As the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature to date, Albert Camus is a man of the hour. There are many excellent thinkers gathered around him, and he had a legendary relationship with Sartre, who is the French "spiritual godfather". More importantly, he relies on his excellent creation, profound and serious thinking, and sincerity to the status quo of society and human existence. His sense of urgency and humanistic concern——He not only promoted the great development of the French existentialism school with his own strength, but also exerted an inestimable influence on the spirit of countless readers in his country and even in the world. He was respected as a "European intellectual" "
The Plague" was Camus's nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. This masterpiece perfectly interprets the author's profound philosophical thoughts with its unique artistic style of "conciseness, clarity and purity". Although Camus has always refused to be labeled 'existentialism', it is undeniable that he is indeed the main force in this genre, and we can naturally see this distinctive feature from "The Plague".
French existentialism is committed to By expressing the absurdity of the world, we can restore the real situation of modern people's existence, reflect people's thoughts, emotions and spiritual crisis in this situation, so as to extract the essence of people. Therefore, the survival situation has become what they must grasp" In "The Plague", we can see that the "absurd" is expressed incisively and vividly.
The truth in the absurd is
such as the closedness and loneliness of modern people's living conditions. In the work, when the plague broke out and the horror of death enveloped Austria In Lanyu, the small town was forced to be sealed off from the world, and people outside could not get in and people inside could not get out; "Under such extreme loneliness, no one finally counts on their neighbors to help them, everyone is Preoccupied with being alone in a corner. "They are in a situation where they are firmly controlled by fate and unable to move. They can't find a way out. They can only sit still and live in the memory of the past, but they have no hope for the present or even the future, and they become abandoned objects. Loneliness can be said to be the embarrassment faced by modern people.
such as life and death. In the era of plague, apart from loneliness and captivity, the most terrifying thing is that "all people without exception will be sentenced to death, and they will not be spared." In this state, the fickleness of life and death is not controlled by people at all. It is this incomprehensible void of the future that makes people feel fearful, but there is no other way but to sit still. This may be the eternal predicament of human existence: the sharp contradiction between the inevitable shortness of life and the hope of human longevity brings about a huge dislocation. We seek permanent stability, but it turns out that nothing can help us. Stay, everything in this world is so fragile.
Another example is the loss of criteria for judging good and evil. The demands of good are not satisfied or even responded to, and instead are swallowed up by evil forces. This inversion of black and white and confusion of values deeply confuse modern people. The most prominent example in The Plague is Philip and Tarrou, the sons of Magistrate Odon. Philip, who was only a few years old, was innocent and weak, small and innocent, but unfortunately he was infected with the plague and was killed by the disease; another example is Tarrou, who has been forever since he witnessed his father's trial and awakened his humanity in his youth. Uncompromisingly fighting against evil forces (murder), he successively participated in the revolution, organized volunteer anti-epidemic teams in Oran and Rieux to help patients, but in the end he also lost his life due to accidental infection - such innocent people However, why did he not get a good response? On the contrary, Cottard, the "conspirator" of the plague, tried his best to hope that the plague would last forever because he was afraid of being questioned, and also made a fortune by speculating during that period: In other words, the plague did not allow him to get the punishment he deserved, but instead made him live well, which is no different from a paradox - the plague caused all systems of good and evil to be reversed and collapsed, and the world lost its original rational order. In the face of this absurdity, people can only be confused and depressed, feel a real sense of strangeness and alienation. He calls for the truth, but the world does not answer his wishes, and does not reward him for any effort. He is deprived of hope and fantasy. Behind this sense of alienation is a sense of meaninglessness, value, society, and life. , the meaninglessness of life - the sense of "absurdity" brought about by this huge void and the absence of reference.
