...But That'll Never Happen to Us /// Emma Landry

     One of the most striking passages to me in the whole of the reading can be found on page 37. In this passage, the narrator details how the people of Oran were caught completely off guard by the plague. "When a war breaks out, people say: 'It's too stupid; it can't last long,'" he notes in the second paragraph of page 37. However, as he goes on to say, the ridiculous things of life often seem to get in the way. I have tied this reading back to COVID in both of the comments I have left as well, but I cannot help but notice some chilling parallels to our introduction to the virus. Not only were we so convinced that we as the U.S. could not be so heavily affected by such a health crisis, but we also seemed to feel certain as a culture that the virus would have an expiration date and would vanish one day. However, like other challenges of life, it has not completely disappeared. It often has to be determined how one should respond to a difficulty like COVID and minimize its domination in daily life. 

    The speaker goes on to say that the townspeople were so focused on their own lives that they convinced themselves that the pestilence was a "bad dream" that would soon "pass away." In any trial, no one wants to believe that the unfortunate circumstances are actually happening to them. It is simpler to deny reality and hold on to the hope that the events are not actually occurring. Ignoring pain is much easier than working through it, but that does not help one come to grips with the circumstances. In the early days of COVID in spring 2020 as schools were going virtual, the gravity of the situation was likely realized by few. For some reason, I remember feeling intuitively that this rapidly spreading virus was here to stay. I recall many people mentioning later on how they assumed they were just having an extended spring break and would return to school like nothing had ever happened. As I read The Plague, I cannot help but wonder whether this was wishful thinking on the part of many and a subconscious suppression of worries over the disease that still presented many uncertainties. Overall, no one wants to believe that something bad will happen to them. When disasters paralyze various parts of the world, it is regular for people to express sympathy but to then carry on with daily life since some events seem too impossible to happen in one's own home. However, life is truly unpredictable, and it is always best to be on one's guard. Ultimately, as the narrator says, "[They] thought that everything still was possible for them; which presupposed that pestilences were impossible." The experience of the people of Oran and our own experience with COVID is a lesson to all not to be lulled into a false sense of security. One should plan for the best but prepare for the worst.

I commented on Emily Otts's and Joshua Naqvi's posts.