Albert Camus, a know existentialist and world renowned author used his gift of writing to express his ideas. Resulting in a culmination of his beliefs into one book called The Plague. Within the book, there is one chapter that supersedes all of the other chapters in sharing Camus beliefs. Chapter fifteen is filled with Camus worldview woven in perfectly with his artistic style and techniques. Through this chapter, Camus obliterates religion, gives man a purpose, redefines wisdom resulting in a transvaluation of modern man's beliefs through suffering. Camus, a strong atheist at the time, used the technique of a foil to help his ultimate goal. In this chapter, Camus uses God as a foil to help elevate those who are facing reality, who are also …show more content…
Camus uses repetition of dialogue to communicate the necessity of man to rise up and fight in a absurd world. Throughout, the chapter, Camus focuses on the words "see" and "eyes" to grab the reader's attention. In less than one page, Camus alludes to seeing or eyes four times. This technique is used by the author to communicate the point that if man is to survive in the world, he must "rise above themselves. All the same, when you see the misery it brings, you'd need to be a madman, or a coward, or stone blind, to give in tamely to the plague" (125). In this quote, Camus compares the two sides and that man can either see the reality around him and face it; or he can be blind and let the world win. In this chapter, Camus also elevates the plague, saying that it opens men's eyes and forces them to take thought (125). Tarrou gives an example of this when he says that the only survivor of the previous epidemic was the man who cleaned the bodies: the one who faced the reality of the situation was the only one to survive(130). A motif of the book, is habits and how they lead to bad faith. What the author is trying to do by introducing the plague is cause the citizens to wake up from their bad faith and face the reality of the world and be heroes in it. Through the artistic style of repetition Camus shows how man can be a hero in a world of …show more content…
The theme most evident in the chapter is the theme of redefinition of wisdom. Camus uses the symbol of eyes and color association to share his view on wisdom. In Greek mythology, Athena was the Goddess of Wisdom and she had grey eyes. Throughout literature authors use grey as a symbol of wisdom. Camus uses this technique to describe Tarrou on two different occasions. Early in the chapter, Tarrou is described as a "grey bear" (123) and later on he is said to have grey eyes. This characteristic hints that Tarrou has some sort of wisdom the reader does not know about
Allusions to philosophers and other authors pepper “Create Dangerously,” reflecting how the people use the words of those that came before them to make the best of their own reality. The most highlighted philosopher within the paper is Albert Camus, by whom the title “Create Dangerously” was inspired. Not only does Danticat quote and speak of Camus within the essay, but tells of how the people of Haiti would put on his play quietly, quietly in the basements of their homes in secret, finding invigoration in the philosopher’s absurdist and poignant words. " 'Execution relieves and liberates. It is a universal tonic, just in precept as in practice. A man dies because he is guilty. A man is guilty because he is one of Caligula’s subjects. Ergo all men are guilty and shall die. It is only a matter of time and patience' " quotes Danticat in reference to “quietly, quietly.”. By picking this quote, Danticat draws parallels to the death sentences given to the people of Haiti by the dictatorship, including Numa and Drouin, perpetuating the consistency of Danticat’s message. Camus was part of a dialogue that was strikingly similar to that of the people battling the Haitian dictatorship. He himself opposed the Nazi regime by editing an underground newspaper in France (Kellman 2011). Danticat’s affinity for Camus’ work is made more palpable seeing the similarities in what they have faced through their lifetime. Inciting small forms of rebellion is a lifeline for those faced with domination, more specifically an autocracy. The overall theme of the story is the importance of literature, especially in times of oppression and pain, and how it can be used to aid the human
"Thus the first thing that plague brought to our town was exile."(p.71). The first exile Camus writes is the physical exile of a diseased town from the world, and consequently, the exile of the town's people from the kingdom of everyday. The particular torture of this exile is memory; once expelled from a kingdom, the kingdom ceases to exist, living on only as "a memory that serves no purpose... ha[s] a savor only of regret."(p.73). Thus the townspeople are haunted by memories of their distant loved ones and their interrupted lives, creating islands of their own exile- an exile intensified by years of monotonous selfish habit. "The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits."(p.4). The pea-counter is the ultimate representation of this exile; he is completely removed from the reality of man, measuring his life in the perpetual repetition of an absurd activity. Through the character of Rambert, Camus defines plague as precisely this selfish exile of habit, this doing "...the same thing over and over and over again..."(p.161).
