Suffering In The Plague And Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Naturally, people congregate together at life-defining events to express emotions. Happiness, anger, and sorrow are all feelings everyone has or will experience at some point. Weddings, birthdays, and even funerals are occasions where individuals and groups alike come together to share these feelings. In order to understand the meaning of what it is to be human, one must acknowledge suffering on an individual and communal level; this develops an identity for individuals and communities as well as contributes to the formation of morality and worldview.
Authors such as Albert Camus, Rudolfo Anaya, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky all explore the human condition through their literature. In The Plague by Camus, the unfathomable sorrow the community of Oran experiences proves the durability of the human mind after extreme circumstances. Religion is also a major attribute to how people cope with pain in emotional and psychological states of distress. Anaya too uses religion in Bless Me, Ultima to justify the choices people make. As Antonio must choose between two paths of
This communal characteristic is one all people across time have felt and are the same emotions as people feel today. A Finnish study published by Jessica Hemberg describes what suffering means to them on an individual level in by asking individuals how they feel when in a depressed state of mind. After in-depth interviews with participants, a conclusion about “the suffering human being is filled with feelings of hopelessness, meaninglessness and worthlessness,” was reached. This research solidifies the notion of people having shared experiences as a whole group even though individuals experience sadness on their own. Albert Camus reaches a similar deduction in the novel The Plague as he uses his characters to express the emotions of pain on a personal level to connect to everyone in the