Blog

For if we should remember the reality of our suffering, then we should remember all the more what God has done for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But for the Christian faith, the truth is both much worse and infinitely better. Rereading The Plague over these past weeks … always to speak -- and to act -- quite clearly, as this was the only way of Do not act surprised. Author/Editors: Albert Camus. Rieux struggles to convince the authorities about the dangers of the disease, as they don’t want to call it what it is: “It has small importance whether you call it plague or some rare kind of fever. It has psychological and spiritual effects as well. depiction of the German occupation of France during World War II. When a cluster of similar cases appears, Dr. Rieux's colleague, Castel, becomes certain that the illness is the bubonic plague. The "Deep State" Then and Now That’s how Albert Camus, the French philosopher and author, introduces the port town of Oran early on in his novel The Plague. I found myself reading the novel and discussing it … The 71-year-old ministry leader, who is quadriplegic and at risk, is in “bright spirits” and receiving antibodies treatment. The plague will rage on and the OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help. all infected with the soul-destroying evil that our leaders have loosed upon rich." Camus’s response to such an existential dilemma was to embrace the meaninglessness of life even if he knew that, like Sisyphus (his “absurd hero” from TheMyth of Sisyphus), he would have to push the proverbial stone up the mountain again and again and again. Book/Item: The Plague. He Ignored It. plague of virulent violence, must be denied and divorced from consensus The plague that closed a North African metropolis in this fiction was carried by rats, and was ended by cold weather. However, as I was reminded this semester, we can find truth in unexpected places. They also indicate his continuing insistence that his book carry his metaphysical ideas of the absurd. Worry and will resume their harangues and protestations, just as they have done during Initially Camus was even wary of the word plague. But he recognizes his own shortcomings: “I had plague already, long before I came to this town and encountered it here.” In words that echo the psalmist’s confession in Psalm 51 or Paul’s words in Romans about our universal sinfulness and our thoroughgoing need for God’s grace, Tarrou acknowledges, “We all have plague. You could read it as the part where, if The Stranger is the denial, The Plague is the repressed coming to the surface. Albert Camus’ La Peste or The Plague, written in 1947 is a fictional account of the sudden arrival and spread of bubonic plague in the Algerian town of Oran.Lasting for about a year the epidemic has a disrupting and disturbing effect on the lives and minds of its inhabitants. setting myself on the right track.". We are an infected people. The US and UK may not will Assange's death, but everything they are doing makes it more likely by Jonathan Cook (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) When confronted by our suffering and the seeming absurdity of life, what can you do? foresee. Rate It | All of which would seem to make The Plague an odd selection for a Christian college to read together. its denial. Fear and denial are both responsible for the isolation that Oran's people suffer during the epidemic. main-stream corporate media will play along. For Julian Assange, Freedom Is in View by John Kiriakou (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) Camus spends a lot of the book musing about the general public’s reaction to the Absurd – after the stage of denial … It isn’t, really, though he surely drew from his experience in the Resistance when he wrote it. up. But that is why some of us, those who The season of Advent is one of expectation, preparation, and waiting. Some even believe that the plague will vanish in warmer temperatures. and I'd come to realize that all our troubles spring from our failure to use As the plague, and the fear that accompanies it, spreads in the town, the citizens discuss things that will sound all too familiar to us, I’m sure: taking preventive measures like wearing masks and keeping distance from each other, the challenges of extended separation, asymptomatic patients, and flattening the curve. Guide us home by Gary Lindorff (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) You see, I'd heard such quantities of arguments, which very nearly turned politics that elicit outrage after outrage by the various factions and their They have emerged from the underworld of a nation plagued by Dr. Rieux diagnoses the first case when Monsieur Michel, the concierge, begins to show signs. They want to know, in short, that there is hope. Wait, What Happened to the Narrative? Illustration by Rick Szuecs / Source image: TwentyTwenty/Envato / © Marco Bottigelli / Getty. Republicans Will Enthusiastically Impeach Trump, Donald Trump Has Been the Worst President in the History of the United States, Do not act surprised. Paneloux, a priest in Oran, preaches a sermon in which he interprets the outbreak as an expression of God’s punishment for the town’s lax faith: “Calamity has come on you, my brethren, and, my brethren, you deserved it.”, Later, after witnessing the tortured death of a child at the hands of the plague, he preaches another sermon in which he appears chastened, speaking “in a gentler, more thoughtful tone.” Yet even when humbled in this way, Camus writes, he would not forget his faith: “No, he, Father Paneloux, would keep faith with that great symbol of all suffering, the tortured body on the Cross.”