The Plague, by Albert Camus, tells the story of a fictional plague running rampant within Oran, a coastal city in North Africa, and its impact on the city’s residents. Residents of Oran begin struggling to cope amid the situation as their entire way of life is uprooted by the onslaught of the epidemic, while those they know and love die one by one from the raging illness. The Plague encompasses themes of civic duty and responsibility, alienation, and social strife as the residents of Oran are left in a seemingly endless cycle of death and despair. The Souls of Black Folk, by African American civil-rights advocate W. E. B. Du Bois, recounts Du Bois’s experiences as an African American living within the United States in the late 19th to early 20th century. The book encompasses similar themes to Albert Camus’s The Plague, including alienation and social strife within an inherently unequal society. Both novels overlap with significant real-world events and my own lived experiences. With the themes they encompass, The Plague and The Souls of Black Folk contain elements that reflect the realities that unfolded during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and what endured after the initial onslaught.
A common theme within Camus’s The Plague is responsibility and civic duty, for every character the novel introduces carries within them a set duty, or duties, that they’re obliged to carry out. Bernard Rieux, perhaps the story`s most prominent character, holds an important responsibility within the city of Oran. Rieux serves as a doctor that the city’s residents can rely upon whenever they or someone they know falls ill or is hospitalized. His role as a doctor is increasingly important once the plague takes hold of Oran and the city’s residents begin falling ill left and right, and people turn to Dr. Rieux for guidance and support. As the plague worsened, Rieux only worked harder to provide medical assistance to those in need of it and to help mitigate the spread of the disease. When questioned about the meaning of honesty, Rieux replies “I don’t know what it is in general. But in my case, I know it consists of doing my job” (Camus 175). Rieux’s response shows that he is aware of the responsibility he holds as one of Oran’s most esteemed doctors, and that it is important for him to carry out the obligations his job entails. Rieux’s character can be seen as symbolic of real-world doctors and nurses and the growing responsibility they held during the coronavirus pandemic. Much like Rieux during the events of The Plague, healthcare professionals played an essential role in providing care and treatment to those who contracted COVID-19. Doctors and nurses during the pandemic held a responsibility towards the patients under their care, like how Rieux was responsible for his patients as the plague overtook Oran.
Besides Rieux, the everyday residents of Oran also held their own responsibilities during the sudden epidemic. Once it was determined that the illness spreading around Oran was the black plague, a cable broadcast disseminated throughout the town, reading, “Declare a state of plague. Close the city,” kickstarting the lockdown (Camus 68). While the city was under lockdown, its residents were responsible for following an established set of regulations and restrictions. Similar to how the citizens of Oran were obliged to follow the set rules established by their local government, it was the responsibility of everyday citizens to follow the rules established by their government during the events of 2020. In both cases, it was the responsibility of the people to help mitigate the spread of the disease by adhering to strict guidelines for their own safety and that of others. In The Plague, the residents of Oran were initially forbidden from leaving the town`s perimeters, the restrictions growing stricter as the story progressed, to the point where a city-wide curfew was issued. During the coronavirus pandemic, people were discouraged from traveling for quite some time, and as the pandemic reached its height, restrictions and regulations had grown increasingly intense. In both cases, citizens were responsible for ensuring that they themselves and those they know follow these guidelines to help curb the spread of the illness, whether they agreed with them.
In thinking about the realities that unfolded in The Plague and what transpired during COVID-19 we must remember that while many individuals could comfortably afford to isolate and shelter in place, it was noted and determined that African Americans and other minority groups were disproportionately falling victim to the coronavirus due to a host of external factors such as pre-existing conditions attributed to general living conditions and health inequalities, but also were deemed essential workers as nurses, nurse assistants, and other crucial roles still needed even as the world sat still and waited for the death toll and curve to peak and dip. Similar to Du Bois’s point in The Souls of Black Folk, African Americans and racial minorities overall have long suffered from asphyxiation and racialized trauma that was no different than what occurred during the COVID pandemic and resonated with the realities of a select few during the black plague in Camus’s Plague. Even during universal struggles and a global pandemic, the disproportionate realities experienced by people of color, particularly for African Americans, cannot be circumvented and reflect ongoing racialized problems and realities.
