people become more faithful and fail to even preach to the people of Oran the truth.
In the novel, the people of Oran are ignorant and selfish by thinking that a fatal plague or epidemic would never harm them. When it does though, everyone goes ballistic and can’t understand why it is happening to them. Dr. Rieux is one of the main people that decided to do something about it. He is a doctor that sees some of the first signs of the plague early on. Being one of the first that acknowledges the problem as a plague came with disagreements amongst everyone. No one believed that there was a plague in their city and couldn’t recognize that they were all in serious danger. As days go by and the death toll increases dramatically, the ci...
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death was a raging disease. Most people thought of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot.
When first receiving news about the death of a loved one, the normal reaction is shock and denial. No one wants to hear that their father, grandmother, or uncle had just died, and according to Kübler-Ross, one way people cope with grief and loss of a loved one is denial. This means that a person may try and hide from the facts and block out what others are trying to say. That person might deny the reality of the situation and have thoughts like, “He not dead, that’s impossible. He was doing fine just yesterday” or “This must be some kind of mistake.” Denial is a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock that comes after hearing such news. It is difficult for the person to accept the fact that someone dear to them is no longer with them, so they rebuke the truth and instead choose to avoid any type of encounter that forces them to face the truth and reality. This even extends to avoiding thinking about the situation. Gibran sta...
Life makes no sense. An individual goes into a state of shock and wonders how they could possibly go on. Denial can be seen in Canto 4 of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “ In Memoriam A. H. H.” For instance, in the poem the speaker says, “To Sleep I give my powers away; / My will is bondsman to the dark” (93-92).