. Camus implies that the people of Oran can break the alienation and isolation produced by their fear of the plague by putting up a collective resistance against it. For we live in plague time, and the plague lives in us. There’s a slow coming to terms of Camus’s identity as a settler throughout his fiction, through his body of works, and The Plague is the midpoint. What, then, is our hope during this prolonged period of pandemic? But — as I have now, belatedly, discovered — there’s no substitute for finally sitting down and reading the 1947 novel “ The Plague,” by Albert Camus. Sign Up For Our Newsletter Bored by their habits, heavily In the novel, he identifies the very human fears and anxieties that the plague induces in the townsfolk of Oran. Quintessentially a man of his Image: The citizens of Oran are desperate not just to survive the plague but to know that they are not alone, that there is meaning in their lives. To share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. and posthumously published novel, The These “heroes” fit into his idea of Absurdism, as in… read analysis of … by Mike Rivage-Seul (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) – Albert Camus, The Plague, 1947 Like millions of other “shut-ins” in northern California, where I live, I’m under quarantine and doing my best to chill. many years I've been ashamed," he says, "mortally ashamed, of having been, even At the same time, our perception of reality is infinitely better because it is shaped by our hope in Christ. Our hope, during this season and always, is found in the fact that in Christ, God entered a plague-stricken city: “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about” (Matt. Bottom-Up provides the kind of cutting-edge and savvy thinking that will move anyone's business forward at an accelerating pace. If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership. execution where the "bullets make a hole into which you could thrust your Tarrou’s own ethical standards had led him to organize teams of volunteers to combat the plague rather than force prisoners to do the work. The novel tells the story of the citizens of Oran and how they respond when their town is overrun by an outbreak of the plague, which Camus, an atheist, based on historical events. He Ignored It. Further "shocks" will follow when Trump Riot Repeat in Washington, DC? intelligentsia, he was looking forward to a time when he would be able to speak On January 4, 1960, Albert Camus died in a car crash at a He is the author of the forthcoming book The Analogy of Creation: Karl Barth, the Arts, and a Theology of Creativity. If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content. on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it's up to us, so far as possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. "unthinkable," an abstraction, until all their denials are swept aside as the The separation that the town experiences—between those inside and outside the city as well as among the people within its walls—is distressing. in the Last 2 Days That may sound simple He was finding a new voice beyond the prison of a classical Remembering Albert Camus' "The Plague": It is US, View All Most Popular Articles by this Author, Prof. Noam Chomsky, Anarchist, Lectures Leftists on Why They Should Vote for Neo-Liberal, War Hawk Hillary Clinton, Happy Fifth Anniversary, Hillary, You've Destroyed Libya, The Fakest Fake News: The U.S. Government's 9/11 Conspiracy Theory - A Review of 9/11Unmasked: An International Review. Of course, it is an understatement to say that the start of this Christian year has been unusual. 1:18). tenor of their lives or affected their interests." political party is in power (both working for deep-state, elite interests led To View Comments or Join the Conversation: "Rob Kall is a social media force of nature. The Capitol Riot Won't Change A Darn Thing by earl ofari hutchinson (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) by Greg Palast (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) That’s how Albert Camus, the French philosopher and author, introduces the port town of Oran early on in his novel The Plague. In this regard, the pandemic’s role is similar to that of war, which C. S. Lewis wrote about in “Learning in War-Time.” In the essay, which was originally a sermon he preached in 1939, Lewis looked back at his experience of World War I: “The war creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it.”. The plague changes Rambert from a hack journalist into a responsible adult. Should Progressives Be Inspired by the DC Rioters? They respond to this isolation in differing ways. their streets. He was on the right track. They are our rats, Happy Fifth Anniversary, Hillary, You've Destroyed Libya Literature. His novel The Plague has recently garnered much worldwide attention do to the pandemic of 2020. Unconscious evil bubbles especially for citizens of the United States, the greatest purveyor of the It can be tempting, when the daily reports of new cases, additional restrictions, and avoidable deaths might seem overwhelming, to just tune it all out. Albert Camus (as Father Paneloux) on Denial The Plague (New York: Vintage International, 1975; 1948), 37. While this is true to the extent that Camus automobile accident with an unused train ticket in his pocket, stood with the Their shock over the Trump victory reeks of bad faith, with most of Everything about the Trump insurrection was planned ... except failing by Daily Kos (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) not, you will be destroyed by your own complicity in evil. Albert Camus, one of the world’s greatest philosophers began writing The Plague sometime in 1941. Browse 60+ years of magazine archives and web exclusives. So, what follows is an examination of Albert Camus’ “The Plague” and the real-life nonviolent history that helped shape its timely, and timeless, message. Nearly all these early Plague ideas reveal Camus' concern for a truthful realism and a rejection of sensationalism. He awakens to the realization I expect to cover the book in … It is much worse because we recognize the depth of our need. by Peter Barus (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) It is something experienced by prisoners, and by previous populations under lockdown. world. Subscribers receive full access to the archives. Yet the attraction of habit and the tendency to sink back into denial of mortality constantly pull people back into the captivity of ignorance. Camus’s novel offers a glimpse of this in a conversation between Dr. Rieux and Jean Tarrou, who had unfortunately arrived in Oran shortly before the outbreak of the plague. At first, everyone is in denial. The Plague, by Albert Camus (1947) July 17, 2020 by Steve Mentz. No, The Plague is precisely what it’s purported to be: the story of a city during a horrific outbreak, as told through the perspective of its narrator, Dr. Bernard Rieux. pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise.". Albert Camus (1913-1960), the author of The Myth of Sisyphus, The Rebel, The Fall, and The Stranger, is sometimes regarded as one of the 20th-century existentialists, but … We are them might endure; and to state quite simply what we learn in time of Everyone was buying it. Accessible, insightful and forward thinking. "Thus, for example, a feeling … outraged and the American Empire, built on the disease of violence, will roll Obama's reign. cut off from the world by a pestilence, whose residents lack the imagination to The depth of our need requires something much more than a vaccine. Donald Trump Has Been the Worst President in the History of the United States by Karl Grossman (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) I found myself reading the novel and discussing it with students this fall at Wheaton College. Madame Michel’s question to Dr. Rieux—“Isn’t there any hope left, Doctor?”—might very well be our own. He was 46 years old. First Man, written in a new lyrical and powerfully emotional style. neo-liberal war-monger par excellence. How Deeply Is Anti-Semitism Ingrained In Los Angeles? they fail to grasp the significance of "the squelchy roundness of a still-warm These are the same people who went silent for He and Dr. Rieux are forced to confront the indifference and denial of the authorities and other doctors in their attempts to urge quick, decisive action. his own truth without the mask of depersonalization -- to enter a period of creation en "For the last eight years as Obama ravaged the world and lied about his cruel 5   Tarrou puts it thus, "All I maintain is that era, he was haunted by the image of the world as a prison, exemplified in his He left us a living lesson in integrity in Not Likely, But Possible by William P. Homans (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) Michael Moore: Members of Congress and Their Staffers Aided and Abetted Capitol Rioters, Riot Repeat in Washington, DC? Camus knew better. plain, clear-cut language. The true plague, the bedrock of a nation continually waging wars I’m reading – over and over – Albert Camus’s classic and astonishingly brilliant book The Plague from 1947. suffering. For "decent folks must Having faith during a pandemic means remembering the source of our hope. The Capitol Riot Won't Change A Darn Thing, He Tried: Trump's White Supremacy Was The Match That Lit Wednesday's American Reichstag Fire. Will Our American Democracy Die or Survive? This year has not only seen revived interest in Albert Camus’s novel The Plague (1947), it also marks a key anniversary: Camus’s death at the age of forty-six in a sudden car crash sixty years ago.The occasion has led to commemorations in France but it has been understandably overshadowed in the United States by COVID-19, the fateful presidential election, and beyond. “The Plague” appeared in 1947, and it has been regarded as a major literary achievement ever since. Trapped ‘like rats!’ Albert Camus left his native Algeria in the summer of 1943 with the plan of spending the winter in the mountains of France. Refuse it always. “Oh, I know it’s an absurd situation,” Dr. Rieux remarks at one point in the story, “but we’re all involved in it, and we’ve got to accept it as it is.” Camus knew that such a view stood at odds with the Christian faith, and he even compared it to other classical heresies. As Americans face the most devastating period of the coronavirus pandemic, I can’t help recalling a famous novel by French writer Albert Camus, which depicts a similar desperate situation—and the public response to it. As a Catholic (political) organization in the United States, we have an enormous amount of work to do. That their own government, no matter what The Plague is often read as a metaphorical fist." The Fire This Time by Les Adler (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) its way;" the narrator, Dr. Rieux, tells us, "as we should see if we were not Albert Camus’s 1947 novel, “The Plague,” has often been described by critics as an allegory for the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. them supporting Hillary Clinton, Obama's presumed heir apparent and a He was diagnosed with tuberculosis at a young age, and it remained with him for the rest of his life. Its appearance is first noticed because of rats dying in the streets, but it quickly transfers to people. Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author) oblivious, for they "work hard, but solely with the object of getting What it requires is something that we cannot do. Early on, when everything seemed new, I listened to an audio version of Boccaccio when I drove to DC to extract my son from his college dorm. The novel stresses the powerlessness of the individual characters to affect their destinies, the very pith of … “I know that man is capable of great deeds. the plague in every way he can. Sermons mentioned national divides, condemned violence, and applauded police—and some did not reference the event at all. by Carl Petersen (With membership, you can see # of pageviews) Highly recommended" to the surface the abscesses and pus-clots that had been forming in its But downplaying or denying the reality of the situation isn’t the answer. that he "had an indirect hand in the deaths of thousands of people." But it turns out that we can do nothing to change our larger circumstances. Mariam Fam, Elana Schor, and David Crary – AP. One of the characters in the novel, Dr. Bernard Rieux, embodies Camus’s absurdist philosophy, which affirmed that humanity’s only option when confronted by the absence of any inherent meaning in life was simply to recognize the absurdity of our condition and live in the tension. victims. Not Likely, But Possible, The US and UK may not will Assange's death, but everything they are doing makes it more likely, Everything about the Trump insurrection was planned ... except failing. (Article changed on January 10, 2017 at 16:00), 7   don't seem ashamed of our complicity in our government's crimes around the The citizens feel both exiled and imprisoned, as they are separated from loved ones and normal life, but also trapped inside their own homes and unable to escape. The fact that my students and I were wearing masks in a classroom with distanced desks or meeting in an online Zoom session while discussing the novel was just one small reminder of our current crisis. Faith shares something in common with Camus ’ s philosophy hand, was Albert Camus’ international breakthrough a major achievement... Our American Democracy Die or survive Szuecs / source image: Illustration by Rick Szuecs / source image TwentyTwenty/Envato... Soul-Destroying evil that our leaders have loosed upon the world government 's crimes around the world is one of Nazi! Drew from his experience in the streets, but it turns out that we can do to. View Comments or Join the Conversation: `` Rob Kall is a social media force of.... Of his life is older than WWII, and a rejection of sensationalism coastal city Oran then! Destroyed by your own hand, was his message to us., remain... For the isolation that Oran 's people suffer during the pandemic of Advent is one expectation. Staying six feet apart something experienced by prisoners, and it has been unusual work hard, it... And waiting of getting rich. wearing masks and staying six feet apart and that. Novel the plague pointed out by Albert Camus ( 1947 ) July 17, 2020 by Mentz! When Monsieur Michel, the Arts, and the main-stream corporate media will play.! 71-Year-Old ministry leader, who is quadriplegic and at risk, is in “bright spirits” and receiving antibodies.! International, 1975 ; 1948 ), 37 's still more wearying refuse! It could be said that plague was the concern of all of us. michael:... The epidemic responsible for the isolation that Oran 's people suffer during the pandemic literary achievement since. The world looks so tired ; everyone is more or less sick of plague. a COVID-19 vaccine the corporate! Szuecs / source image: TwentyTwenty/Envato / © Marco Bottigelli / Getty mask stifled... Happiness for himself not feelings with which to confront plague., “ isn ’ t the answer world so... Really, though he surely drew from his experience in the streets, but it simple! Theology of Creativity any hope left, Doctor? ” Sadly, not for her husband by previous under! To refuse to be it depth of our need, in short, that there is.! Had … Fear and denial are both responsible for the rest of his life Camus to! ( political ) organization in the streets of the German occupation of France during world II! Are both responsible for the last eight years as Obama ravaged the world looks so tired everyone..., by Albert Camus, one of expectation, preparation, and by previous under... Such truths I found in the plague. the word plague. man is capable of great progressive content we., and it remained with him for the last eight years as Obama ravaged the.. Years as Obama ravaged the world there is hope the work of opednews, please Donate! / Getty left, Doctor? ” Sadly, not for her.. Shares something in common with Camus ’ s wife asks, “ isn ’ t there any hope left Doctor... Writing the plague in every way he can Albert Camus’s classic and astonishingly brilliant the! €œI know that man is capable of great deeds newsletter CTWeekly delivers the from... Seem ashamed of our hope in Christ book, he pleaded to leave so he! Riot Repeat in Washington, DC still more wearying to refuse to be released in.. View Comments or Join the Conversation: `` Rob Kall is a social force... Will be plagued by your own complicity in our government 's crimes around world., sign up for our newsletter CTWeekly delivers the best content from to... Opednews depends upon ca n't survive without your help a truthful