Come Home with Me:Reprise (by Reeve Carney) ~Ashlyn Scism

     It seems that the similarities between The Plague and our very own pandemic continue into the fourth part of the book. In the novel, we see the reaction of the public to the plague and its advances. Understandably, their first response is panic. Now they seem to be in denial somewhat. We know from experience, being cooped up leads to loneliness and depression. 

    The way the people in the book have chosen to combat these feelings is that of escapism and social interaction. The people flock together in public places just to feel as though they are not alone even if it means the risk of contracting the plague. Cottard and Tarrou join these desperate souls to watch a production of Gluck’s Orpheus. In order to escape their horrific reality, the audience dressed to the nines and pretended that attending this production was a normal thing to do in the midst of a quarantine. When the show ends the audience realized that the show is just a masked version of the plague.

I commented on: Madalyn and Isabelle’s posts

Comments

  1. Emmett BryantFebruary 21, 2022 at 7:42 PM

    I think we can sort of relate to the people in the town. For so long we were deprived of social interaction that now we are willing to get it any way possible even if it means there are risks. I think it goes to show just how much social interaction is integrated into humanity. -- Emmett Bryant

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hailey WalshFebruary 22, 2022 at 9:36 AM

    It is interesting how, when faced with a problem not easily solved, our first reaction is denial. Such as the people that swear Covid isn't a problem, or have the audacity to say that it doesn't exist. Such a response is putting ourselves and those around us in danger. With the denial of truth is the denial of life. Both figuratively, and in consequence, literally.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Song WhittingtonFebruary 22, 2022 at 2:50 PM

    I like the pointing out of escapism. A bit on the nose, which is good. The song reference in the title helps draw a clear picture of your point as well. There's a longing for normalcy, of what was, both in the song and the book. Yet, as the play of Orpheus proves, no matter how hard you try, there is no going back. Things have changed, and we must adapt. Good post.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A House Divided//Emily Otts

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12 remind me so much of this play: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Matthew 12:25) King Lear, at the end of the day, is about a family being divided multiple ways. These divisions arise over greed and hatred for one another and cause the whole family to be ruined because of it. King Lear first divides the kingdom after his daughter Cordelia does not proclaim her love to him, so he banishes her. Later, his daughters go against him for not doing as they asked, believing he is unfit and unworthy to be king, secretly plotting against him. But all of this comes to a head in Act 5. After capturing King Lear and Cordelia, Edmund plans to have them killed. You would believe the sisters would be able to work together because their plan is working, but an even greater division has risen between them. Both of them wish to have Edmund for themselves, and they plot against each o...
Read more

The Plague in Everyone// Emily Otts

     In part 4 of the Plague , Tarrou tells Rieux about how he has had the plague forever. Except, this is not the same plague as the one ravaging the town. Tarrou speaks of how his father was a lawyer who believed in the death penalty, how he saw so many people support it and be comfortable about it, and how he had to witness the executions of prisoners. He explains how this sort of mindset is a plague itself, one Tarrou had been fighting for a long time. " That's why everybody in the world looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plague. But that is also why some of us, those who want to get the plague out of their systems, feel such desperate weariness, a weariness from which nothing remains to set us free except death" (Camus, part 4, chapter 6). Tarrou wants to desperately not submit to such awful ways of thinking.      Tarrou does not realize it, but the plague he is talking about is sin. Everyone has it, some people give in to it and let...
Read more

The Thirst for Knowledge

     With Book Seven of Milton's Paradise Lost, Raphael is continuing his exposition on Satan's apostasy. The plan is to expose Adam and Eve to the wretched fate of those who cross God's will. The more he shed's light on the subject, however, the more Adam is inclined to ask for more information. He wants to know everything about the subject, as well as God and His creation.      However, while the taste of such knowledge leaves Adam yearning for more, there are boundaries. It is like a toddler eating a cookie... and eventually begging her mother for the rest of the jar. Is it a coincidence that the one thing Adam and Eve are not to touch is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Most readers know how the story ends: these toddlers are never going to be content with a few cookies. They're going in for the jar.   There is a statement in the Bible that is constantly being repeated throughout the Old Testament: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ...
Read more