What Role Does Rambert Play In The Plague '?
Camus?s The Plague as a Response to the Absurd
When the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Albert Camus, the committee awarding the honor cited the Algerian-born Frenchman?s ?important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience of our time.?1 By the time Camus died in 1960 at age forty-six, he had achieved success as a novelist, essayist, playwright, and journalist.2 Although he himself rejected the label, he is often referred to as a philosopher, due to the philosophical content of his work.3 In The Plague, Camus uses the story of a disease-stricken town to allegorically present both the absurd nature of human existence and the different ways in which individuals can understand and revolt …show more content…
Rambert works for a Paris newspaper, and has only come to Oran on assignment. When plague breaks out and the city is closed, Rambert is unable to return home; as he experiences the plague in a land not his own, the narrator calls his an ?aggravated deprivation.?22 Desperate to leave, Rambert attempts to negotiate a release, first lawfully with city officials and then illegally with a group of smugglers. While awaiting escape, he fights the plague alongside Rieux. When Rambert is finally able to work out an escape plan, however, he elects not to go through with it, instead opting to stay and help Rieux fight the plague. He speaks of his change of heart thus, ?? . . . now that I have seen what I have seen, I know that I belong here whether I want it or not. This business is everybody?s business.??23 Rambert?s revolt can be considered twofold. His ultimate choice to remain in Oran and fight the plague is an act of revolt, but, as Haggis observes, so is his desire to ?defy? the plague by ?rejoining the woman he loves, and so affirming the right to human happiness. . .
When the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Albert Camus, the committee awarding the honor cited the Algerian-born Frenchman?s ?important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience of our time.?1 By the time Camus died in 1960 at age forty-six, he had achieved success as a novelist, essayist, playwright, and journalist.2 Although he himself rejected the label, he is often referred to as a philosopher, due to the philosophical content of his work.3 In The Plague, Camus uses the story of a disease-stricken town to allegorically present both the absurd nature of human existence and the different ways in which individuals can understand and revolt …show more content…
Rambert works for a Paris newspaper, and has only come to Oran on assignment. When plague breaks out and the city is closed, Rambert is unable to return home; as he experiences the plague in a land not his own, the narrator calls his an ?aggravated deprivation.?22 Desperate to leave, Rambert attempts to negotiate a release, first lawfully with city officials and then illegally with a group of smugglers. While awaiting escape, he fights the plague alongside Rieux. When Rambert is finally able to work out an escape plan, however, he elects not to go through with it, instead opting to stay and help Rieux fight the plague. He speaks of his change of heart thus, ?? . . . now that I have seen what I have seen, I know that I belong here whether I want it or not. This business is everybody?s business.??23 Rambert?s revolt can be considered twofold. His ultimate choice to remain in Oran and fight the plague is an act of revolt, but, as Haggis observes, so is his desire to ?defy? the plague by ?rejoining the woman he loves, and so affirming the right to human happiness. . .