Hello Readers!
(Attribution: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28751355)
Though this TV show doesn't fully fit the current situation but as far as the human life's vulnerability is concerned, this show tells us that how crucial death can occur to anyone. The show makes us think that humans are knowingly or unknowingly invite death to their doorstep. This can be connected with unhygienic lifestyle of people. Carefree natured people are least concerned about washing hands and keeping the surroundings clean and tidy. Thus, viruses attack on humans.
The film Contagion is also very recent talking topic during the pandemic.
Now coming to the literature viewpoint, much of the literature has been produced about pandemics and deadly diseases. Recently a Gujarati newspaper published Albert Camus's novel The Plague in Gujarati translation by Paresh Vyas. It covered both the things altogether; the exact relevance of the novel in the current situation of CoViD-19 pandemic and facts and reasons behind the relevance of the novel, that why it is still much more applicable till date.
1. Humanity - human self-centeredness vs human sacrifice
It is bitter but must-accept truth that humans have devalued everything around them. The first hand victim of the cruel human behavior is nature itself. The continuous fall of human values has made human a slave of circumstances. Human's gigantic leaps towards developments and progress were at the cost of natural resources. And during this time of pandemic, human still tend to be a hypocrite, and think that this coronavirus won't harm to them. Such ill thinking of humans make them self-centered. On the contrary, there are medical experts and frontline health workers who risk their lives to save our lives.
As humans we need to grow from within. We need to look around and see the mess we've created. Whatever may be the reason of the spreading this virus but it establishes that humans are powerless and helpless fighting a micro or nano sized virus. This is the apt reason to leave the egoistic and self-centred nature.
In a web page suggested by Dr. Dilip Barad sir, there are three major books which focus on epidemics such as plague and others. The Plague by Albert Camus, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. The best example of human sacrifice for the welfare of humanity is highlighted in Year of Wonders. According to the novel, the villagers of Eyam quarantined their town and the plague stayed inside the town. This was a humanitarian step to save other's lives. Self sacrificing our lives to save others' is really a courageous task. To quote the original one from the website,
"It was a huge cost to the villagers," Brooks says, "because a lot of those might have survived if they'd fled early in the outbreak. But on the other hand, that act of self-sacrifice meant that the plague did not spread beyond Eyam into the surrounding communities, and so many thousands, perhaps, of lives were saved."(The Year of Wonders)
What do we need to learn from this epidemic literature? The answer is a following quote.
"For some time, anyhow, they would be happy. They knew now that if there is one thing one can always yearn for and sometimes attain, it is human love." (The Plague)
Fear goes away for sometime. As the epidemic or pandemic gets reduced, people enjoy the illusionary victory, but in real, it is not the act of celebration, it is a sigh of a momentary relief from the vicious fear of the plague or coronavirus. Camus's novel The Plague can be seen as sign of fear, because we all are having plague in the form of some fears. In order to save humanity we have to make ourselves used to such fears and start valuing life. Because life isn't always full. It's always in chunks and pieces. Happiness is also momentary and sorrow also ends shortly.
2. Science vs Religion - the question of God and religion in times of epidemics and calamities.
For over years, there has been a heated debate between science and religion. During this coronavirus pandemic, it is surprising to see that those who were opposing science have also accepted the importance of medical inventions and official guidelines of The World Health Organization. But the question still remains in the air that who sent this virus to mankind? It seems very rigidly sticked question with religion. On the other hand, science has proven that this coronavirus is not a curse sent by the gods but it a continuous transmission of an Acute Respiratory Syndrome or a family of virus which is shaped as crown or corona. Even medical science has lot many microscopic images of the coronavirus (below), but still religion will raise any question from nowhere.
If the matter could be seen as Indian perspectives, the country has number of religious places. Temples, Churches, Mosques, Gurudwaras etc. As the pandemic is shading equal terror throughout the world, all the places of social gatherings including above holy places are closed. But still health workers, police cops, and sanitation employees are working endlessly to save lives. In such environment, staunch religious group will ask the question that where is god? Why doesn't he do anything? Lying on a hospital bed, a COVID-19 positive patient can see doctors as the life givers or life savers and also ignore them and seek for godly help. In the end, it is a matter of choice to whom we call god and to which we should believe in, science or religion.
Let's rediscover ourselves and grow from within.