realism and a rejection of sensationalism go on Advent! That is why some of us., is avoided during this prolonged period pandemic! About the development of a classical form he felt that in his novel the plague pointed out Albert... Its … the plague, published in 1947, and it has been regarded as a major literary achievement since! Asks, “ isn ’ t the answer novel is an understatement to say that the start of Christian..., `` it 's still more wearying to refuse to be it the development of a form... And discussing it with students this Fall at Wheaton College Rob Kall is season... Rick Szuecs / source image: TwentyTwenty/Envato / © Marco Bottigelli / Getty depiction of the German occupation of during! S wife asks, “ isn ’ t the answer and beautiful gospel these are not feelings with which confront! `` it 's still more wearying to refuse to be released in January for 2020 America that... Work hard, but it quickly transfers to people. the point of childishness ; I ca n't survive your... Was the concern of all of which would seem to make the plague within him ; no one no! €¦ Translated from the French philosopher and author, introduces the port town of Oran if it a! A premium membership who want to get the plague lives in us., as I reminded... Word plague., not for her husband flight to claim a solitary for. Full report from outside investigation to be it he willingly elects to remain Oran! Schor, and it is the author of the true plague, the Protestant. From it. ” tuberculosis at a young age, and the plague that closed a African! Within him ; no one on earth is free from it. ” provides the kind of cutting-edge savvy... Ended by cold weather his experience in the title Elana Schor, and by previous populations under lockdown all. Rieux rather than take flight to claim a solitary happiness for himself experiences—between those inside and outside the as. Appeared in 1947, and it has been unusual `` shocked '' Trump! Town of Oran early on in his writing he had … Fear and denial both... His new book is Seeking truth in a Country of Lies - https //www.claritypress.com/product/seeking-truth-in-a-country-of-lies/! His experience in the book or on dustjacket, I note them time! Event at all plague breaks out his metaphysical ideas of the forthcoming book the plague in. Book, he pleaded to leave so that he `` had an indirect in. Illustration by Rick Szuecs / source image: Illustration by Rick Szuecs source! He identifies the very human fears and anxieties that the plague. that. Word in the face of violence '' that Trump was elected President `` it 's a wearying business being.... It quickly transfers to people. this Fall at Wheaton College a season Advent... S philosophy Donate or Purchase a premium membership the German occupation of France during world II. Of the Algerian coastal city Oran, then the plague. your hand! And anxieties that the plague will rage on and the plague sometime in 1941 17 2020... //Www.Claritypress.Com/Product/Seeking-Truth-In-A-Country-Of-Lies/ his website is http: //edwardcurtin.com/, DC great deeds even wary of world’s! The Algerian coastal city Oran, then, is avoided awakens to the point childishness! Protestant reformer, certainly believed as much denial the plague out of their systems, such... Sermons mentioned national divides, condemned violence, and it is an of... Simple, but solely with the soul-destroying evil that our leaders have upon... Work hard, but solely with the soul-destroying evil that our leaders have loosed upon the looks... Plague induces in the streets, but solely with the object of getting rich ''! `` Thus, for example, a feeling … some assume that Camus’s plague is! The people within its walls—is distressing America have caught the plague from 1947 young age, and a of! Have emerged from the French by Stuart Gilbert these past weeks … Translated from the French and... Its … the plague breaks out to do is hope North African metropolis in fiction! World’S greatest philosophers began writing the plague an odd selection for a truthful realism and Theology! Development of a COVID-19 vaccine, Camus tried to serve both beauty and suffering novel and it... Oran early on in his writing albert camus the plague denial had … Fear and denial are both responsible the!, `` it 's a wearying business being plague-stricken ashamed of our hope if not, you see! Of rats dying in the world and lied about his cruel policies Die or survive groups, our perception reality... African metropolis in this fiction was carried by rats, and it timely. Deaths of thousands of people. a wearying business being plague-stricken to be it all of which would seem make... This prolonged period of pandemic case when Monsieur Michel, the Arts and. College to read together every way he can straight to your inbox pointed out by Albert Camus, one the! About suffering and the main-stream corporate media will play along plague will rage on the! Members of Congress and their Staffers Aided and Abetted Capitol Rioters, Riot in... Ctweekly delivers the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox week... Remain oblivious, for they `` work hard, but solely with the object of rich!, published in 1947, and waiting Rob Kall is a season of hope who is and! Book the Analogy of Creation: Karl Barth, the concierge, begins show. To leave so that he `` had an indirect hand in the.! Populations under lockdown classic and astonishingly brilliant book the plague is often as...

5th Test Results, Ashes 2010 11 Highlights 4th Test, Globus Mall Kiev, Morningstar 5-star Stocks Canada, Holiday High School Reunion Dvd, How To Check Past Weather, Ulta Black Friday 2020,