The Relation Between Albert Camus and Illiteracy

One of the most well-known absurdist authors of the twentieth century is Albert Camus, a philosopher born in 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria. Albert Camus published The Plague in 1948, a few years after working as an editor of an underground newspaper against the Germans in World War II (Camus, 1948/2002; Barnhart, 2013, 1:44). The Plague is fictional novel detailing how the people of Oran, Algeria react to a plague suddenly appearing in their town, and through “unconventional narrative structures” (Walsh, 2026) and literary norms, the book serves as an outlet of Albert Camus’s strong belief in absurdism, which is the belief that life is chaotic and the search for the meaning of life is something that the universe will not give to people (Barnhart, 2013, 3:22). Camus would have believed in finding a solution to the high functional illiteracy rates in Oklahoma, and he would have opposed the social epidemic because of his background and beliefs.

Because Albert Camus grew up impoverished, he would oppose the social epidemic of functional illiteracy. Camus, in his childhood, lived in a small, squalid apartment with his “mother, brother, grandmother, and paralyzed uncle” and had to work many jobs while attending university to support himself (Barnhart, 2013, 1:10). Through efforts both in and out of university, Camus was able to escape the impoverished life he had as a child. While Camus was able to escape this poverty, many today are still stuck in it all over the world. This is because people of lower socioeconomic status tend to “attend school[s] with lower levels of funding,” which creates weaker learning environments, leading to lower functional literacy rates, and perpetuating the cycle of poverty (Blanchard, 2023). Camus, a person who knew what it is like living in poverty, would disagree with keeping people in the cycle of poverty. This means that he would promote higher literacy rates because higher literacy rates allow for people to have higher-paying jobs. This, in turn, decreases the economic inequality that Camus’s background influenced him to oppose. Camus’s childhood growing poor and disadvantaged would shape him to support any solutions for functional illiteracy.

Furthermore, Camus’s conviction to treat everyone with dignity and inclusion would also cause him to oppose functional illiteracy. This strong conviction is evident in his novel, The Plague, with the narrator, Doctor Bernard Rieux’s, and his friend, Jean Tarrou’s, attempts to treat all the townspeople equally and with “common decency” during the plague, no matter their status, even if they are criminals, like Cottard (Camus, 1948/2002). These two characters’ actions and beliefs reflect Camus’s own endeavors to treat everyone with dignity and inclusion because of his belief in human equality. Camus joined “an anti-German resistance movement” against the Nazis in World War II because the Nazis did not treat everyone equally (Barnhart, 2013, 1:51). Additionally, Camus also did not believe that one group of people were inherently better just because of the location of their birth. In fact, Camus opposed the inequality of colonialism and the fact that Europeans had more power in Algeria; he was a “political journalist for an anti-colonialism newspaper” in Algeria (Barnhart, 2013, 1:36). Camus morally opposed all forms of social inequality and the treatment of humans without dignity. Because functional illiteracy prevents people from actively engaging in communication or political engagement due to lack of comprehension or knowledge, this leaves functionally illiterate people excluded or dependent on others for information, both conditions that Camus adamantly opposes.

In addition to Camus’s belief about the non-answers and meaninglessness of the universe, his belief in existentialism would have him support any solutions that people can find for functional illiteracy rates in Oklahoma. Throughout The Plague, multiple characters, like Jean Tarrou and Bernard Rieux, had “certitude that a fight” against the plague “must be put up…and there must be no bowing down” (Camus, 1948/2002, p. 65). Despite the impossible task of defeating the plague and the other townspeople trying their best to just ignore the situation, these characters in the novel put in their best effort to at least do what they can to limit the spread of the plague. This connects with Camus’s firm, absurdist belief in individual moral responsibility; he believed that everyone has a duty to act morally. Just like how the characters in the novel refused to not act in the face of the plague, Camus would also morally oppose leaving “about 20% of Oklahomans ages 16-24… functionally illiterate” and disadvantaged compared to the rest of the population (Yim, 2025). This is because lower rates of illiteracy can mean less comprehension of texts and of the world, so Camus would argue for higher rates of functional literacy because it promotes more individual thinking and responsibility. Without functional literacy, people make less informed decisions. Camus’s strong conviction in existentialism, which he reveals in his novel, would cause him to support efforts combatting low functional illiteracy rates in Oklahoma.

In addition to his belief in existentialism, Albert Camus’s belief that the universe cannot give people meaning or answers would have also caused him to argue for higher functional literacy rates. In The Plague, Oran suddenly becomes ground zero for a plague-like disease with symptoms, such as “buboes, and high fever accompanied by delirium” after many rats suddenly die with no apparent cause (Camus, 1948/2002, p. 25). This plague continues throughout the novel, killing many in the town of Oran. At the end, the plague disappears as suddenly as it came, and while human action of the characters in the book limited the spread of the disease, the plague did not end because of them (Camus, 1948/2002). The constant issue of the plague in Oran is like the constant problem of the functional illiteracy rates in Oklahoma no matter the efforts of people. Even as people both in the novel and in real life work to solve these issues, people can only limit these negative effects and not completely eradicate them. However, despite the futileness of combatting these problems, Camus emphasizes throughout the novel that by working together and constantly attacking the issue, problems, like the plague, can be mitigated and become less intense. This reveals that while Camus would support individual efforts to combat functional illiteracy, he would also strongly endorse group efforts to reduce high functional illiteracy rates. Albert Camus would appreciate and support attempts at countering functional illiteracy even if they are not completely successful.

            Albert Camus grew up in poverty and lived during a trying time in human history, which shaped his belief in equality, his belief in the universe having no answers or meaning, and his belief in existentialism. These beliefs, in addition to other absurdist beliefs, shaped how Camus wrote The Plague and his other novels. While Camus does not explicitly state that he would be against high functional illiteracy rates, his belief in equality, in collective human effort against the problems of the universe, and in individual responsibility reveal that he would support efforts for higher functional literacy rates. The importance of solving functional illiteracy in Oklahoma lies in the fact that being literate is one of the most integral skills necessary for a successful life. In a rapidly changing society, the ability to read and comprehend text fluently only grows more important.

References

Barnhart, A [Anne Barnhart]. (2013, September 26). Albert Camus & the absurd [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO2gizyNcK4

Blanchard, M. (2023, January 5). The relationship between socioeconomic status and literacy: How literacy is influenced by and influences SES. Michigan Journal of Economics. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mje/2023/01/05/the-relationship-between-socioeconomic-status-and-literacy-how-literacy-is-influenced-by-and-influences-ses/

Camus, A. The plague. (2002). Penguin Books. (Original work published 1948)

Walsh, T. (2026, March 10). Absurdist genre: Fiction [PowerPoint slides]

Yim, M. (2025, October 9). Do one in five Oklahomans struggle with low literacy or functional illiteracy?. Oklahoma Watch. https://oklahomawatch.org/2025/10/09/do-one-in-five-oklahomans-struggle-with-low-literacy-or-functional-illiteracy/