Another example is the failure of the struggle and the lack of hope. Rieux thought that the plague meant "an endless series of failures" for him when he was running endlessly to visit the doctor and could not save the patient; but when the plague finally disappeared, the city of Oran was immersed in joy At the same time, he still believed that the plague bacillus was immortal and lurking, waiting for the next attack on human beings - this cycle will not become extinct. Rieux is not blindly optimistic but sees the absurdity of the whole life: the so-called "victory" does not exist, people are always in crisis, and the cloud is always there and will strike again at any time. This is a sober attitude towards life: do not hope for tomorrow, live each day with caution and self-discipline - it can be said that this is the only way to truly understand the "absurd"; of course, no hope does not mean despair, self-defeating, but bravery Face this reality squarely, never compromise and fight against it unrelentingly. Even if there is no result, it cannot give up this fighting attitude.
The struggle in existence
So what should human beings do in the face of the absurdity? This is a serious question that French existentialism has been pondering from beginning to end, and they have each given different solutions to it. And Camus's answer is resistance - not a priori, but after personal experience, a kind of unwilling to sink, sober and brave resistance under absurd circumstances, has the noble meaning of reality, sober and self-evident, but active resistance.
Of course Camus is against understanding people from abstract concepts rather than from reality, such as Father Panalou in The Plague. In his first sermon, he regarded the "plague" as a punishment for God's disrespect to human beings or a test for helping human beings to become good, and called on people to obey God's arrangements, give up their active efforts and obey God's will. Here, he completely ignores the freshness and preciousness of human life, locks the value and meaning of human from the abstract transcendental concept, and obliterates the human nature with a metaphysical concept.
Those who can truly represent Camus' ideals are a group of vivid figures who dared to resist, such as Tarrou, Rieux and Rambert. They are not high-level heroes, as Rieux said: "The salvation of mankind is too much of a word for me. I do not have such a high spiritual level. I am interested in people's health, first of all people's health. ." Even compared to Tarrou's "To the Holy", he also believes: "I am not interested in heroism or sainthood. What I am interested in is being a real person."
Rieux believes that in addition to struggle, real people should also maintain the love of life and the pursuit of happiness, that is, to maintain human perception and instinct: this does not violate humanity, on the contrary, true humanity must not be based on collective interests. To kill the happiness of the individual, but to affirm and respect the value of the individual's existence. Tarrou agreed, saying: "A real man should fight for his victims, but if he doesn't love anything else because of it, then what is he fighting for?" So when Lang When Bell told Rieux that he always missed his hometown at four in the morning, Rieux felt understanding and empathy, because he knew that it was all quiet at that time, the quarrels of the day were gone, and the space in his heart was only for lovers. , it was a lonely but sweet moment. When Tarrou and Rieux took a break from the hustle and bustle of the world and went to bathe in the sea together on that autumn night, the moonlight was like water, the starry sky was brilliant, the sea water gently caressed their skin, and they were accompanied by their peers, such a warm and comfortable moment, Really worth ten years of floating life. When he knew that Rambert had an escape plan, Rieux not only did not obstruct it but assisted him, just because happiness had the supreme status in his heart, even if he sacrificed his own happiness, he was willing to help others to obtain it. After all, only Love is the eternal source of human life...
Apart from Tarrou and Rieux, Rambert is a typical example. The young reporter stumbled into the city of Oran for an interview, and when the plague broke out and trapped the city, all he could think about was how to get out of here to be reunited with his fiancée. Because for him as a stranger, this strange city has never had the intersection and overlap with him. He is just a casual visitor, and he has never even had a deep understanding of the people in this city. How could he suddenly develop a deep and close friendship in a short period of time and even go through fire and water for it? And the so-called "common interest" is only an abstract concept for him, if he wants to obliterate the individual because of it The happiness is undoubtedly a betrayal of humanitarianism. However, with the passage of time, I have truly experienced the ups and downs of the dwellings here, witnessed the courage and selflessness of Tarrou and Rieux, and especially learned that Rieux and his wife also endured the helplessness and misery of parting in silence. After that, his heart began to hesitate a little bit, facing an unprecedented struggle. There are so many people who are afraid or willing to sink in the face of terrifying diseases, but there are still so many people who are struggling tenaciously in the face of this profound disaster, not only for themselves but also for the hope of more people. Persistent and determined efforts to resist, uncompromising and never giving up, even if this hope is far away - such a person caused Rambert from the depths of his soul a shudder, a contagious throbbing and ashamed. Perhaps this is the first time in his life that he has thought about and appreciated the true meaning of the seemingly contradictory words "personal happiness" and "common interest", and perhaps he is still not sure whether they can never exist even for a moment. Compatibility: But at the moment of sharing weal and woe and facing life and death, perhaps anyone will involuntarily have a deep sense of consensus and belonging - just like Rambert, he intuitively determined that in the confusion of this alluring city, although he met by chance, he There is indeed an inseparable close relationship with the Oranyu people, because he lives between them, so when the last and only chance to escape came late, he chose to stay; And at the moment when the decision was made resolutely, we saw an almost divine radiance appearing in the hazy night sky of Oran, but it was not the radiance of divinity but the radiance of humanity.