Albert Camus’s The Plague carries a heavy theme of alienation. During the story’s events, with Oran under stringent lockdown and the dreaded plague continuing to afflict the city, Oran`s residents begin feeling fatigued and restless from their alienation from the rest of the outside world. Travel was strictly forbidden. No one on the inside was allowed to leave the city limits, and no one on the outside was allowed to enter. Even trade became restricted to only the most essential products. Those with loved ones residing outside of Oran could only hope the pandemic would soon be resolved, allowing them to reconnect finally. One character in particular, a reporter by the name of Raymond Rambert, is in a regrettable predicament, for he was originally from Paris and was only visiting Oran. Still, when the plague had struck, and the city gates were closed, he was trapped within the city indefinitely, with his wife back home longing for his return. “I’m a stranger to this city,” stated Rambert, reinforcing that Rambert does not belong in Oran and wishes to leave (Camus 88). “I wasn’t put on this earth to be a reporter. But I might have been put on this earth to live beside a woman. Is that out of the question,” says Rambert expressing his discontent with his current situation and his yearning to reunite with his wife after being separated for so long (Camus 89). During the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic, many had shared a similar feeling of alienation. With travel restrictions enforced to curtail the virus’s spread, most people could not visit their loved ones who lived too far away. My family had experienced this firsthand. We had hoped to take a trip to Jamaica, where my parents are from, but with the onset of the pandemic, we had to scrap that idea. For the most part, we were restricted to the confines of our own home. We even refused to visit our relatives in New Jersey because of the pandemic.
W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk takes account of a different but overlapping kind of alienation: racial alienation. In his work, DuBois recounts his experience as a young African American student during a school activity: “In a wee wooden schoolhouse, something put it into the boys` and girls` heads to buy gorgeous visiting cards – ten cents a package – and exchange. The exchange was merry, till one girl, a tall newcomer, refused my card, – refused it peremptorily, with a glance” (DuBois 2). At this moment, DuBois acknowledged what had made him different from the other students: his race. DuBois was raised when American society showed little acceptance towards those within his demographic. A similar case could be seen during the coronavirus pandemic regarding Asian-Americans. With the virus originating from Asia, hate crimes and racial prejudice against Asian-Americans drastically increased. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documented a 77 percent increase in hate crimes against Asian people living in the U.S. from 2019 to 2020 (Findling et al.) There was an overall sense of alienation within the Asian-American community, for several individuals of Asian descent became targets for hatred and resentment. Much as Du Bois felt alienated because of his race, many Asian-Americans experienced similar forms of alienation, hate and backlash that were lived experiences of African Americans for quite some time. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified this reality.
Finally, Albert Camus’s The Plague carries the theme of social strife. As the plague ran rampant throughout Oran, many city residents became jobless. With the arrival of the plague, “the number of pedestrians grew, even in the off-hours, people who had been reduced to inactivity by closing stores and some offices filled the streets and cafes. During that time, they weren’t unemployed, but on leave” (Camus 82-83). With the disease spreading like wildfire throughout the city, many stores and businesses quickly sold out on most goods. With the many restrictions set in place to regulate the consumption of certain supplies and necessities, many local businesses had to close their doors for now or lessen the number of staff. This is a clear reflection of what occurred during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, where millions across the globe became unemployed or were put on leave. In 2020, the number of unemployed individuals in the U.S. alone had increased by 14 million, from 6.2 million in February to 20.5 million May (Kochhar).
Along with unemployment, social strife was present within The Plague on a more societal level. With the city of Oran under heavy restrictions, city residents grew restless and rebellious, some resorting to violent protest against the armed guards patrolling the streets or guarding the city gates. A similar event occurred during the coronavirus pandemic, though not directly relating to the pandemic or the strict constraints enforced. The Black Lives Matter protests, sprouting from the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of police brutality, represented the ardent demand within the African-American community for change within policing and the rights of African-Americans. A powerful quote that resonated during this time was that African-Americans and people of color were combatting two pandemics: COVID-19 and the ongoing threat of police brutality. W. E. B. DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk shares a similar theme, emphasizing the struggles African-Americans face within American society just for being who they are, advocating for change in these regards. Similar to the Black Lives Matter movement, Du Bois took note of the status of African Americans during his time, as well as his own experiences as a Black American citizen, realizing that he himself and those within his demographic are treated differently and unjustly. The Souls of Black Folk serves as a protest against the discrimination of African Americans in and of itself by highlighting the issue at hand.
Albert Camus’s The Plague tells of a fictional plague spreading throughout the North African city of Oran and how its residents cope with the death and disease that’s now all around them. W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk shares Du Bois’s experiences as an African American living within an inherently discriminatory society that characterized America during the late 19th century. The Plague carries themes of responsibility and civic duty, alienation, and social strife. The Souls of Black Folk carries similar themes of alienation and social strife, though mainly regarding race. Both works, with their themes, shared similarities to what transpired during the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout that transpired long after.
Works Cited
Kochhar, Rakesh. “Unemployment Rose Higher in Three Months of COVID-19 than It Did in Two Years of the Great Recession.” Pew Research Center, 11 June 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/.
Camus, Albert, 1913-1960, author. The Plague. New York: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1991.
Du Bois, W. E. B. 1868-1963. The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches. Chicago, A. G. McClurg, 1903. New York, Johnson Reprint Corp, 1968.
Findling, Mary J. et al. “COVID-19 Has Driven Racism and Violence Against Asian Americans: Perspectives From 12 National Polls”Healthaffairs.org, https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/covid-19-has-driven-racism-and-violence-against-asian-americans-perspectives-12. Accessed 1 Sept. 2024