Identify and Interpret the Quote (answer in 2 paragraphs )

Question

Identify and interpret the following quote: “That, too is why this epidemic has taught me nothing new, except that I must fight it at your side. I know positively—yes, Rieux, I can say I know the world inside out, as you may see—that each of us has the plague within him; no one, no one on earth is free from it. And I know, too, that we must keep endless watch on ourselves lest in a careless moment we breathe in somebody’s face.”

from the book the plague by Albert Camus

Answer 1

Hi Anna,

The word "plague" in this passage, and in Camus' novel in general, refers not only to the epidemic itself, but also to the psychological terror the characters must face as individuals and as a group. In this passage, Camus points out that the characters draw strength from enduring the plague together while simultaneously recognizing that their mutual moral support may be trumped by the fact that the disease is always present and they may be infected. For example, the phrase "each of us has the plague within him" sums up the inherent conflict in the characters' minds as they fight an invisible natural force. "This epidemic has taught me nothing new" highlights an ever-present conflict in both literature and in the human condition, and the idea that people have never been able to fight any battles alone, physically, philosophically, and psychologically.