The plague by Albert Camus- Analysis and evaluation with covid-19 pandemic

Hellooowwww Readers, 

       In this blog I will discuss the analysis and evaluation of 'The plague' by Albert Camus with corona virus time.so it is required to discuss a little bit information about the writer of novel so before the analysis I would like to give some information about Albert Camus.This novel not only depict the reality of that time but also unknownly reflect the pandemic situation of Covid -19.In this novel we can find same situation of that time that we all are faced in this time, the time of 2020.

Albert Camus

-Born : 7 November 1913

Mondovi, French Algeria (present-day Dréan, Algeria)

-Died : 4 January 1960 (aged 46)

Villeblevin, France

-Cause of death : Car accident

-Alma mater : University of Algiers

-Nobal prize : At the age of 44 in 1957

-Notable work:

1.The Stranger / The Outsider

2.The Myth of Sisyphus

3.The Rebel

4.The Plague

-Era : 20th-century philosophy

-Region : Western philosophy

-School : Continental 

                philosophy

                Absurdism

                Existentialism

                Anarchism

-Main interests :  Ethics, humanity, justice, politics, suicide

-Notable ideas : Absurdism

-Influences : Jean-Paul Sartre, Augustine, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, Søren Kierkegaard, Simone Weil, Jean Grenier, Arthur Schopenhauer

-Spouse(s) : Simone Hié

                      Francine Faure

-Children : 2

About the novel :-

 'The plague' is originally written in French and published in1947.

Original title : La peste 

Country : France 

Language : Franch 

Genar : philosophical novel 

Published : 1947 ( French )

                     1948 (Hamish Hamilton ,                                                 English)

         The novel is divided into five parts and depicts the Plague epidemic that broke out in the city of Oran in France, Algeria. This novel narrates the ritual statement and raises many questions about the helpless state of  man.Thus this novel is based on the Cholera epidemic that broke out in the city of Oran in 1849.

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE NOVEL:

        Any work of literature concern with there own time, situation , human nature,human behaviour , political situation , social conditions , socience and technology ,religion ,myth , gendar , economical condition. Every literary work reflect somewhere the reality of time, in this same way this novel is based on 

-  What he saw himself

-Documents that subsequently came into his hands

- The accounts of other eyewitnesses

Covid-19 vs plaugh

This novel 'The plauge' has so many similarities  with covid-19 pandemic

So let's discuss the analysis and evaluation of' The plague'.so let's evaluate whatever same situation had happened that time and this time 

(1) Humanity - human self- centeredness vs human sacrifice 

Humanity has very vital role in the society because this world and everything very closely connected with human beings.

 In the novel plauge we can find two kind of people .first who come to the front of the surface and helped to over come the situation and another that who is self centred and selfish ,they really wanna run away from the city.In the novel we find such kind of characters like Dr. Bernard Rieux and his colleagues also came on the front for help. in the contract like character of Raymond Rambert want to run away from Oran.

The same situation take a place in the time of pandamic covid-19. This pandemic started from the Wuhan , china. Chinese government forbidden to declare the fact about the virus and gradually it become pandamic and during this time so many people comes to front of the help and some people run away to save their lives.For example in india Sonu Sood become 'mashiha of migrants' . Not only Sonu Sood but lots of people come on the front and also plays a very important role to save the people incovid -19.

(2) science vs Religion :

The plague, where illness transcends history, expressing the conflict between religion and science. This conflict is shown by the opposite opinions of Bernard Rieux, an atheistic doctor who represents science, and Paneloux, a Jesuit who symbolizes faith in the novel. In particular, the debate between Rieux and Paneloux summarizes the cultural stratification of biblical roots, that is arrived to the Western literatures through two often crossed traditions: the literary tradition and the polemic tradition, that is relative to the connection between illness and faith.in the novel plague we can find Fathe paneloux blind belief about disease plague but at the of novel cought by the plague and realise the actual situation.Father Paneloux is a learned, well-respected Jesuit priest. He is well known for having given a series of lectures in which he championed a pure form of Christian doctrine and chastised his audience about their laxity. During the first stage of the plague outbreak, Paneloux preaches a sermon at the cathedral. He has a powerful way of speaking, and he insists to the congregation that the plague is a scourge sent by God to those who have hardened their hearts against Him. However, Paneloux also claims that God is present to offer succor and hope. Later, Paneloux attends at the bedside of Othon's stricken son and prays that the boy may be spared. After the boy's death, Paneloux tells Rieux that although the death of an innocent child in a world ruled by a loving God cannot be rationally explained, it should nonetheless be accepted. Paneloux joins the team of volunteer workers and preaches another sermon saying that the death of the innocent child is a test of faith. Since God willed the child's death, so the Christian should will it, too. A few days after preaching this sermon, Paneloux is taken ill. He refuses to call for a doctor, trusting in God alone, and dies. Since his symptoms did not seem to resemble those of the plague, Rieux records his death as a "doubtful case."