--------------
References:
Block, Melissa. “'A Matter Of Common Decency': What Literature Can Teach Us About Epidemics.” NPR, NPR, 1 Apr. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/04/01/822579660/a-matter-of-common-decency-what-literature-can-teach-us-about-epidemics.
Judt, Tony. “A Hero for Our Times.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Nov. 2001, www.theguardian.com/books/2001/nov/17/albertcamus.
Lepore, Jill, et al. “What Our Contagion Fables Are Really About.” The New Yorker, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/30/what-our-contagion-fables-are-really-about.
Schaub, Michael. “Albert Camus And The Search For Meaning In The Midst Of Ebola.” NPR, NPR, 2 Aug. 2014, www.npr.org/2014/08/02/337134660/albert-camus-and-the-search-for-meaning-in-the-midst-of-ebola.
Vulliamy, Ed. “Albert Camus' The Plague: a Story for Our, and All, Times | Ed Vulliamy.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Jan. 2015, www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jan/05/albert-camus-the-plague-fascist-death-ed-vulliamy.
Thank You!
Outbreak, Epidemic and then Pandemic. These words are playing on everyone's tongues nowadays. To point out some more words, quarantine, lockdown, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), and the word POSITIVE itself is now a negative word. As we are passing through the most deadly and non-discriminatory CoViD-19 pandemic, these words are now added to everyone's vocabulary. Coronavirus has brought the world on its knees. No power, no wealth and position, no class is spared from the vicious infection of coronavirus.
Well, being a student of literature, there are many books came to notice which are very relevant to the current situation. The Plague by Albert Camus is one of them. Here are some initial impressions from the blog by Dr Dilip Barad (click here) and from the videos included in it.
Video: Albert Camus - The Plague by The School of Life
This video gives the best explanation of the novel and its timelessness. It is known fact that the literature which stands strong in the heavy storm of time and fights for its relevance is good literature. Perhaps Camus's The Plague is one of such works. The Plague is still very relatable in today's time of COVID-19 pandemic. The main character of Dr Rieux has got the strong voice through Camus's tongue. The novel does not only shows the plague as an epidemic but also lead us to think the vulnerability of humans to the smallest of the viruses and bacterias. The novel is not written to panic people but it teaches us that life is very short, that's why we should love humans.
This is one of the appealing and relatable graphics from the video. The symbolic agricultural instrument scythe suggests that suffering is inevitable. However, it disappears for some time but it reappears in some newer forms of epidemic or pandemic or any other calamity. Camus has explained how life may take devastating twist and turns at any moment. He has explained the concept of absurdity through the novel. Here some past examples can be related to this blog. In Hollywood movie series The Final Destination this absurdity of life has shown in some more horrific ways, through bloodshed and creepiest death scenes. In a nutshell, life is always on the edge of death. Our safety and comforts are momentary and sometimes illusionary.
another example is a TV show named 1000 Ways to Die
This is one of the appealing and relatable graphics from the video. The symbolic agricultural instrument scythe suggests that suffering is inevitable. However, it disappears for some time but it reappears in some newer forms of epidemic or pandemic or any other calamity. Camus has explained how life may take devastating twist and turns at any moment. He has explained the concept of absurdity through the novel. Here some past examples can be related to this blog. In Hollywood movie series The Final Destination this absurdity of life has shown in some more horrific ways, through bloodshed and creepiest death scenes. In a nutshell, life is always on the edge of death. Our safety and comforts are momentary and sometimes illusionary.
another example is a TV show named 1000 Ways to Die
(Attribution: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28751355)
Though this TV show doesn't fully fit the current situation but as far as the human life's vulnerability is concerned, this show tells us that how crucial death can occur to anyone. The show makes us think that humans are knowingly or unknowingly invite death to their doorstep. This can be connected with unhygienic lifestyle of people. Carefree natured people are least concerned about washing hands and keeping the surroundings clean and tidy. Thus, viruses attack on humans.
The film Contagion is also very recent talking topic during the pandemic.
Now coming to the literature viewpoint, much of the literature has been produced about pandemics and deadly diseases. Recently a Gujarati newspaper published Albert Camus's novel The Plague in Gujarati translation by Paresh Vyas. It covered both the things altogether; the exact relevance of the novel in the current situation of CoViD-19 pandemic and facts and reasons behind the relevance of the novel, that why it is still much more applicable till date.