The emotionless anti-hero, Monsieur Meursault, embarks on a distinct philosophical journey through The Stranger. Confident in his ideas about the world, Meursault is an unemotional protagonist who survives without expectations or even aspirations. Because of his constant indifference and lack of opinions about the world, it can be denoted that he undergoes a psychological detachment from the world and society. It is through these characteristics that exist in Meursault that Camus expresses the absurd. Starting from the very first sentence of the book, “Maman died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” (Camus 1) The indifferent tone from these short sentences convey a rather apathetic attitude from Meursault’s part. Not only does he not feel any sorrow, he also “felt like having a smoke.” (Camus 4) Communicating perfectly Meursault’s disinterest, “[he] hesitate, [he] didn’t know if [he] could do it with Maman right there. [He] thought it over; it really didn’t matter.” (Camus 4) The death of his mother prompts an absurdist philosophy in which he experiences a psychological awakening and begins to place no real emphasis on emotions, but rather on the physical aspect of life.
In Colonus, the blind see and the seeing are blinded. Perfect irony. A prime example of the blind seeing is Oedipus, the “tragic hero.” Though physically blinded, he discerns things that others ignore. By relying on the aid of Antigone, he learns compassion and humility. “Friend, my daughter’s eyes serve for my own.” (83) While some men are able to view the outside world, their own pride blinds them to the reality of what they are seeing. But through the horrible blindness that Oedipus endures, he is finally able to let go of his arrogance and rely on others, an image that recalls Tiresias and his wisdom. “Stranger: ‘What service can a blind man render him?’ Oedipus: ‘All I say will be clear-sighted indeed.’” (86). But all humans endure an intangible blindness, to a greater or lesser degree.
He provides his readers with information on the daily life of the characters that already live in the brutal, dark life in Africa. Through these characters, his readers see the aftermath of living in such a terrible environment and how it becomes natural to be insane and ill. The Europeans are physically affected by the suffering of the body through the scorching heat that leads to a constant and daily sweat. The illnesses they receive has sabotaged the health of their inner body. With all of these rough, ill circumstances building off each other, the mind travels its way into a dark, unhealthy place.
...able option. Camus’s main character, Meursault, embodies this third option; by accepting his circumstances and being indifferent to them, Meursault is able to break free of all possible causes of anxiety and find happiness. Furthermore, Meursault’s rejection of religion as belief, his acceptance of the “benign indifference of the universe”, and his acceptance of his circumstances all leading to happiness personifies Camus’s take on Absurdism, the philosophy that Camus is trying to depict in The Stranger (76). By using foil characters to contrast Meursault in actions or personality, Camus creates several polarizing situations, making Meursault the extreme epitome of Absurdism in every contrasting relationship and thus, shining light on his ideology in the process.
Albert Camus’s The Plague is a novel about an ordinary town that is suddenly stricken by plague. A few of Camus’s philosophies such as the absurd, separation, and isolation are incorporated in the events of the story. The absurd, which is the human desire for purpose and significance in a meaningless and indifferent universe, is central to the understanding of The Plague. In The Plague, Camus uses character development and irony to show that even through the obvious superiority of the universe, man is in constant effort to outlive the absurd. The Plague is crafted around the belief that humans live life in search of a value or purpose that will never be revealed to them because it does not exist.
... evening, on leaving the office, they forgather, at an hour that never varies, in the cafes, stroll the same boulevard, or take the air on their balconies. The passions of the young are violent and short-lived; the vices of older men seldom range beyond an addiction to bowling, to banquets and "socials," or clubs where large sums change hands on the fall of a card (Camus,The Plague)." Here it shows an example of existentialism as it did in The Stranger. In both novels the main characters of interest are consumed by repetitive redundant lives; which reflects the philosophy. But this novel, The Plague, also shows possibly a reason why Camus denies existentialism. In The Plague it is expressed that man is good of at least has potential to be good.
Camus starts the beginning of his novel by stating the death of the narrator’s mother through a first person point of view. Meursault, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, begins by contemplating the day of his mother’s death and is unable t...
