Albert Camus' The Plague and the Philosophy of Suffering

This is a book review on the book The Plague by Albert Camus. It talks about its views on suffering.

In The Plague by Albert Camus , Dr. Rieux and Father Paneloux take an opposing view on the philosophy of suffering. Dr. Rieux is the narrator of the story. Their place Oran is under siege by a mysterious plague. Its cause is unknown but it all started when the rats died in multitude usually by the thousands daily. Dr. Rieux all devotes his time and energy to attend to the needs of the sick in Oran. As he goes through the motions of his daily tasks he tries to grasp the meaning behind all the sufferings he witnessed.

Father Paneloux is a Jesuit priest who delivers a forceful sermon that is intended to sting and wake up the parishioners from their erring ways at the start of the plague. Paneloux says that the plague was God's way to separate the good people from the bad. It was the harvest of the "wheat" for heaven and the "chaff" will be left behind and be meted punishment of terrible suffering.

Dr. Rieux does not agree with Father Paneloux's message on his first sermon. He believes that suffering is not God's way of weeding out the good from the bad. He is more concerned with alleviating the suffering of the person instead of viewing it in the context of philosophy, extolling its virtues the way Father Paneloux does.

Their differences are further noticeable when they circumstances bring them together once again. During the plague, a local magistrate M. Othon's son falls victim to the illness. The family is forcibly quarantine. Jacques, the son, becomes the test case for Dr. Castel's newly discovered serum that is intended to counter the plague. Rieux, Paneloux, Tarrou, Castel and Grand watch as the serum is applied to the boy and wait. The boy twists in pain. As they watch they feel deeply affected. The serum unfortunately has no effect and the child dies.

Dr. Rieux feels very bothered by the child's death. He is troubled by the great suffering he witnesses before the child succumbs to his illness. On his way out of the hospital he gets into a heated discussion with Father Paneloux on the topic of death. Father Paneloux insists that death is an act of God and should not be questioned. He concludes that "perhaps we should love what we can't understand."

Father Paneloux's philosophy on suffering stresses the fact that God is behind it. The best we can do then in times of suffering is doing what we can during the times of difficulties. As Christians, we should believe that God has a purpose for allowing our suffering; we should trust that purpose and continue the task at hand in the midst of our struggles.

Although Dr. Rieux does not believe that God is behind everything, he and Father Paneloux are in agreement that we can only do what we can to overcome in the midst of our suffering.