TERM PAPER: CRISTINA VALENCIA

Cristina Valencia Period 4 May 1, 2013 A Human’s Nature The Plague, written by Albert Camus, is a novel based on the pandemic that killed half of an Algerian town’s population in 1849. In his work, Camus, provides readers with thorough descriptions of both his main characters and of the town as a whole. Throughout the novel, readers witness the mental development of specific characters and of the townspeople as a direct result of the physical changes experienced in the town, Oran. A certain feeling of expulsion from society is felt by all townspeople’s; and through the individual’s experience of adversity Camus demonstrates the bewildering ability of humans in the same situation to come together and share the same viewpoints. Through his work, Albert Camus explains the inherent nature of a human being: Camus believes it is human nature for people to find lucidity in a world that is utterly disordered. This claim is directly represented through the main characters of Dr. Bernard Rieux and Jean Tarrou as well as the townspeople of Oran. In the beginning of the novel Camus toys with the idea of the nature of mankind. He reserves the beginning half of his novel to thoroughly describing both Dr. Rieux and Tarrou along with the townspeople as a whole. The individuals that live in the small town of Oran lead a rather monotonous life. The townspeople all have jobs, children, and responsibilities these references already begin drawing conclusions about humankind’s mentality. Camus is describing to readers that humans tend to be rather simple. Prior to the epidemic, all individuals carried on with their own business and did not fret over foolish nuisances. However, when the world of these individuals is turned upside down, they come together in the face of struggle to aim for success. The townspeople’s positive approach to their destiny is demonstrated through their unwavering commitment to volunteer in the “sanitation squad” (a group of people living in the town of Oran that would help those afflicted by the plague). These individuals also placed the best doctors in the town together in an effort to devise a cure. Furthermore, the individuals attempted in using unlike techniques or practices to keep their mind of the worsening effects of the plague: they went to theaters when they were experiencing boredom (being locked in Oran) and went to church when they needed inspiration to keep their hope for the fate of their small town. Although these individuals are scared for the prospect of their future their perseverance is what allows them to make light of the situation allowing them to contrast a “plague-less” town. A vital chapter in The Plague is when the town’s Jesuit priest, Father Paneloux, delivers a sermon to the townspeople of Oran. More important than the sermon it is the motivation behind the individuals of the town to attend the sermon. The attendance was larger than ever, this, consequently draws reference to Camus’ reasoning regarding human nature and the desires of a human being. Camus uses this scene to emphasize that humans will do anything in their power to restore their mental peace. After the plague hits, the townspeople turn to religion in an effort to experience the mental stability they so greatly desire. Furthermore, character, Jean Tarrou is a direct example of a man seeking complete clarity. When faced with the prospect of death, Tarrou fights courageously. This, according to Camus’ reasoning, is because Tarrou is searching for complete clarity. Tarrou fights for his life because he wants to restore himself mentally to the conditions of his old life, one that was stable and healthy. Through this chapter in his novel, Camus communicates to his reader’s that humans have an everlasting desire to withstand all the tribulations a regular life has to offer. Dr. Bernard Rieux is a direct example of an individual seeking complete and total coherence in a world that is completely disordered. Dr. Rieux is a character that never loses hope throughout the entirety of the novel. This is demonstrated through his unwavering commitment to his work in the hospital. Dr. Rieux is the first individual of the town that clearly uses the word of the “plague” to describe the conditions of the town; Rieux used this word when every individual of the town was too scared to admit to the worsening conditions in Oran. Dr. Rieux’s search for clarity is clearly demonstrated throughout his work: it is Rieux who first treats the patients affected by the plague and pleas to the government to quarantine the small town. Dr. Rieux explains, “No, we should go forward, groping our way through the darkness, stumbling perhaps at times, and try to do what good lay in our power. As for the rest, we must hold fast, trusting in the divine goodness and not seeking personal respite,” (Camus, 227). Throughout the epidemic, Rieux is a head of the hospital monitoring all patients. Dr. Bernard Rieux’s love for his town is greater than his desire to survive the pandemic. Rieux is the lead by the notion that his outside world must be controlled and safe in order to lead the rest of his life. In The Plague, Rieux has such a great desire to restore calm in his town that he risks his life for the betterment of the conditions in the town of Oran. Throughout the novel, the characters of the novel undergo a series of emotions and difficulties throughout the progression of the plague. Narrator, Dr. Rieux describes the plague as a “the dreary struggle in progress between each man’s happiness and the abstractions of the plague,” (Camus, 91). These tribulations force the individuals living in the town of Oran to experience a change in their character nevertheless, these same characters that experience inner alterations end up reaching the same viewpoints ultimately causing them to unite. Camus’ novel is a direct representation that it is inevitable for human kind to develop or revolutionize. Through their exile from the rest of the world and for some, their family, the individuals undergo the same sequence of emotions. When the pandemic first hits the town of Oran, the individuals almost go into a daydreaming state this, is a direct result of the town being quarantined and is caused by a confusion for their future endeavors. Then, shortly after, the townspeople experience a state of remorse (due to their boredom, the individuals begin thinking about their life as a whole). Thirdly, these individuals soon realize that they share their successions of emotions with the rest of the townspeople. This, is when Camus begins identifying the townspeople of Oran as a whole and from then on the people of Oran become one and revolutionize as a unit by sharing the same emotions and beliefs, “no longer were there individual destines; only a collective destiny, made of plague and emotions shared by all,” (Camus, 167) said narrator, Dr. Bernard Rieux. Their sharing of their emotions is due to the fact that they have undergone the same tragedies. After their realizations, the people of Oran are able to come together and work to stabilize or find coherence in an effort to improve the conditions of their small town. It is through their compassion that they town unites, “you can’t understand. You’re using the language of reason, not of the heart; you live in a world of abstractions, “(Camus, 87) said a character, Rambert, a journalist visiting the town of Oran when the plague hits, Rambert is a man who seeks to find a way out of the town, back to his home in an effort to restore his life to its normal conditions with his French girlfriend. In the novel, The Plague, written by Albert Camus, Camus explores the significance of human nature and the common reasoning of the human mind. Through the portrayal of main characters such as Dr. Bernard Rieux and Jean Tarrou as well as his thorough descriptions of the townspeople of Oran as a whole, Camus explains that it is human nature to seek lucidity throughout a troublesome time. Works Citied Camus, Albert, and Stuart Gilbert. The Plague. 1st American ed. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1948. Print.