Retrieved April 18, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Plague/. It's life, that's all. We have become a plague upon ourselves and upon the Earth. BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, ", "Many continued hoping that the epidemic would soon die out and they and their families be spared. Of a lonely man who hated loneliness it has made an accomplice He is happily at one with all around him, with their superstitions, their groundless panics, the susceptibilities of people whose nerves are always on the stretch; with their fixed idea of talking the least possible about plague and nevertheless talking of it all the time, I understand, Paneloux said in a low voice. In evaluating the intentions and feelings of others, his ability to separate the real situation from his own mental projections is very poor. Chapter 24, - When what's needed is imagination. Part 2, pg. Not affiliated with Harvard College. ", "I've seen enough people who die for an idea. His origin in Algeria and his experiences there in the thirties were dominating influences in his thought and work. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Indeed, one's chief impression was that the epidemic had called a retreat after reaching all its objectives; it had, so to speak, achieved its purpose. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Thus the first thing that plague brought to our town was exile. This quote effectively articulates how such class differences not only deeply rankle, but how they may result in the poor dying in higher numbers. He feels the great need of friendship and understanding, but he is reluctant to confide in others, and when he does, expects to be misunderstood or even betrayed. When conditions in Europe suddenly changed at the beginning of the 14th century, what did many people believe had come? When an innocent youth can have his eyes destroyed, a Christian should either lose his faith or consent to having his eyes destroyed. Camus believed that the only way to confront the absurdity and pointlessness of life was to rebel against it and create meaning through action. A Staunch Humanist and Atheist : Dr, Bernard Rieux is the narrator of The Plague. Orders! He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. There have been as many plagues as wars in history,yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise. The skythe weatherweaves in and out of the story as a reminder of the indifference of the universe to human suffering. A system of patrols was instituted and often in the empty, sweltering streets, heralded by a clatter of horse hoofs on the cobbles, a detachment of mounted police would make its way between the parallel lines of close-shut windows. 73, Quote 7: " you can't understand. He hasn't come in contact with death; that's why he can speak with such assurance of the truth-with a capital T. But every country priest who visits his parishioners and has heard a man gasping for breath on his deathbed thinks as I do. His focus on using imagination, instead of simply experiencing the plague, is part of Camus's sense that more than one's present experience is significant. Albert Camus . Part 1, pg. ", "He knew quite well that it was plague and, needless to say, he also knew that, were this to be officially admitted, the authorities would be compelled to take very drastic steps. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. But it's no reason for giving up the struggle. The dew quickly died, and the light that filled the bushes like red dirt dispersed, leaving clear, slightly bluish air.It was good reading light by then, so Augustus applied himself for a few minutes to the Prophets. ", "Paneloux is a man of learning, a scholar. The Plague Quotes 20 of the best book quotes from The Plague 01 Share "No, we should go forward, groping our way through the darkness, stumbling perhaps at times, and try to do what good lay in our power." Albert Camus author The Plague book darkness trying moving forward concepts 02 Share . These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Plague. For the sensation, confused perhaps, but none the less poingant for that, of all those days and weeks and months of life lost to their love made them vaguely feel they were entitled to some compensation; this present hour of joy should run at half the speed of those long hours of waiting. ""How very rude of him. A time came when I should have found the words to keep her with meonly I couldn't. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady. The narrator then introduces Dr. Bernard Rieux. "The townspeople had adapted, they had come to heel, as people say, because that was all they could do. 'Yes, I know that. Best quotes from "The Plague" by Albert Camus 1 There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise. Lombardi, Esther. "There have been as many plagues as wars in history," says Camus's narrator, "yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise." When the bleeding rats start dying by the thousands in Oran, the Algerian port town where Camus set his tale, people dismiss the portent as a bad dream. 116, Quote 10: "Paneloux is a man of learning, a scholar. Rieux is not a man given to flights of fancy, but several times in the novel he imagines he hears the sound of the plague whispering through the streets of obsolescence and death. But your victories will never be lasting; thats all. Rieuxs face darkened. The rich can fall ill and die a grotesque, senseless death just as easily as the poor can. Nonetheless, the people continue to look to the weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, a meaningless act. The inmates are a reminder of disease, suffering, and death; if they are locked away then those on the outside can try and forget that such horrors exist. Hostile to the past, impatient of the present, and cheated of the future, we were much like those whom men's justice, or hatred, forces to live behind prison bars." 37, Quote 5: "Thus, for example, a feeling normally as individual as the ache of separation from those one loves suddenly became a feeling in which all shared alike and-together with fear-the greatest affliction of the long period of exile that lay ahead." Grand becomes a general secretary for the sanitation league. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, What on earth prompted you to take a hand in this? Yes, I've been ashamed ever since; I have realized that we all have plague, and I have lost my peace." All the resthealth, integrity, purity (if you like)is a product of the human will, of a vigilance that must never falter. And until my dying day I shall refuse to love a scheme of things in which children are put to torture., Tarrou, when told by Rieux what Paneloux had said, remarked that hed known a priest who had lost his faith during the war, as the result of seeing a young mans face with both eyes destroyed. Camus died on January 4, 1960, in a car accident at the age of 46. But people don't love forever. But people dont love forever. You cant understand. Yes, - said Rieux - an endless defeat." 1 The COVID-19 lockdown is today in its fifth week. section, They can keep food and supplies coming in even when prices escalate and supply dwindles. I know that man is capable of great deeds. At this stage of the narrative, with Dr. Bernard Rieux standing at his window, the narrator may, perhaps, be allowed to justify the doctors uncertainty and surprise since, with very slight differences, his reaction was the same as that of the majority of the townsfolk. A time came when I should have found the words to keep her with me only I couldnt.. Camus stated that within all of us exists a certain 'plague,' the deep existential problem which states that at any moment our freedom, integrity and our own lives can be taken from us with any freak accident. While we loved each other we didnt need words to make ourselves understood. 288, Quote 26: "So all a man could win in the conflict between plague and life was knowledge and memories." Part 3, pg. What interests me is living and dying for what one loves. ThoughtCo, Sep. 8, 2021, thoughtco.com/the-plague-quotes-738216. Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, But it's not easy. ", "So all a man could win in the conflict between plague and life was knowledge and memories. Part 4, pg. Chapter 25, - This business is everybody's business." Part 4, pg. ", "To some, the sermon simply brought home the fact that they had been sentenced, for an unknown crime, to an indeterminate period of punishment. Accessed April 18, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Plague/. The truth is that nothing is less sensational than pestilence, and by reason of their very duration great misfortunes are monotonous. Validate reading with our Dynamic Quiz System. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. The people have "heights" when they convince themselves that everything is okay, the plague will soon be over, and pleasure is still worth pursuing, and "depths" when they suffer from the weight of their pain and loss and confusion. 138, Quote 13: "No longer were there individual destinies; only a collective destiny, made of plague and emotions shared by all." It is in the thick of a calamity that one gets hardened to the truth-in other words, to silence." He was not overly religious, but he did consider himself a fair prophet and liked to study the styles of his predecessors. Part 5, pg. ", "Death means nothing to men like me. (2021, September 8). Evenings, whole weeks, spent on one word, just think! Albert Camus, quote from The Plague, And indeed it could be said that once the faintest stirring of hope became possible, the dominion of plague was ended. The volunteers realize that the plague is everyone's concern, so they do their duty by helping to fight it. Now and again a gunshot was heard; the special brigade recently detailed to destroy cats and dogs, as possible carriers of infection, was at work. Rieux, he said at last, you must tell me the whole truth. It's a matter of common decency. The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled. ", "The habit of despair is worse than despair itself. In fact, it comes to this: nobody is capable of really thinking about anyone, even in the worst calamity.". There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet [they] always take people equally by surprise. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss thenovel. "They fancied themselves free," Camus' narrator says of Oran's townspeople, "and no one will ever be free so long as there are pestilences." The novel proceeds to illustrate just how devastating a deadly epidemic can be to our most cherished notions. ", "8,000 rats had been collected, a wave of something like panic swept the town. I've been thinking it over for years. ", "Rats died in the street; men in their homes. "The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Passages like this exemplify Camus' existentialist thought, for people are stuck in a God-less and meaningless present and all that they have are their choices. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Chapter 26, - What hed have liked to do was to write her a letter justifying himself. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). who share an affinity for books. Could it be that a sudden gentleness showed in those hard, inexpressive eyes? So in these cases, too, even the sincerest grief had to make do with the set phrases of ordinary conversation. Taking careful aim, the old man would spit vigorously at the cats and . I'm buying. Of semi-proletarian parents, early attached to intellectual circles of strongly revolutionary tendencies, with a deep interest in philosophy (only chance prevented him from pursuing a university .
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