The Plague by Camus is an interesting piece of work. It takes a deep look into the different reactions people have to hardships. This is profoundly important because the existentialist view presents the world as a tremendous difficulty that we all must somehow learn to overcome. According to Camus life is full of pointless repetition. It is a human tendency to try to gain knowledge, understand, predict, and control all that we encounter. We fear what we do not understand. The problem with this arises in the fact that the world is chaotic, random, irrational, and inexplicable. This results in absurdity because the world, everything that surrounds us, cannot give us the understanding that we desire. To Camus this is the truth of existence; a seemingly unsolvable paradox where the goal that we are most driven towards cannot be accomplished. This ultimate hurdle in life is what we must face and learn to overcome. This truth is the plague, and no one can escape it. .
There are many reasons why the plague can be seen as analogous to life. It is not as much of a stretch as it may initially seem. Many see the plague as a metaphor for death. There are actually several parallels between life and death, and these correspond with the plague as well. The most basic aspects are in some of the general characteristics or qualities of each. The randomness of these is fairly apparent. No one is protected, there is no discrimination, everyone is ultimately the same. A similar characteristic is the fact that there is little to no ability to predict. People are born, die, and catch the plague with no warning. Just as there are those who wash the plague infected bodies and escape its wrath, there are those who catch it with no obvious exposure to it, and there are some who are conceived even when various forms of birth control are used, and those who die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Life, death, and the plague can strike or not without any hint of foreshadowing.
The Black Death plague, also known as the Bubonic plague, attacked Europe in 1347. ... The last plague attacked a European city, Marseilles in 1722. ... As we can see, the Black Death Plague has been in existence for about 650 years, and many are still unsure of the origin of this deadly plague. ... By early 18th century the plague disappeared. ... I loved doing this report on the Black Death plague. ...
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus illustrates the meaningless of human existence, and He expands upon this theory in his later novel, The Plague, in which he personifies these reactions to the human condition within the novels" characters. ... Cottard is in alliance with the plague, "what's more, the plague suits me quite well and I see no reason why I should bother about trying to stop it" (159 Plague). ... Peaneloux believes in god and this belief is his resignation to the absurdity of his own existence. ... The narrator of The Plague Doctor Rieux, who is also Camus voice, differs in opini...
However, in the two novels, the existence of such gods is denied. ... The plague made no such selection. ... The plague of war made no selection. ... After watching his father being executed in a horrible manner he found that he must question the existence of God. ... "Existence precedes and rules essence." - Jean-Paul Sartre ...
Racism and racial prejudice have been plagues which have hindered the growth of human society and the human spirit for thousands of years. ... Although apartheid is no longer a political policy in South Africa, the existence of anti-black, pro-apartheid groups is rampant and the enormous gap between the standard of living of blacks and that of whites is still existent. ... The plague of racism which has been a part of our culture for hundreds of years is still rampant in today's society, it has just taken on a different form. ...
Did the plagues actually even happen? If the plagues did happen then were the plagues an act of God or were they just normal occurrences in nature? ... Then came the second plague. ... The seventh plague was much more devastating than the six previous plagues. ... The very existence of Egypt was now being attacked" (Ten Plagues). ...
In the Muslim faith, children are taught that what they do in life molds their souls for the eventual heaven or hell existence after death. ... The Black Plague killed an estimated 25 million people in no more than a couple years. Any who lived through the epidemic considered themselves blessed by god himself, since many viewed the plague as a cleansing of non-believers. ... During the plague many people were killed for following the wishes of Bishops and Monks who believed in the process of "bleeding" someone. ... Some saw purpose to their existence; others found respect for their lives a...
First, the freedom of sex in the narrative is a direct result of the ideals that accompanied the plague. ... In The Decameron, Boccaccio places us in a time when the plague was running rampant within the medieval realm. ... People in The Decameron's stories are sexually determined to "grab whatever they can grab in this world (435)," which can be directly correlated to the "pursue your desires" thought that came with the plague. ... This points to a social hierarchy that was in existence in the middle ages and is no longer surviving today. ... The ideals of the plague, cultural norm...
The short story about an extravagant party hosted by a prince and regardless of the Bubonic Plague that is ravaging the population he still throws his party. ... Poe enforces this idea by using the plague, the 7 rooms & clock, and the masqued Red Death itself. ... Poe connotes the Black Plague in this short poem in being death itself. ... Finally, the Red Death itself in the story is the embodiment of the fear of not the plague but death in it's raw form. ... Though we may completely forget about its very existence, death is and always will be with us just like the party goers. ...
The Beast, a creature that slowly came into existence from the minds of the littl"uns, slowly destroyed their society. ... Land, Air, and Water or maybe these are all of the fears, which plague them. ... Manifested in three forms throughout the story, the Beast constantly plagues the littluns, being the cause that they were the least conditioned by society. ...
