Analysis Of Albert Camus 'BookThe Plague'

The plague affected people not only on a physical level but a mental one as well. The mental health of the citizens of Oran was amongst the plague's many victims, it suffered of exhaustion as well as being forced to handle mental confrontations. When the citizens dealt with these issues, some people lost their capacity to love as intently, but overall the general capacity of people to uphold their devotion remained resilient to the challenges the plague provided.

A book of horrors, fear and death. “The Plague” is a book by Albert Camus which weaves these emotions and events into one suspenseful tale. Each paragraph and section is written and structured in such a way as to give the reader insight into the feelings of the victims of the plague, and to show somewhat of a theme. The passage from section 4, part 4, line number 1 to line number 35 gives us a glimpse of the melancholy of the people of Oran to their dead loved ones to the extent that they do not attend All Souls' Day, for they were thinking of them too much as it was. Albert Camus fills this passage with figurative devices, including, diction, personification, pathetic fallacy, metaphors, irony and a turning point. The first two paragraphs

The sanitation of Oran is a significant problem in The Plague. Camus portrays the sanitation of the city as being very deficient in the novel where it is mentioned, “The sanitary department is inefficient, understaffed, for one thing, and you're worked off your feet” (Camus 61). Although there were sanitary services present, they encompassed a poor image, so the townspeople started forming their own voluntary “sanitation squads” (Camus 65) to help clean the city. It is mentioned in the novel that there is a notice outlining a general sanitation program that the authorities have drawn up. It includes a systematic extermination of the rat population by injecting poison gas into the sewers, and a strict supervision of the water-supply. The claim made in Camus’ novel of inferior sanitation of the streets is not the central problem faced in Algeria. The prevalent sanitation problem faced by a vast population of Algeria is their water sanitation. Camus mentions the unsanitary water supply, but bases a larger concern for the cleanliness of the streets. The concern for sanitary water is much greater in the authentic Algerian culture and the government has implemented various programs to conduct sanitary practices in the effort of getting clean water. In addition to sanitary programs being implemented, various sanitation strategy studies have been finalized through the Algerian efforts (“Algeria-Water”). The medical treatment practices conveyed through the novel were also conflicting to the authentic culture.

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere was one of the greatest writers of the seventeenth century, being considered by many the greatest author of French comedy. In his plays, called “comedies of manners”, Moliere satirizes the morals and social conventions of his contemporaneous human society by using stock characters. In Tartuffe, a comedy of five acts, the main topic is the analysis of religious hypocrisy and leader figures of the seventeenth century, portraying Tartuffe in contrast with personages like Orgon.

The Plague or ¨Black Death¨ was a virus that spread across Europe killing about 60% of the population. The plague's origin was at the time unknown and this brought about many questions. At this time, people did not have basic necessities such as proper hygiene and medicine. Therefore there was fear, superstitions as well as conspiracy, and there were also some who realized that they could gain from the deaths of those around them.

The practice of worshipping a religion has been a part of human existence for thousands of years. The practice itself changes and shifts as time and humans grow, but the fundamentals of faith remain the same. While in present day the idea of religion can be a point of contention, in the past centuries it was a center of all human interaction. Moliere introduces a new outlook on religion in his published 1669 play Tartuffe. Following the household of Orgon and their interactions with a con-man, Tartuffe, disguised as a holy man. Orgon himself is completely oblivious to Tartuffe’s true nature (Gainor 539). Moliere uses this play as commentary on the society he finds himself in, 17th century France. A time between the Renaissance and the coming Enlightenment, where free thinking is on the rise (Chill 155). The entire play revolves around ideals concerning religion, and is a critique on the everyday acceptance of religious authority and control. Through the manipulative relationship of Tartuffe and Orgon, as well as the abrupt deus ex machina ending, Moliere sets a challenge to society’s blind faith in religion therefore embodying the Neoclassical idea of reason versus passion.

