it's not a plague, it's just a life

“It’s not a plague, it’s just a life which someone die and someone live. “I think it’s a best description for the novel. Most of people know the author Camus is an existentialist and the novel is a symbol of absurd literature . But for the actual meaning of these word, most of them can only be silent. Why not throw out these labels and just think about a question” what would you do during the plague and what do you think of the essence of life before and after experiencing death? It’s not a question readers are thinking , actually it’s also troubling on the author.  

 Not like most of novel which touches readers by colorful and twisted plot. The narration mode is very simple concluded in one sentence” one unknown city breaks out a plague and a doctor records his own experience in the plague.” There is no reversed plot which can easily catch reader’s hearts, there is no villain to create conflict and tragedy. The only attractive characteristic is the different individual’s attitude and performance for the plague.

The main character -doctor Rieux who could be considered as the author himself is always rational but also heroic. It is a talk with Tarrou after listening a priest’s speech. Tarrou question that” why do you show such devotion, considering you don’t believe in god? I suspect you answer may help me to mine.” Rieux said that if he believed in an all-powerful god he would cease curing the sick leave that to him...... And when Tarrou asked “ against what?“ He answered “ A never ending defeat”. He has witnessed many people’s death who was struggling for death, screaming out” never” but unavoidable going to die. He emphasis that he had never managed to get seeing people, however, he is the most rational person in the novel. In one word, he is a existentialist who never forget the human being’s sufferings and actually live toward death. In the end of the novel, he is alive but his best friend has died. In the happy and sweat atmosphere of the whole city which announces the end of plague and sufferings, he doesn’t curse or is filled with indignation(although he clearly know there is no end for “plague”), on the contrary he acts as a rational and objective narrator silently believing that for humankind, the respectable things are always more than disgusting things which Camus also believes.

 Another main character Tarrou whose profession is traveler is more pessimistic and died for the plague. He performs as a saint who always conflict with his sin and thought because of his own experience in childhood. In 17, he attended a judgement whose father is the judge and in the end his father sentenced the accused man to death which in his eyes is a murder .After that, he begin to oppose execution until he witnessed the whole process of execution by guns, he suddenly understood that he was also affected with plague which he was against. He said that everyone in his mind is also affected by plague, he is tired for escaping from murder and plague, the only salvation for him is death. In other words, he sentences himself to death as an innocent murder.

 So lt arise a question what is plague? A pandemic spread by mice? It’s not simple as it look like. Tarrou said everyone catch it, everyone fears that his breath every second will spread the plague. In the pandemic of Covid-19, I also doubt whether I am spreading the virus although there is no evidence for that. I also think about what would I do if I catch it, what should I do to face our friends or families who has a possibility to spread the virus. Our society has covered up the death, make up beautiful lies to stimulate our willing to consume. In some degrees, death has also transferred into a good to consume. But when the plague strikes on our civilization society, our performance are maybe not different from hominid, fear and anger to unknow thing, hostility to patients, and ignorance and amnesia to plague. So the plague has planted into our mind, like laws let someone be killed reasonable with the name of morality, like the war let someone be killed reasonable with the name of country, like the slaughter let someone be killed reasonable with the name of nation and hostility. Thus in my views, the plagues means that everyone is accuser and also accused, everyone is sufferer and also murder and the plague is our lives. Is it absurd?  So you must knew why this novel is called absurd literature. However, as Camus is not a pessimist, but a humanist. He think there is a third people-true doctor who knew humans sufferings and never forget, who witness death but never give up facing the endless defeat and who see though the lies of life but choose to stand like a hero.  Just for these doctor who stand on the frontline

2020-06-27

分享

喜欢(0)