Albert Camus' 'The Plague' Versus COVID-19

Dear Vocal Readers,

Oh, what an absolutely mad time we live in. As the Corona Virus brings more and more victims into its clutches we have seen normal life crumble around us. Many students, including myself, are no longer allowed to go to school and are instead opting to do classes online. Stores are closing early and some have had to take breaks simply to have enough time to restock shelves. But it's at a time like this that I'm reminded of my favorite novel.

I have always been a fan of novels that take us outside of our own world and put us somewhere we aren't used to. So, in my senior year of high school I decided to pick the book with the most intriguing title for my research paper. This is how I stumbled onto Albert Camus' The Plague, whose other works include The Stranger and The Rebel. And damn was I happy that I fate brought this book into my hands.

This novel focuses on the life of a French town named Oran after it has become entangled with a plague. This plague works fast and kills even quicker. The warning signs come when rats are spotted dead around the streets. They serve as foreshadowing of what is to come and are a clue to the townspeople that something evil is lurking about. One of my favorite quotes from this novel comes from observing the dead rats littering the streets. The quote goes:

"He looked up, and his gray eyes remained fixed on the doctor for some moments; then, after wishing him good day, he remarked that it was rather odd, the way all these rats were coming out of their holes to die. 'Very odd,' Rieux agreed, 'and it ends by getting on one's nerves.'"

There's something so harsh about this quote but at the same time there is much truth to it. If we switch out the rats for actual people however, this fits more with the mentality we now have with the Corona Virus. Think about it, are we really feeling bad about all the people who have lost their lives? You may be sad if you have lost a loved one to it, but if you haven't the only thing this virus does is inconvenience your life. While you could be spending your time lamenting the deaths of thousands, most of us spend our time complaining instead about how much our lives have changed and will change. It's an ugly truth we face but it is the truth nonetheless.

Another parallel that stood out to me with this novel and our world today is the different ways in which people handle an outbreak. In the novel you had those who were willing to help by attempting to heal the sick or coming in contact with the sick. These were mostly the doctors or people who didn't have much to lose, or they were simply kindhearted. Then, there were those who simply stayed inside and minded their own business. Most citizens went with this route as it was the easiest to just pretend the outside world wasn't going on. Lastly, there were those who thrived on the chaos. The people who took the sickness as a chance to advance themselves or make some more cash. Sound familiar to today's scene? We have those who are risking their lives to help others, many who are just quarantining themselves, and those who are profiting. And if you don't think that some people are profiting then just think about the people making thousands of dollars selling hand-sanitizer and toilet paper at inflated prices because they got the idea to horde before everyone else did.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the two however, is that COVID-19 is nowhere near as deadly as the sickness from The Plague. More people have gotten the Corona Virus and lived than those who have gotten it and died. So why are there still so many similarities? There are plenty of reasons for that. One is mass panic and hysteria. We hear the word "pandemic" and we all lose it. Our society today is a weak one in all honesty. Our ancestors had to survive much worse and had way less comfortable living than we do now. Our technology and medicine has advanced, but we ourselves have become weak. Weak to change or anything that could disrupt our lives.

I'll finish out this piece with another quote that I believe ties in very well with our current situation:

"When a war breaks out, people say: 'It's too stupid; it can't last long.' But though a war may well be 'too stupid,' that doesn't prevent its lasting. Stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so wrapped up in ourselves."

Sincerely from my humanity-judging mind,

Kacie