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ewashburn's picture

I, the Survivor

As I brought up in our discussion group, this portion of the class reminded me of a poem by Bertolt Brecht called, "I, the Survivor," the text of which I've placed below:

 

I know of course; it’s simply luck

That I’ve survived so many friends. But last night in a dream

I heard those friends say of me: “Survival of the fittest”

And I hated myself.

 

AnnaP points out that those who were stuck outside of Oran because they traveled when quarantine set in are not focused on, which I agree is interesting. What I also find interesting, especially in the context of this poem, is the state that those people are in when they return to find their loved ones gone, especially as Camus describes the joyful reuniting of lovers and families. Those who return and find their loved ones dead must feel a sort of "exile," having returned home only to see their home has completely changed. These people seem most susceptible to the "survivor's guilt" that Brecht describes, especially because it was "simply luck" that they happened to be traveling outside of Oran and thus happened to escape the disease.

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