1. Humanity - human self-centeredness vs human sacrifice
It is bitter but must-accept truth that humans have devalued everything around them. The first hand victim of the cruel human behavior is nature itself. The continuous fall of human values has made human a slave of circumstances. Human's gigantic leaps towards developments and progress were at the cost of natural resources. And during this time of pandemic, human still tend to be a hypocrite, and think that this coronavirus won't harm to them. Such ill thinking of humans make them self-centered. On the contrary, there are medical experts and frontline health workers who risk their lives to save our lives.
As humans we need to grow from within. We need to look around and see the mess we've created. Whatever may be the reason of the spreading this virus but it establishes that humans are powerless and helpless fighting a micro or nano sized virus. This is the apt reason to leave the egoistic and self-centred nature.
In a web page suggested by Dr. Dilip Barad sir, there are three major books which focus on epidemics such as plague and others. The Plague by Albert Camus, Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. The best example of human sacrifice for the welfare of humanity is highlighted in Year of Wonders. According to the novel, the villagers of Eyam quarantined their town and the plague stayed inside the town. This was a humanitarian step to save other's lives. Self sacrificing our lives to save others' is really a courageous task. To quote the original one from the website,
"It was a huge cost to the villagers," Brooks says, "because a lot of those might have survived if they'd fled early in the outbreak. But on the other hand, that act of self-sacrifice meant that the plague did not spread beyond Eyam into the surrounding communities, and so many thousands, perhaps, of lives were saved."(The Year of Wonders)
What do we need to learn from this epidemic literature? The answer is a following quote.
"For some time, anyhow, they would be happy. They knew now that if there is one thing one can always yearn for and sometimes attain, it is human love." (The Plague)
Fear goes away for sometime. As the epidemic or pandemic gets reduced, people enjoy the illusionary victory, but in real, it is not the act of celebration, it is a sigh of a momentary relief from the vicious fear of the plague or coronavirus. Camus's novel The Plague can be seen as sign of fear, because we all are having plague in the form of some fears. In order to save humanity we have to make ourselves used to such fears and start valuing life. Because life isn't always full. It's always in chunks and pieces. Happiness is also momentary and sorrow also ends shortly.
2. Science vs Religion - the question of God and religion in times of epidemics and calamities.
For over years, there has been a heated debate between science and religion. During this coronavirus pandemic, it is surprising to see that those who were opposing science have also accepted the importance of medical inventions and official guidelines of The World Health Organization. But the question still remains in the air that who sent this virus to mankind? It seems very rigidly sticked question with religion. On the other hand, science has proven that this coronavirus is not a curse sent by the gods but it a continuous transmission of an Acute Respiratory Syndrome or a family of virus which is shaped as crown or corona. Even medical science has lot many microscopic images of the coronavirus (below), but still religion will raise any question from nowhere.
If the matter could be seen as Indian perspectives, the country has number of religious places. Temples, Churches, Mosques, Gurudwaras etc. As the pandemic is shading equal terror throughout the world, all the places of social gatherings including above holy places are closed. But still health workers, police cops, and sanitation employees are working endlessly to save lives. In such environment, staunch religious group will ask the question that where is god? Why doesn't he do anything? Lying on a hospital bed, a COVID-19 positive patient can see doctors as the life givers or life savers and also ignore them and seek for godly help. In the end, it is a matter of choice to whom we call god and to which we should believe in, science or religion.
Let's rediscover ourselves and grow from within.
Stay Home, Stay
Safe, Save Lives.
--------------
References:
Block, Melissa. “'A Matter Of Common Decency': What Literature Can Teach Us About Epidemics.” NPR, NPR, 1 Apr. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/04/01/822579660/a-matter-of-common-decency-what-literature-can-teach-us-about-epidemics.
Judt, Tony. “A Hero for Our Times.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 Nov. 2001, www.theguardian.com/books/2001/nov/17/albertcamus.
Lepore, Jill, et al. “What Our Contagion Fables Are Really About.” The New Yorker, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/30/what-our-contagion-fables-are-really-about.
Schaub, Michael. “Albert Camus And The Search For Meaning In The Midst Of Ebola.” NPR, NPR, 2 Aug. 2014, www.npr.org/2014/08/02/337134660/albert-camus-and-the-search-for-meaning-in-the-midst-of-ebola.
Vulliamy, Ed. “Albert Camus' The Plague: a Story for Our, and All, Times | Ed Vulliamy.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 5 Jan. 2015, www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jan/05/albert-camus-the-plague-fascist-death-ed-vulliamy.
Thank You!
