Summary Of Albert Camuss The Plague - 747 Words

A greek philosopher, Thucydides, once said â€Å"The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage† (Thucydides). Albert Camus, much like Nietzsche did not believe that death, suffering, or the human existence had any underlying moral or rational meaning due to the fact that he did not believe in God or even an afterlife for that matter. Camus believed that human beings, as mortals, live under an irrational and an absurd death sentence, never really being able to live a free and meaningful life. Yet, Camus still believed that people were capable of giving their lives meaning and finally living their lives freely. In Albert Camus’ novel The Plague, the people of Oran believed that they were free, that is true, in the†¦show more content†¦In the early days of the plague, the citizens of Oran did not care about one another’s hardships due to the fact that each person of Oran was selfishly convinced that his or her pain is more uniq ue compared to â€Å"common† suffering happening throughout the city rather than believing that everyone else in town is going through the same pain and suffering. When the epidemic continues to be a big deal months after the rats first come to town, many of Oran’s citizens rise above themselves by joining the anti-plague effort. The recognition the townspeople have for the plague as a collective concern allows them to break the gap of alienation that has characterized and determined their unlively existence. Therefore, they give meaning to their lives because they chose to rebel against death itself by leaving the city or by otherwise avoiding the anti-plague effort is the same thing as surrendering to the death sentence under which every human being lives. Just as any rebellion against death and suffering is ultimately futile, readers already know that the anti-plague efforts seem to make little difference in the relentless progression of the epidemic. However, this novel declares that the rebellion is nonetheless a noble, meaningful struggle even if it means being defeated continuously until the plague runs its course. In an unique way, Camus’ novel, The Plague, is heavily infused with Camus’ beliefs in the value of being