This blog is my response to Prof. Dr.Dilip Barad Sir, Head of Department, MKBU, a task assigned to us (MA sem-1) to write to write about how the COVID-19 pandemic is going to affect all walks of our lives, and to throw some light on literature and its role in the time of pandemic and after it.
Albert Camus Novel The Plague
"Camus's novel, first published in 1947, has become a global sensation. It is, it seems, the novel for now." Samuel Earle
Sometimes we turn to novels to make sense of our world, and sometimes to escape it. Yet in hard times, we often ask them to do both at once: to make sense of our world, all the better to escape it.
The Mediterranean city of Oran was the setting for a famous fictional outbreak of bubonic plague in Algeria under French colonial rule. We find parallels between Albert Camus' novel The Plague and how the country is coping with the coronavirus pandemic amid political upheaval.
Although it was published 73 years ago, today The Plague almost feels like a news bulletin. It has been flying off bookshop shelves around the world as readers struggle to make sense of the global spread of Covid19.
Let's have a look at Albert Camus' 1947 novel The Plague, tells us its acute and terrifying relevance in the present global crisis The Plague (La Peste originally in French) is a Nobel Prize winning novel. It's set in the Algerian town of Oran struck suddenly by a mysterious and lethal plague that starts spreading from an unknown inflection and the resulting large scale death of rats: The novel is loosely based on the Cholera epidemic.
The novel is narrated by Dr.Rieux, the chief character in the novel, a dedicated doctor who copes with stress, loss, duty and the horror before him. For a major part of the narration, the identity of the narrator is unknown. It is Dr.Rieux who first senses the signs of the plague. Reading The Plague helps us view, review and understand the human condition in the time of crisis and quarantine. Camus' account of the fictional plague probes different aspects of human experience- solitude, relationships, spirituality, denial, escape, selfishness, the numbing effects of a seemingly endless wait, the lost sense of time, its pressures and how it can shape and distort our view of the world.
Dr.Rieux's words on his steadfast commitment to his job, facing the truth of death every day highlight the fundamental human concept that has gone wrapped in the popular reportage of the pandemic- "The whole thing is not about heroism.... it may seem a ridiculous idea, but the only way to fight the plague is with decency."
The Plague sharply views religion, ponders death and magnificently upholds love, hope, humanity and healing in the time of isolation and separation from loved ones. In its chronicle and contemplation of death and disease, The Plague enables understanding what life itself is.
Just as today we try to make sense of coronavirus through the metaphor of war- wagging battles against a disease, rallying against a common foe- Camus sought to understand virus through the metaphor of war. Camus draws this connection early on. "There have been as many plagues in the world as there have been wars," he writes, "yet plagues and wars always find people equally unprepared."
"Men are never convinced of your reasons, of your sincerity, of the seriousness of your sufferings, except by your death," Camus wrote in his final novel, 'The Fall'."
We weren't able to avoid thinking about the plague Albert Camus described during this pandemic... In our time of Covid19, Most patients were very scared, there were a lot of rumours going around. There was constant increase in number of cases, to an extent that in many places new hospital beds were set up and even trains were converted to isolation wards. We have to follow certain rules like
1. To maintain social distance.
2. To use hand sanitizer.
3. To wash hands frequently with soap and water.
4. We also had a complete lockdown of around 2 months.
There was also a kind of entertainment like to put all lights off at 9pm for 10 to 15 minutes and light a candle or lamp or torch or even mobile light, then on other day we had to clap our hands or thali bajao or to play musical instruments or to ring a temple bell for 5 minutes at 5pm evening. These small things kept us entertained, showed our national unity and this was also a way of paying tribute, our thanks to our heroes of the time, Doctors, Police and army forces. There was a major role of doctors and police in the pandemic of Covid19.
🌳Lockdown: Collins Dictionary termed the word 'Lockdown' as the expression of the year 2020.