Both Rieux and Rambert only stand on the standpoint of one person and proceed from the reality in front of them to restore the person itself and show the vivid and true human nature, without considering those huge macroscopic but distant propositions. The people in their eyes do not come from abstract concepts and transcendental meanings, but from real life. They have emotions and desires. It is precisely because they are real people with human dignity and morality that they will never compromise in the face of threats and sins, but firmly give up their personal happiness for the benefit of the "species", and insist on a struggle even if there is no end in sight. ——From this close intuition, we can produce a real and specific feeling, come into contact with the truth of human nature, and finally be shaken by the vivid and strong human nature.
Authenticity in life
In "The Plague", all people are faced with an absurd situation. In order not to sink, they must take responsibility for themselves and resist the forces of evil. The ultimate appeal of all resistance in "The Plague" can be attributed to human dignity and the right to live, although the world has been reduced to absurd chaos, although the insurmountable tide has swept the world, and the whole world is bleak, although Human beings are vulnerable in the face of arrogant sins, any effort is useless, and even luck is completely denied; but no matter what, there are always some things that human beings cannot give up, such as our survival. Rights, dignity as a human being, and a deep sense of and love for life—these are all things that contain deep friendship, originate from the original nature of human beings, are eternal, and are closely related to human beings. If they are obliterated, can people still be counted as "people"? It is to defend them that a group of people rise up in "The Plague", at the cost of their own flesh and blood and even the love in their hearts, to block In front of the evil black hand. For Tarrou, it was a resistance to unreasonable murder, so it had a heroic awe; for Rieux, it was a resistance to soothe the intolerance and anxiety in the heart, the road to peace, so it had a deep sense of dignity. Sympathy; for Rambert, this is an awakening and improvement of conscience, so it has a mature meaning of personality: for Grand, this is not a messianic saving the common people, but just an instinctive and natural resistance, so it has a small character The kindness and kindness of all kinds of people are not blindly optimistic, grandstanding, or follow the crowd, but start from small and practical: they are just organizing a volunteer epidemic prevention team, rescue, registration, patrol, transportation... They are just doing everything possible to do a good job Everything that can be done, and united to support each other and fight together, in this way to express my strongest indictment and struggle against sin. They are ordinary and simple, but it is this simplicity that reflects warmth and strength, because as long as there are such a group of people, human beings will not completely perish, but will eventually find a way out, and maintain Dignity out of desperation.
That's it, we can see that "The Plague" has a profound and sober understanding of the world and life; what is commendable is that it not only truly shows this understanding, but also gives its own solution to it - although This method is not necessarily completely reasonable, but Camus's courage and sincerity in exploring the truth and seeking a way out of the human spiritual predicament is worthy of people's memory and admiration. And this is exactly what Camus is great about - the value of a writer is not necessarily that the solutions he provides must be effective, but that he should be conscious and courageous to confront reality, seriously question life and give our existence a sincere Humanistic care! Because all great literary works inevitably shoulder the difficult search for the way out for the human spirit and the sincere consolation to Zao's suffering.
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