In the play, Oedipus the King, blindness is used metaphorically and physically to characterize several personas , and the images of clarity and vision are used as symbols for knowledge and insight. Enlightenment and darkness are used in much the same manner, to demonstrate the darkness of ignorance, and the irony of vision without sight.
Albert Camus was a French-Algerian novelist, essayist, dramatist, and journalist and a Nobel laureate. He was born in Algeria to a French father and Spanish mother. After his father was killed in WWI, he was raised in poverty by his grandmother and mother. He was forced to end his studies and limit his life in theatre as a playwright, director, and actor due to tuberculosis. He then turned his interest to politics and, after briefly being a member of the Communist party, he began a career in journalism in 1930. His articles reflected the suffering of the Arabs in Algeria. This led him to his dismissal of his newspaper job. Later, he worked in Paris for a newspaper and soon he became involved in Resistance movements against the Germans. He started writing an underground newspaper. Camus wrote many novels and his writings, illustrated his view of the absurdity of human existence: Humans are not absurd, and the world is not absurd, but for humans to be in the world is absurd. In his opinion, humans cannot feel at home in the world because they yearn for order, clarity, meaning, and eternal life, while the world is chaotic, obscure, and indifferent and offers only suffering and death. Thus human beings are alienated from the world. Integrity and dignity require them to face and accept the human condition as it is and to find purely human solutions to their plight. He used a simple and clear but elegant form of writing to convey his ideas about morality, justice and love. In 1957, Camus received the Nobel price for literature. He was deeply troubled by the Algerian War of Independence and he immersed himself in the theatre and working on an autobiographical novel. He died in an automobile accident just before being named director of the national theater.
Finding Enlightenment in the Dark: An analysis of light in Camus’s The Stranger. In The Stranger, the protagonist Mersault becomes ostracized from his society due to his emotional separation and unwillingness to play by societal rules. His continual apathy and expression that everything “didn’t matter” eventually led to his death sentence (8). Mersault focuses on his physical surroundings, commenting on the light and the heat around him. He perceives the world through his senses, not through his emotions.
Many times humans do things that contradict another thing they do. An example of this is one thing may be good but also bad at the same time. A person who has done this more then once is Oedipus in the writer Sophocles plays. Sophocles uses imagery like light verses darkness, knowledge verses ignorance and sight verses blindness.
Albert Camus was a French writer who was very well known all over the world for his different works but especially with the idea of “absurdism”. Camus believed that something that was absurd was not possible by humans or logically. It was beyond ridiculous and therefore impossible. This was the basis of one of his most famous works, The Plague. The Plague is a novel that explores aspects of human nature and condition, destiny, God, and fate. The novel is about a plague that takes place in Oran, Algeria that is fictional, but it’s believed to be relatively based on a cholera outbreak in the mid 1800’s in Oran that killed thousands of people. Dr. Bernard Rieux is the protagonist but also is the narrator. However, he doesn’t admit to being the narrator until the end of the novel. Camus writes in the beginning that the instances in Oran are being told by witnesses of the plague. In The Plague, Camus wants his audience to read the book unbiasedly not knowing the narrator in order to take sides with the characters that one wants to and not to be persuaded by the narrators telling of the events.
Camus writes in a simple, direct, and uncomplicated style. The choice of language serves well to convey the thoughts of Meursault. The story is told in the first person and traces the development of the narrator's attitude toward himself and the rest of the world. Through this sort of simple grammatical structure, Camus gives the reader the opportunity to become part of the awareness of Meursault. In Part I, what Meursault decides to mention are just concrete facts. He describes objects and people, but makes no attempt to analyze them. Since he makes no effort to analyze things around him, that job is given to the reader. The reader therefore creates his own meaning for Meursault's actions. When he is forced to confront his past and reflect on his experiences, he attempts to understand the reasons for existence. At first, Meursault makes references to his inability to understand what's happening around him, but often what he tells us seems the result of his own indifference or detachment. He is frequently inattentive to his surroundings. His mind wanders in the middle of conversations. Rarely does he make judgments or express opinions about what he or other characters are doing. Meursault walks through life largely unaware of the effect of his actions on others.