Essays on Rieux

Everyone desires to understand the significance of life, to unveil the importance of human beings and reconcile that importance to the surroundings. Many philosophers, alive and dead, from Descartes to Eve Cole, have indulged in the question of the significance of a human life, and the relationships that people form. In real life situations, many leaders; religious, political and academic, push forwards thoughts about life. Professional counselors and psychologists make a lot of money by telling people how they can achieve their full potential. In the literal works; Doll House by Ibsen, The Plague by Albert Camus, Ikiru by ...

The Metaphorical Significance of The Plague

Albert Camus’ The Plague was first published in France and was an immediate best-seller. Its success and profundity were probably deciding factors in his winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Shortly after publication Roland Barthes, the French critic and philosopher, criticized Camus for what he described as “ignoring history (Maze, 53). Camus’ response is interesting for the way we interpret this novel. In an open letter responding to Barthes, Camus wrote that The Plague had “to be read on a number of levels.” (Maze, 54). This essay will explore these different levels and examine the plague in ...

Albert Camus’ novel The Plague uses characters and their relationships quite heavily in order to provide a character-based reaction to the epidemic they are dealing with in the town of Oran. In the book, numerous characters have different reactions to death, some shying away from God and others embracing it. Some choose to turn their life around, others lose their minds even further.

Dr. Bernard Rieux narrates The Plague, and provides a significant voice of reason for the town. He is one of the more ethically driven characters of the novel, acting out of rationality and practicality, rather than faith and ...