Reading a book is like holding a mirror in front of yourself. If one goes about the correct way, and is being mindful of the thoughts and emotions that come up, he can learn an important truth about himself.
Going through “The Plague” by Albert Camus, did exactly that for me. It made confront my fears and took me for a journey that started with a showcase of my shadow. And ended up bringing me an opportunity for hope and healing.
Reading “The Plague” properly is going for a soul searching journey. Facing the abstract reality of the world, the chaos in it and one’s reaction to it. With his words, Camus peels another layer after another, pushing us a little more towards what is uncomfortable for us to handle.
How we Protect Ourselves From Death
Since the moment we came into the world, we are being followed by a dark cloud, one day to descend upon us. That cloud is death, a fact which there is no running away from.
The terror of death is too much for us to carry continuously. The situations in life where we are being forced to confront death accumulate the hardest times in our life. Thus, it should come as no surprise that our mind is doing whatever he can to drive our attention away from that inevitable occurrence.
We don’t want to live in an unpredictable world of chaos, especially with death. As a result, our mind lays abstractions or ideologies about it, so it will seem so far as to be confused with a fiction. Living with the knowledge one might die at any second and that certainty is impossible is painful for us.
By doing it, we are attaching morality to existence, which is a living a lie, according to Camus.
In “The Plague”, Camus wants us to stand tall against that fact, and not only understand it, but accept it and the absurdity of life. He wants us to find freedom in the realization that man, a creature so busy with finding meaning, is an absurd creature, for there can’t be any meaning. Even events of death, of a person of any rank, are meaningless in time. Accepting that means life the truth, and that’s the way to freedom and fulfillment.
As he once famously wrote: “Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?”
The Meaning of Death
In the book, Camus tells a story of a “regular” town named Oran, struck by the deadly Bubonic Plague.
He described the collective psychology of the people of Oran when dealing with the disaster and the effects that the mortal danger has on the psyche. His lifelike characters show different points of view to the horror – some say it’s a godly punishment, some return to religion for answers, while others denounce it. All of this to no avail, for the plague takes rich and poor as the same. The plague has no biases towards good or bad; it kills everything it comes in contact with.
The plague forces change in the people of Oran. Those who used to be so busy with the accumulation of wealth and status suddenly become suspected to losing it all, and they are being pushed into a situation where they have to rethink their values and way of life, as there seem to be no rescue from the condition but acceptance.
What is the Plague?
According to Camus, we are all living in a plague.
The plague isn’t an allegory for something that we can directly point to. Some say it’s the fact of death, some say it’s the fascism that spread during the time of writing this book. I believe that the plague is whatever we used to cover our fears, holding us back from living our life authentically and fully.
The plague is something that each of us has to defeat within himself. It is easy to run to distractions, to conformism, to do what is expected of us and not to question our way of life – living without risks. That causes us to lose our sense of self, and blocks us from feeling love towards life, all in the service of protecting us from negative feelings.
We lose our deep sense of identity and end up basing it on the work we do, where we live, or the brand we wear. Our self-esteem and sense of success in the world correlate directly to how much wealth we accumulate or our place in the social hierarchy. Sadly, most people will end up realizing that just before while die.
Camus describes the natural, yet absurd, ways people react at the start of the plague. They continue with their denial by holding on to their daily habits and routines. When the plague spreads, they hold on to what they can so to make sense of existence or have hope; they turn to religion for logic, to their wealth, some try to make a profit, all of them hold on to their imaginary construct of the world works, so not to dissolve into chaos. The only character who reacts accordingly and with acceptance of the absurd situation is Doctor Bernard Rieux. Who contributes what he can, but doesn’t delusion himself with a search for a reason in meaningless conversations about the plague, like the residents of Oran. He cares about the people and works to help, whichever way he can.
With this book, Camus wants to warn us about the danger of searching for meaning, thus living in a lie. He wants to show us the clearer, more real world which falls right under our noses. He wants us to live in the truth, as it’s the path to mental freedom and tranquility.
How to Live?
Even more than death, the book talk about how to live. When one becomes awaken to the fact that life can be taken in every moment, the question of how to act inevitably comes up.
Camus described the people of Oran before the plague. They are moving throughout each day without thinking, following their selfish whims and being ungrateful for what they have, seeing life as a quest for a treasure, rather than for what it is. They act as if that death is a fiction for them, “they” will not die.
We are being asked to live fully, which means looking at death, and thus life, directly. It means accepting the world and appreciating what we’ve got, striving to be the best versions of ourselves while understanding of what could happen, and with enough work, being okay with that.
There are fates harsher than death. Living half-heartedly, without truth, passion and conviction. Living without life.
Favorite Quotes
“I have no idea what’s awaiting me, or what will happen when this all ends. For the moment I know this: there are sick people and they need curing.”
“I know that man is capable of great deeds. But if he isn’t capable of great emotion, well, he leaves me cold.”
“But, you know, I feel more fellowship with the defeated than with saints. Heroism and sanctity don’t really appeal to me, I imagine. What interests me is being a man.”
“But what does it mean, the plague? It’s life, that’s all.”
“Nothing in the world is worth turning one’s back on what one loves.”