The Plague

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For other uses, see Plague (disambiguation).

The Plague (Fr. La Peste) is a novel by Albert Camus, published in 1947, that tells the story of medical workers finding solidarity in their labour as the Algerian city of Oran is swept by a plague. It asks a number of questions relating to the nature of destiny and the human condition. The characters in the book, ranging from doctors to vacationers to fugitives, all help to show the effects the plague has on a populace.

Generally taken as a metaphoric treatment of the French resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II, The Plague is interpreted to mean much more. Camus uses extreme hardships (e.g., pain, suffering, and death) to represent our human world.

The story is largely told through a recounting of Dr. Rieux's journal (also using Tarrou's accounts), whose decidedly existential account of events in the story is not only helpful in exploring the philosophy of existentialism, but also in making this a metaphor of the nature of life and suffering. Although his approach in the book is severe, he emphasizes the ideas that we ultimately have no control, irrationality of life is inevitable, and he further illustrates the human reaction towards the ‘absurd’. The Plague represents how the world deals with the philosophical notion of the Absurd, a theory which Camus himself helped to define.

[edit] Plot summary

The setting of "The Plague" is the Algerian city of Oran. At the beginning of the novel, the inhabitants of Oran are perplexed by a bizarre disease that causes all of the city's rats to come out of hiding and die in the streets en masse. Around the same time, Dr. Rieux sends his sick wife to a sanatorium outside the city in the hopes that she will recover. His mother, Madame Rieux, travels to Oran to help her son maintain his household during his wife's absence. Not long after his wife's departure, many inhabitants are sickened by an illness, which Dr. Rieux and other doctors determine to be bubonic plague. One of the first victims of the disease is Dr. Rieux's concierge, Michel, who is responsible for cleaning up the dead rats in the doctor's building. As the death rate climbs higher and higher, city officials decide to declare a state of emergency and took measures that included sealing off Oran by closing its gates and port, stranding many inhabitants outside the city and quite a few visitors inside. Not even letters are allowed to leave the city, so the only means of communication that the inhabitants of Oran have with loved ones outside the city was through ten letter telegrams.

"The Plague" describes Dr. Rieux's attempts to stop the spread of the pestilence through Oran. However, he soon discovers that his attempts are futile, and that there is little he can do to cure those stricken by the disease. His recourses are limited to calling an ambulance to take the victim to a makeshift hospital, and quarantining the family members. Otherwise, he can only watch helplessly as patient after patient suffers and dies. At one point, he remarks that he is cold and lacks emotion, while the family members of those stricken with disease are full of emotion, pleading that they not separate them from son, daughter, wife, or husband.

Dr. Castel also attempts to cure those suffering from the disease with a serum formulated in the city of Oran during the outbreak; however, his work is in vain. Dr. Rieux tests the serum on a young boy, the son of M. Othon, but he and his companions watch helplessly as the boy fights the disease, and, in the end, suffers horribly and dies.

A number of foreigners are also stranded inside the city, including Jean Tarrou, a writer vacationing in Oran, and Raymond Rambert, a visiting journalist. As the death toll continues to rise, Tarrou volunteers to head a crew that would sanitize the apartments and houses of those infected by plague. He manages to enlist Joseph Grand, and later Father Paneloux.

Not long after Oran is sealed off from the rest of the world, Raymond Rambert, in a desperate attempt to be reunited with his wife in Paris, spends weeks trying to convince city officials to give him special permission to leave the city. After realizing the futility of convincing officials to give him permission to leave through legal means, he resorts to paying smugglers to help him leave the city illegally. However, about a week away from his goal of escaping, he is inspired by the activities led by Dr. Rieux and Tarrou, and decides to remain in the city and help combat the spread of bubonic plague.

Near the close of summer, after a visit to an asthmatic patient, Tarrou confides to Dr. Rieux that he has always been a victim of plague, and that he strove to fight against capital punishment after watching his father, a lawyer, advocate the death penalty for a convicted felon. In the winter months, Father Paneloux succumbs to the pneumonic form of the plague. Towards the end of the pestilence, Joseph Grand is sickened by plague, but miraculously recovers. Jean Tarrou is the last victim of bubonic plague.

After the death rate falls significantly, the gates and ports to the city of Oran are re-opened, and those that have been separated for almost ten months are reunited. Unfortunately, some return to discover that those they have been longing to see for many months did not survive. Dr. Rieux learns by telegram of the death of his wife a week before the opening of the city gates. But there are other stories of success, such as Raymond Rambert, who is reunited with his wife.

Cottard, a man who expects to be charged with a crime, is the only one who seems to benefit from the outbreak of plague. City officials, who have their hands full with the crisis, overlook Cottard. When the plague showed signs of weakening, Cottard expresses dismay, but brightens up whenever he heard that it is possible that the plague will continue for many months. When the plague ends, it appears that the judicial system catches up with Cottard because two men confront him in order to ask him some questions. After the opening of the city gates, Cottard eventually snaps and shoots at merry-makers from the window of his apartment. He is eventually captured and led away by police.

"The Plague" ends with a warning, adding that, while the inhabitants of Oran are busy celebrating their triumph over bubonic plague, the plague baccillus waits dormant in furniture, clothes, and bedding, ready to strike again when least expected.

[edit] Characters

Main Dr. Bernard Rieux -- a doctor (and the narrator) Jean Tarrou -- a man vacationing in Oran Raymond Rambert -- a visiting journalist Cottard -- a manic depressive Joseph Grand -- a municipal worker Father Paneloux -- a priest

Minor Dr. Castel Mme. Rieux M. Othon and his family Old man who spits on cats Asthma patient Gonzales Dr Richard Prefect Marcel and Louis Marcel's and Louis' Mother Garcia Manuel

[edit] Allusions/references to other works

In the first part of The Plague, Rieux overhears a conversation concerning a man being shot on a beach. This is in all probability a reference to The Stranger, in which a man is shot on a beach. While Camus gave no opinion of the act in The Stranger itself, in the conversation the participants seem to have an entirely negative view of the subject.