Many years ago I became a fan of Camus'

"The Plague." I think I will have to go back read it again. What I don't recall is the government actively trying to stop Dr. Fauci, I mean Dr. Rieux, from doing his job.

No, that would be absurd.

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4 replies	Author	Time	Post
Many years ago I became a fan of Camus' (Original post)	kairos12	Nov 20	OP
Thanks for the recommendation!	cilla4progress	Nov 20	#1
How could he know back then?	Biophilic	Nov 20	#2
My understanding is that Camus wrote this while living in occupied France,	thucythucy	Nov 20	#3
My English professor had us read 'The Stranger'	angstlessk	Nov 20	#4

Response to kairos12 (Original post)

Fri Nov 20, 2020, 12:13 PM

cilla4progress (15,539 posts)

1. Thanks for the recommendation!

Camus, Kafka - so many philosophers, so little TIME!!

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Response to kairos12 (Original post)

Fri Nov 20, 2020, 12:25 PM

Biophilic (548 posts)

2. How could he know back then?

Absurd, yes, definitely absurd. How could he have known?

How else does one deal with absurdity?

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Response to kairos12 (Original post)

Fri Nov 20, 2020, 12:49 PM

thucythucy (5,476 posts)

3. My understanding is that Camus wrote this while living in occupied France,

in a village that was a center of Resistance activity. At the time he was also writing for Combat! which was an underground newspaper. Obviously he used a pseudonym, and it wasn't until the end of the war that readers learned the author of this popular column was also the famous novelist.

Among these columns was "Letter to a German Friend" in which Camus coined the phrase, "the cult of efficiency."

I've also heard that "The Plague" can be interpreted as a metaphor for the Holocaust, which he knew was happening all around him.

I'm grateful for this reminder of how into Camus I was years back. I too have to go back and re-read his work.

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Response to kairos12 (Original post)

Fri Nov 20, 2020, 03:52 PM

angstlessk (11,817 posts)

4. My English professor had us read 'The Stranger'

and 'The Metamorphosis' by Franz Kafka

He must have wanted to be a philosophy professor?

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