All the malls, multiplexes, each and every shop, cinemas, restaurants, hotels, tours and travels, transportation, everything was shut, except medical stores, hospitals and few others essential services were only open, rest of the world it seemed had come to stand still, it was like Mary Celeste. Children in schools were given mass promotions and board exams, NEET, JEE, university exams were also postponed for over four months throughout the country. So in a way it was some relief for all the students as they got little more time to study for their exams. Many of us had a good time with our family, then classes of schools and colleges were/are also conducted online for many months altogether.
On the other side of the scene, many people were suffering due to loss of jobs and no source of income left, labourers and working class people, who make our homes, had to travel to their homes by walking many kilometres for many days as all trains, buses, and all means of transportation were banned. Some flights were later on started for Vande Bharat mission to bring back people living overseas. The whole country, overall the world was also facing the terrible time of life.
In the midst of all the darkness, there was some ray of hope, some stars were twinkling, some charity organisations, some rich people did care to help the less privileged ones. We are all part of one whole, we all need one one another and this act of humanity was best seen in the time of Corona pandemic, where as if nature was testing our faith, patience, our concern for one another, for all the living beings on earth. Here the message of Vasudev Kutumbakam, the whole earth is a family was practiced by many of us.
This was a healing time for Mother Earth. As all the transport was banned, most of the industries were stopped, so the pollution was decreased and earth was safe from harmful pollution for a short while. The human world, development of science and technology has harmed the Earth a lot leading to unrepairable damage to Earth like global warming, holes in ozone layer, forest fires, deforestation. Due to all this our earth is in danger and in return, human life in threat, so due to a pause in major human activities, earth was at peace for a while, trying to recover from a long illness, which the humans are exploiting carelessly, without thinking a bit about it. We need to think deeply so that we can decrease the harm to the environment around us and in fact contribute to the environment for its protection by stop cutting trees and growing more trees.
"It is as reasonable to represent one kind of imprisonment by another, as it is to represent anything that really exists by that which exists not. Daniel Defoe"
A new piece of art had appeared in the Swiss Apls. Artist Saype, who is known for creating temporary, biodegradable lawn images, unveiled the coronavirus- themed "Beyond Crisis". The image, best seen from the air, shows a girl looking towards the horizon with a chain of stick figures holding hands. Saype said: "The fresco of more than 3000 square metres evokes the building of a world with more solidarity and more humanity."#Bbcnews
Humanity in time of Covid19
Within months, this highly infectious virus spread throughout China and around the world, involving more than 185 countries and territories, with a trail of incredible damage in its wake. The medical staff finds itself on the front lines throughout the world dealing with the immediate human health consequences of this rapidly evolving crisis and trying to develop therapies and vaccines, as countries and their leaders attempt to mitigate the overwhelming societal and economic devastations that are unfolding.
From a neuropsychiatric perspective, there are obvious signs of global psychological distress related to social isolation and fears of illness, death and countless uncertainties about the future. Among the patients of covid-19, we find the severe pain they feel in the body, throat, breathing difficulties, all these physical pains and mental stress related to it are unbearable and the additional feeling of being isolated from family and society causes mental disorders.
The alarming increase in frequency of these lethal zoonotic diseases related in large part to our human dominated ecosystem with increasingly unnatural human-animal close contact, grossly aberrant crowding of animals for human purposes, destruction of animal habitats, and vast numbers of highly mobile humans to swiftly carry these diseases throughout the world.
The time has come for us to rethink our relationship with all lifeforms on this planet- other humans, non humans, and the earth, a life form in itself. What is good for nonhumans (flora and fauna) and the earth is virtually always in the best interests of humans, it shows the profound interconnectedness of all life. All that we do depends upon abundant plant and animal life as well as clean air and water. Each of us can have a positive impact upon these fundamentals by demonstrating and inspiring an enhanced mindfulness, beginning most basically with what we eat and how all of our daily choices and actions may be affecting animals and natural habitats. Ultimately, the survival, not only of other life forms on this planet, but also of our own, will depend upon human's ability to recognize the oneness of all that exists and the importance and deeper significance of compassion for all life.
1,757 words.
Works Cited
Camus, Albert, and Stuart Gilbert. The Plague. Translated from the French by Stuart Gilbert. 1948.