 

Same kind of situation had happened in the time of covid- 19. Both cases are very well-known.first one is 'Nizamuddin Tablighi jamat'.The incident of America when prist gave advise to people not to follow the government instructions.This all events shows how people blindly follow the religions and deny to accept the fundamental theory of science.

(3) Role of the DOCTORS and medical staff : 1947 vs 2020

In this kind of situation doctors or medical staff  play the most important role in the novel same things has happened. At the beginning of the novel, Rieux's wife, who has been ill for a year, leaves for a sanatorium. It is Rieux who treats the first victim of plague and first uses the word plague to describe the disease. He urges the authorities to take action to stop the spread of the epidemic. However, at first, along with everyone else, the danger the town faces seems unreal to him. He feels uneasy but does not realise the gravity of the situation. Within a short while, he grasps what is at stake and warns the authorities that unless steps are taken immediately, the epidemic could kill off half the town's population of two hundred thousand within a couple of months.

During the epidemic, Rieux heads an auxiliary hospital and works long hours treating the victims. He injects serum and lances the abscesses, but there is little more that he can do, and his duties weigh heavily upon him. He never gets home until late, and he has to distance himself from the natural pity that he feels for the victims; otherwise, he would not be able to go on. It is especially hard for him when he visits a victim in the person's home because he knows that he must immediately call for an ambulance and have the person removed from the house. Often, the relatives plead with him not to do so since they know they may never see the person again.

Rieux works to combat the plague simply because he is a doctor and his job is to relieve human suffering. He does not do it for any grand, religious purpose, like Paneloux (Rieux does not believe in God), or as part of a high-minded moral code, like Tarrou. He is a practical man, doing what needs to be done without any fuss, but he knows that the struggle against death is something that he can never win.

In the time of covid- 19 our doctors and medical staff also play the most important role. They all become God for us and here I would like to linked some information of some well know contribution of the doctors. 

https://www-thehindu-com.

(4) Role of government :

in the novel plague some character also represents the actual condition of government during that time for exampleJoseph Grand is a fifty-year-old clerk for the city government. He is tall and thin. Poorly paid, he lives an austere life, but he is capable of deep affection. In his spare time, Grand polishes up his Latin, and he is also writing a book, but he is such a perfectionist that he continually rewrites the first sentence and can get no further. One of his problems in life is that he can rarely find the correct words to express what he means. Grand tells Rieux that he married while still in his teens, but overwork and poverty took their toll (Grand did not receive the career advancement that he had been promised), and his wife Jeanne left him. He tried but failed to write a letter to her, and he still grieves for his loss.

Grand is a neighbor of Cottard, and it is he who calls Rieux for help, when Cottard tries to commit suicide. When the plague takes a grip on the town, Grand joins the team of volunteers, acting as general secretary, recording all the statistics. Rieux regards him as "the true embodiment of the quiet courage that inspired the sanitary groups." Grand catches the plague himself and asks Rieux to burn his manuscript, but then makes an unexpected recovery. At the end of the novel, Grand says he is much happier; he has written to Jeanne and made a fresh start on his book.

(5)Similarities between the novel  Plague and corona period : 

I want to show some similarities between Palagu and covid-19 with the help of some dialogue of novel. These dealogues represent the same situation which covid-19 period , people has suffered or feel. The dialogue is in my own language.

1.The truth is that everyone is fed up and so he devotes himself to inventing new habits. Our citizens work hard. Their only purpose is to get rich. They are mainly interested in commerce and what is the main purpose of life? So say do business.( Our life before covid-19)

2. I can't say that I know them, but they live in my neighborhood and I have to help.( time of covid-19 and our mentality )

3.They want to be free but as long as there is an epidemic no one can ever be free. ( covid-19 and lock down )

4.It can be said later that Palagu(corona virus) has now become a matter of collective concern for all of us.

5.There is no individual future now. There is only a collective future, a future made up of Palagu( covid-19) and emotions are all fun.

6.The truth is that there is nothing better than an epidemic. And because of its duration, that great plight remains constant.

7.One way to explain why people can survive together is that Palagu(corona virus)erupts.

8.Knowledge and memory often come to man,in the battle of life and plague( corona ).

9.During the pendamic we learn that man needs to be admired more than just hateful things.

Conclusion :-

 

In nutshell we can say that the plague describe or reflect the actual situation of covid-19.we can find that write whatever depict is based on actual or real situation and when we read the novel we can aware the real condition of corona pandemic . Plague known as the black death and of this pandemic  thousands of people became the victim of death.Like the plague in the corona pandemic thousands of people died , lots of population suffered of financial crisis economic crisis, poor people and migrant suffer lots. Gradually situation is under control and with help of science we will become Norma and our life will become normal but all this crisis and natural calamities teach us something. We have to learn a very important lesson with all of.sometimes it seems nature give punishment to us for our unlimited use of science but it is philosophy and we have so many illusionary reason to connect natural and human.but at the end we sum up that whatever happens is good for all of us and now a day it's a duty of human being to being human.