Furthermore, a plague strikes the city of Oran just off the coast of France. This plague starts with the death of just a couple rats in unordinary places such as the lobby of Rieux’s dormitory. Next, more rats start to die but people still aren’t fazed by this pattern. M. Michael was the first man to fall sick of this plague. Next, one by one more and more people fall to the plague. Sooner or later, people are dying left and right from this deadly plague until the deaths are uncountable. During this epidemic Doctor Rieux gets separated from his wife as the town is cut off from the rest of the world. Rambert, struggles similarly with Rieux in that they are both separated from their wives. Faith in a sense of Duty leads one to happiness. Doctor …show more content…
87). Rieux recognizes that it is very difficult being separated from one’s wife and that everyone would feel better if they are able to be reunited with their loved ones. This was even harder for Rieux for his wife is sick and away from him. In times of a plague it is very difficult for people to find faith and that most would rather tend to their feelings instead of their duties. Rieux acknowledges, “ Only the law was the law, plague had broken out, and he could only do what had to be done”(p. 87). Abandoning the law and a sense of duty means that Rieux and Rambert and all the others would be with their loved ones. However, this also means that all these men would be abandoning their own jobs in order to feel better. As a Doctor it is Rieux’s job to tend to the sick and attempt at curing this epidemic for that is his duty. Throughout the course of the plague we see that Rieux maintains faith in his sense of duty by doing his job and never giving up the fight against the plague. Many lives were lost to the plague. However the lives that Rieux saved should not go unrecognized for if Rieux did not do his job with the help of his friends then there would be no room
Plagues and Peoples written by William H. McNeill follows the patterns of epidemics and endemics within human history. It is within this history that McNeill finds parallels between diseases and humans in the forms of microparasitism and macroparasitism. Merely from the title, McNeill gives equal importance to viruses and humankind. In several instances, humans behave the same way viruses, bacteria, and parasites do in order to survive and to compete. Surprisingly enough, McNeill’s overarching theme can be summarized using his last sentence, asserting that “Infectious disease which antedated the emergence of humankind will last as long as humanity itself, and will surely remain, as it has been hitherto, one of the fundamental parameters and
Mcnaughton, David. "An Unconnected Heap of Duties?" The Philosophical Quarterly 46: 433-447. Obtained from PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Further Readings – Ethics. University of Alberta eClass.
Dr. Rieux is absolutely an absurd hero because he does what he has to do. He still works as a doctor instead of hiding in fear, hoping to not get the plague like many other of the citizens. Of course, he does not want to fall ill, but he knows that should not stop him from completely ignoring his duties. Unlike many of his fellow citizens who just cowered in their home, he realizes his responsibility and lived up to his specific duty. Everyone’s belief was that the whole city is condemned to die, which was influenced by the priest's sermon, stating this is punishment for the sins of the townspeople, but Dr.Rieux ignored that and stayed to fight. "There's no question of heroism in all this. It's a matter of common decency. That's an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is – common decency." (Camus, The Plague). He does not give up and he does not show weakness. Dr. Rieux has a very similar personality to the character Sisyphus in The Myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus is sentenced to roll a rock to the top of the mountain and then watch it roll back down, for eternity. “Man...
...ion could be taken both to find the guilty (those who send the plague and those who allowed it to arrive) and to prevent the same thing happening again. The acceptance that evil will return in the ending of The Plague is a clear indication that evil resides outside the human soul: man is good enough when he is an existentially conscious being. Only the perplexed and inactive man may consider man as evil as the case is with Paneloux and the asthma patient. One may question, why Tarrou calls himself a carrier of plague-germ. The answer is that Tarrou perceives dehumanized doctrine in the name of humanization- an inevitable result of the dogmatic humanization. But once he finds `real saint' in a rebel, his total conception becomes modified. Tat is why, The Plague can be taken as a celebration of human dignity in the face of absurd existence in which evil is superimposed.
The Plague (French, La Peste) is a novel written by Albert Camus that is about an epidemic of bubonic plague. The Plague is set in a small Mediterranean town in North Africa called Oran. Dr. Bernard Rieux, one of the main characters, describes it as an ugly town. Oran’s inhabitants are boring people who appear to live, for the most part, habitual lives. The main focus of the town is money.
