The duality of absurdity and rebellion in the novel “The Plague” by Albert Camus

Abstract

Summary

The research aims to highlight the role of philosophy and the novel in monitoring the reality of human society in light of the dominance of various political, economic and social ideologies in Europe during the twentieth century, which witnessed the emergence of an elite group of prominent philosophers and writers who paid great attention to human society in their various philosophical and literary works. The research seeks to reveal the extent of the influence of the writer’s philosophical ideas on his various literary works, especially the novel The Plague, and to search for answers to several questions, including: Why did Albert Camus choose the novel to present his philosophical ideas? What are the concepts proposed by contemporary Western philosophy related to human existence? Why did Camus describe the twentieth century as an age of fear? What are his philosophical references and ideas? The research reached a number of results, including the presence of a philosophical vision in the literary achievement of Camus, who was able to combine philosophy and literature and transform the plague epidemic from a disease that afflicts the individual human body into a pandemic that afflicts humanity and devours all its values necessary for life.