"?Camus is one of the most representative men of our time. What troubled him has troubled and continues to trouble us."[1] Many critics concur with the foregoing statement and consider that Albert Camus has importance as a spokesman for the conscience of our era, as well as for his artistic creations. Camus was one of the foremost members of the generation of French writers which includes such men as Sartre and Malraux. These writers consider themselves "engagés" or committed to the issues of their time as well as to their art, and cannot envision one separated from the other.
Camus' philosophic, political and social ideas are thus an integral part of each of his literary works and are reflected also in his long journalistic career. His commitment does not, however, lead him to neglect in any way his absorption with his art, and it is always with a high degree of technical skill and uniqueness of style that his ideas find embodiment in literary form. He was constantly experimenting with different genres. His legacy to us appears as essay, drama, short story, novelette and what he terms a "récit" as in The Plague.
It may be argued that all philosophers are artists to a certain degree, but not as regards accessibility to the general reader. It is always interesting to study the fusion of philosophic though with successful artistic expression such as one finds in Camus. The evolution of this thought can be traced through his works. The basic tenet of The Myth of Sisyphus, that of the absurd sensitivity, remains unchanged. What evolved was Camus' concept of a morality for our times.
Before turning to The Plague and The Fall, it is perhaps worthwhi ...