I just finished reading 'The Plague' by Albert Camus, What…
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I just finished reading 'The Plague' by Albert Camus, What a Torturous Masterpiece
I just finished reading The Plague by Albert Camus and I just wanted to write. I haven’t read any of Camus’ previous work nor do I know much about him.What an impactful book that I also found extremely difficult to get through. I don’t know if my reduced attention span had any impact on this but regardless, I finished the book and I was glad I ever opened this book. In particular, I was fascinated by his discourse on God. There are varying perspectives on this and Camus doesn’t explicitly tell us one is right which I liked.
The priest Panaleoux is a great character and represents people of strong faith. He chooses to believe in God and accept whatever God has to offer, including pain. In his second speech, he lays down what he believes to be the crux of the issue. Either we love God and accept his judgement, or we hate God and shatter our reality. In denying God, we reject everything. And he believes all that will leave is further suffering and pain. In other words, we are powerless against God.
The Doctor Rieux has a different perspective, and one that I partially hold. Riex who is also the book’s narrator sympathises with the human reality and his job as a doctor allows him to somewhat fight against the world’s order. The Plague, which Panaleoux understands to be a lesson for mankind and the town in particular, can be fought by the Doctor. However, this comes at a cost. He will never know victory, and all that will be left in his wake is defeat. But there is a sort of consolation in that you tried. From what I understood, he is a man that believes in God, but doesn’t love Him. And according to the priest, lacking in the love of God will only leave us bewildered and confused.
But the character that I resonated with the most was definitely Tarrou. It’s easy to believe that your thoughts, beliefs and doubts are your own but it felt like Camus had burrowed deep into my being and presented an expression of my soul on the pages I was reading. I hadn’t felt that since reading Crime and Punishment. Tarrou is a man not from this world, nor from the next. God is someone not in his sphere of thought, but someone like Paneloux would believe he is looking for. The Doctor thinks he is looking for something akin to peace. But in Tarrou’s mind and as presented by Camus I believe, Tarrou spends his existence wandering in suffering. He doesn’t believe in mankind, nor in God. He is looking for something that can’t be found. The Doctor even mentions that his giving a hand to the health department, is part of this fruitless search he is on. Based on my experience, I believe he is looking for meaning. He is looking for purpose. The Doctor finds it in his work. The Priest finds it in his devotion to God.
I think all these different characters represent thoughts that Camus had previously carried, or currently carries simultaneously. I’m someone who is doubting conventional religions, but I firmly believe in a God. However, I have struggled to love Him in any capacity and so I feel lost, unable to tether myself anywhere and find meaning. What an amazing work by Camus and I will be reading more of his works.
#entertainment
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I just finished reading The Plague by Albert Camus and I just wanted to write. I haven’t read any of Camus’ previous work nor do I know much about him.What an impactful book that I also found extremely difficult to get through. I don’t know if my reduced attention span had any impact on this but regardless, I finished the book and I was glad I ever opened this book. In particular, I was fascinated by his discourse on God. There are varying perspectives on this and Camus doesn’t explicitly tell us one is right which I liked.
The priest Panaleoux is a great character and represents people of strong faith. He chooses to believe in God and accept whatever God has to offer, including pain. In his second speech, he lays down what he believes to be the crux of the issue. Either we love God and accept his judgement, or we hate God and shatter our reality. In denying God, we reject everything. And he believes all that will leave is further suffering and pain. In other words, we are powerless against God.
The Doctor Rieux has a different perspective, and one that I partially hold. Riex who is also the book’s narrator sympathises with the human reality and his job as a doctor allows him to somewhat fight against the world’s order. The Plague, which Panaleoux understands to be a lesson for mankind and the town in particular, can be fought by the Doctor. However, this comes at a cost. He will never know victory, and all that will be left in his wake is defeat. But there is a sort of consolation in that you tried. From what I understood, he is a man that believes in God, but doesn’t love Him. And according to the priest, lacking in the love of God will only leave us bewildered and confused.
But the character that I resonated with the most was definitely Tarrou. It’s easy to believe that your thoughts, beliefs and doubts are your own but it felt like Camus had burrowed deep into my being and presented an expression of my soul on the pages I was reading. I hadn’t felt that since reading Crime and Punishment. Tarrou is a man not from this world, nor from the next. God is someone not in his sphere of thought, but someone like Paneloux would believe he is looking for. The Doctor thinks he is looking for something akin to peace. But in Tarrou’s mind and as presented by Camus I believe, Tarrou spends his existence wandering in suffering. He doesn’t believe in mankind, nor in God. He is looking for something that can’t be found. The Doctor even mentions that his giving a hand to the health department, is part of this fruitless search he is on. Based on my experience, I believe he is looking for meaning. He is looking for purpose. The Doctor finds it in his work. The Priest finds it in his devotion to God.
I think all these different characters represent thoughts that Camus had previously carried, or currently carries simultaneously. I’m someone who is doubting conventional religions, but I firmly believe in a God. However, I have struggled to love Him in any capacity and so I feel lost, unable to tether myself anywhere and find meaning. What an amazing work by Camus and I will be reading more of his works.
#entertainment
source
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