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.
Finally, Rieux concludes by returning to the city s setting. Despite being a port on the Mediterranean Sea, it turns its back on the bay, with the result that it s impossible to see the sea. The sea represents life, freedom, and truth, qualities the materialistic citizens of Oran never possess. When they finally long for them, the plague denies their wish. The citizens had the faintest reason to apprehend the incidents that took place, because they knew nothing but their business and their sad, unsightly town. They would soon realize that life involves more than money and habit, but for the present time, they were left to their inexperienced minds.
Rieux seems to influence the readers perspective by seemingly suggesting that societal order was breaking down at the time thus making the plague seem even more grim. In addition during a discussion with Tarrou, Dr. Rieux’s reveals that he is an atheist Tarrou also does the same during the discussion between two of them this is later reinforced when Rieux addresses the priest Paneloux over the death of Jacques Othon a young child who suffered greatly before his death and was also the son of the conservative magistrate M. Othon. Rieux states “No, Father. I’ve a very different idea of love. And until my dying day I shall refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture.”(218). This also affects his view of the plague as an atheist he does not believe in an afterlife which not only increases the feeling of urgency in curing those infected but also heightens the emotional impact of each death and also increases pressure on Rieux which will also influence his thinking. During a conversation between Dr. Rieux and Tarrou they also put a spin on how the plague is viewed during a discussion “Tarrou nodded. “Yes. But your victories will never be lasting; that’s all.” Rieux’s face darkened. “Yes, I know
Character development in The Plague plays a significant role in illustrating the way that man will endure against an incomparable being or force. In this case, the plague. The people of Oran have an understanding, though an indefinite one, of the power of the plague because Dr. Rieux publicly accepts the situation. Rieux makes it clear that he plans to “get busy with [the plague]” (89), but “[he] knew: that this wasn’t the easiest course” (89). In other words, Dr. Rieux us fully aware that he is up against something much stronger than himself. However, he is intent on combating the plague. Dr. Rieux, however, does not represent all of the people. Not all of the people are immediately awake to the fact that the plague is a force to be reckoned with. Because a majority of them do not know the true power of the plague, they have no desire to counteract the early stages of the disease. Without knowing the actual severity of the situation, “the risk of the plague seemed insignificant” (70) to them. The overall nonchalant attitude of the citi...
Some say the rats came from a ship, but it wasn’t possible because the type of rats was common. These rats were “Filth running in open ditches in the streets, flyblown meat and stinking fish, contaminated and adulterated ale, polluted well water, unspeakable privies m epidemic disease.” These rats that were running all over the city were filthy and contained the disease. So when anyone got the disease you had symptoms like fever, pain, sweat, etc. The rats were the main cause of the black plague because they were all over and transmitted the disease to whoever was near
...ue and each Oranian will have somewhat of a new dimension as an individual. Throughout the chronicle Rieux has commented on the townspeople's failure before the plague to attain a more varied, joyous, appreciative sense of life. Now, he sees lovers wishing to slow their new moments into slow motion so as to savor all of its thrill. For the present human love is violently rekindled.
of the country, many wanted to abide not only by the law but also by
In the novel, the people of Oran are ignorant and selfish by thinking that a fatal plague or epidemic would never harm them. When it does though, everyone goes ballistic and can’t understand why it is happening to them. Dr. Rieux is one of the main people that decided to do something about it. He is a doctor that sees some of the first signs of the plague early on. Being one of the first that acknowledges the problem as a plague came with disagreements amongst everyone. No one believed that there was a plague in their city and couldn’t recognize that they were all in serious danger. As days go by and the death toll increases dramatically, the ci...
... . The abbey was amply provisioned . . . With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion . . . The external world could take care of itself.”
Secondly, I will tackle the confusion that Austin creates between ‘being obligated’ and ‘being obliged’ to do something. This distinction is made clear by Hart who seeks offers the example of a gunman, which I will go into greater detail in the main body of the essay. From this analysis of Austin I will comment and assess Hart’s own Command Theory of Primary and Secondary rules, drawing attention to the Rule of Recognition and his disconnected relation of law and morality.