the plague
I really enjoyed this book The Plague by Albert Camus. The reason why I enjoyed this book is because it is a very deep book that functions on several different levels. On a surface level it serves as a historical recount of the events that happened during the plague. However on a deeper level it serves as a looking glass into World War II and it illustrates existentialism and the point the author was trying to make. Before we go on into this book in a deeper level we must first deal with the surface layer of the main story. The book starts out in the ugly city of Oran in Algeria. The main character Dr. Rieux's, is a doctor and he is the author of this account of the plague. Dr. Rieux is seeing his sickly wife off to a sanitarium where hopefully she will recover from her mystery illness. While this is happening, rats are coming out and dying in the streets in mass numbers, the public beginnings to get concerned with this but right before mass hysteria erupts the rats stop coming out and dying. During all of this, we are introduced to a few more characters that become more important as the book goes on. Grand is introduced, as a civil servant trapped in a low end job, and also we meet Cottard
The aspect of meaninglessness is best seen in Grand. After this point the plague beings to decline, and it is almost gone, but before it leaves it claims the life of Tarrou before it finally leaves. This point also ties into inauthentic vs. In the end The Plague is a very good book with lots of insights into the human predicament. Now, let's explore the deeper levels of this book, and what the author is trying to convey to us. In this book Camus touches on the cornerstones of existentialism which are, truth is subjective, the freedom quest, oppression, meaninglessness, finitude, fear and anxiety, inauthentic vs. , who may be a criminal and is making a living off the black market. Fear and anxiety can be seen throughout the entire book never knowing when you are going to die or when someone close to you is going to die causes you to reflect on your life. The Christian response to existentialism is the fact that God is in control and he wisely preserves his creation and gives them purpose. A little later on, Father Paneloux dies of a doubtful case of the plague. The entire congregation is on their knees, repenting for there sins. Once the Plague is in full swing, Father Paneloux gives a stirring sermon on how the citizen's of Oran are at fault for why the plague has descended on this town. The author also has another and more significant meaning in his book. This can be seen in Father Paneloux when he is coming to grips in his second sermon about why God allowed this tragedy to happen.
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Acceptance Essays