Molière’s juxtaposition of Tartuffe’s behavior in these two scenes enables the audience to clearly see the inconsistency between his words and actions. Tartuffe’s drastic change of behavior in the course of two scenes produces a comic effect that is intended to satirize the kind of religious hypocrisy embodied in Tartuffe.

Numerous opinions of Moliere’s personal religion in relation to his writing are discussed in this article. Phillips also discusses the intentions of Moliere regarding his audience and his characters. This article offers a better understanding in the history behind Tartuffe and Moliere.

In Algeria, including Oran, the main religion is Muslim. There is a very small population that call themselves Christians. Both religions are incorporated into the inhabitants of the city in The Plague. Father Paneloux, the town’s priest, believes the plague has been sent to Oran by God to punish the sinners of the town, but that is will not harm him. He gives a sermon in which he preaches that everybody will suffer from the plague and his sermon scares a large portion of the congregation. He says the plague’s cessation will depend upon repentance. In his sermon, Father Paneloux mentions a passage from the Golden Legend and then claims:

In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is an absurdist who lives in the moment and refuses to be distracted by societal norms. He views the world as random and is indifferent to it. But to many French people living in Algeria, religion, social order and character are intertwined and are imperative to human life. Camus uses the crucifix and the courtroom to convey the idea that religion is man’s desperate attempt to create meaning in life where there is none.

In his novel The Plague Camus creates characters who are forced to think, reflect, and assume responsibility for living as they battle an epidemic of bubonic plague that is ravaging the Algerian port of Oran. For ten months as the outbreak isolates the city from the rest of the world, each of the citizens reacts in a unique way. Camus’ main characters undergo both individual and social transformations.

Religious institutions are integrated into the human condition as they provide guidelines on how to live. Father Paneloux represents the institution of the church throughout the novel and reverberates themes of Christianity. In his second sermon to the people of Oran, he feels states “we must believe everything or deny everything. And who among you…would dare to deny everything?” forcing the people to make a decision about their religious views (Camus, 224). The institution, in this case, the Christian church, gives direction to Paneloux by forcing him to hold steadfast to Christianity. His principles guide him through his pain and help him process powerful emotions that would otherwise be too agonizing. He must hold onto faith in order to survive this tragic event.

In dealing with 'The Fall ' as one of Camus ' short masterpieces on the theme of passive human avoidance, we have the most highly personal account of the evil located within the individual himself and within the very language he uses. Unlike the main character, Meursault in L 'Etranger, who is pursued by a blind fate and involuntary kills an Arab, and is misunderstood by a hypocritical society, Jean-Baptiste Clamence,

The novel, The Plague, written by Albert Camus, will be the focal point of the Multicultural essay. Further delving into Albert Camus and his life, he was a French philosopher, author, and journalist. At a young age, he lost his father due to an injury suffered during World War I, and was raised under the domineering hand of his grandmother alongside his mother (Lottman 52). Camus did exemplary in school and through his political engagement led him to join the Communist Party. Deeply advocating for individual rights, he became opposed to French colonization and argued for the empowerment of his people in politics and labor, leading him to later joining the French anarchist movement. Camus introduced and elaborated on elements of absurdism

Hypocrisy’ as a common theme throughout literature has often been advocated by the author’s use of concealing the true characteristics or meaning of the character. ‘Tartuffe’ by Moliere is an amazing neo-classical drama, where it portrays the contradictory relationship between appearance and reality in terms of hypocrisy. In one hand, Tartuffe, the religious hypocrite, who always wears a false mask of untrue righteousness to deceive others around him, on the other hand in reality he turns out to be the falsifier. Despite Tartuffe is treacherous in his undertakings and manages to deceive some people, however he cannot help but reveals his true nature/characteristics whenever he is confronted by sincere individuals. In another sense, he fails to realize that there are at least some people who has the right knowledge and will be able to identify his true instinct. I believe by using Tartuffe as a model of ‘religious hypocrite’, Moliere superbly demonstrates the logic that although the inherent tendency of a hypocrite is to manipulate others with his deceitful virtue, yet he will only be able to misguide individuals, who are insincere and unwise.