responsibility for living as they battle an epidemic of bubonic plague that is ravaging the Algerian port of Oran. For ten months as the outbreak isolates the city from the rest of the world, each of the citizens reacts in a unique way. Camus’ main characters undergo both individual and social transformations. Dr. Bernard Rieux, the narrator and central character, is one of the first people in Oran to recognize the plague and is instrumental in fighting it. The plague brings to a focus the best in him
takes place in the desert town of Oran, Algeria, in northern Africa. It is the perfect setting for this story to take place. The ordinariness of Oran is contrasted with the extraordinary business of the plague. Sprintzen points out that "There is a mythic significance of Oran. Given the previous description of the quality of Oranian life, the selection of Oran as the location for the outbreak of plague should not come as a surprise"(Sprintzen 38). In Oran, life for its inhabitants has lost
to the people of Oran, it would be very difficult to say anything to a people facing such terrible affliction. Even though Father Paneloux believed what he was preaching, I believe he was completely wrong. This would make what I would say much different from what Father Paneloux said. However, some strong points did emerge from his sermons. Overall, the two sermons in Albert Camus’ The Plague fail to help people become more faithful and fail to even preach to the people of Oran the truth. Father
structured in such a way as to give the reader insight into the feelings of the victims of the plague, and to show somewhat of a theme. The passage from section 4, part 4, line number 1 to line number 35 gives us a glimpse of the melancholy of the people of Oran to their dead loved ones to the extent that they do not attend All Souls' Day, for they were thinking of them too much as it was. Albert Camus fills this passage with figurative devices, including, diction, personification, pathetic fallacy, metaphors
humans react to trying situations and circumstances in his fictional city of Oran in North Africa. The reader is presented with Oran as a city of several hundred thousand people. All of whom seem to take life for granted. The people of Oran ar constantly driven by business or money and only stop for life's finer pleasures on the weekends. A fairly accurate parallel to today's world. When an outbreak of plague begins in Oran, nobody pays attention at first. When the problem becomes too big to be ignored
The Plague is a novel describing the plague epidemic in the large Algerian city of Oran in the 1940s. In April, numerous rats staggered into the open to die. Once a mild hysteria gripped the population, the newspapers began searching for any action they could take. Finally, the authorities arranged for the daily collection and cremation of the rats, but by mid-afternoon they were already pilling up again. When a cluster of cases of a strange fever appeared, Dr. Rieux's partner, Castel, became
for the next day to come. In “The Plague,” according to Christopher Capewell at the University of Birmingham, “The people of Oran were so accustomed to a lifestyle of routine, never having to face the anguish of their own existence that one is prepared to argue that they were already dead before the plague arrived.” Camus writes on page 4 “The truth is that everyone [in Oran] is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their
The Archetype of the Trial in The Plague and Hamlet Rare is the tale without a conflict, without a challenge to overcome. However, to even reach the challenge the hero must first pass through the Trial. The archetype of the Trial can be found in almost any folktale. King Arthur must draw the sword from the stone to prove himself fit to be king. Hercules must face labors to atone for the murders committed in his madness. It is prominent in other areas of literature as well; it is especially well
to eliminate the sinners of Oran. Rambert chooses to run and not face the plague, in order to see his “wife”. He is also called out for failing to do his basic duty as a reporter of recording the events of the plague (Camus, 190). Jean Tarrou, however, is able to do this. Joseph Grand does nothing to fight the plague. Cottard welcomes the plague and views it as an opportunity to further his wealth, which is an example of sheer selfishness. The rest of the citizens of Oran wait to die, or work for Jean
The Plague by Albert Camus takes place in an Algerian city known as Oran. Rats that are infected with a vicious disease known as “the plague” invade the city and nearly wipe out half of the population. This disease takes a toll on the citizens of Oran, which make them turn on each other and for some, they question the existence of God. Religion plays a huge roll in The Plague and Camus speaks through his characters and incorporates his views on religion. Camus uses Father Paneloux, the priest in
Albert Camus’ work was clearly influenced by his culture and background. For instance, he uses events such as the black plague to influence The Plague. Camus is best known for writing The Plague, and The Stranger, two of his first novels. He was born on November 7, 1913 in Mondovi, a city in Algeria (Kellman). Camus’ father died in World War I before Camus was one year old (Kellman). This influenced both The Plague and The Stranger in the fact that neither of the two main characters mentioned having
Existentialism and The Plague In the mid 1940s, a man by the name of Albert Camus began to write a story. This story he called La Pesté. Written in French, the novel became extremely popular and has since been translated numerous times into many languages. This story has been read over and over, yet it tells more than it seems to. This story tells the tale of a city gripped by a deadly disease. This is true enough, but this is not what the novel is about. The Plague can be read as an allegory
that will never be revealed to them because it does not exist. Character development in The Plague plays a significant role in illustrating the way that man will endure against an incomparable being or force. In this case, the plague. The people of Oran have an understanding, though an indefinite one, of the power of the plague because Dr. Rieux publicly accepts the situation. Rieux makes it clear that he plans to “get busy with [the plague]” (89), but “[he] knew: that this wasn’t the easiest course”
life. The town of Oran becomes afflicted with a plague, and Rieux, the town doctor, watches the town quickly die away. He joins forces with Jean Tarrou, Raymond Rambert, Joseph Grand, and Father Paneloux, hoping to defeat the unbeatable enemy. The quarantined town ultimately defeats the disease, but not before incredible losses are suffered. All of the men learn about themselves and each other, while by battling the plague. The realize that life is more than just themselves and Oran. It is fragile,
philosophy of moralism he formulated led to his ideas of the absurd, a state which can only exist if God is absent. As World War II began, Camus moved to Paris where he completed one of his most famous works, The Stranger. However, in 1941 he returned to Oran, Algeria where he wrote The Myth of Sisyphus. In 1942, illness forced him to return to France and convalesce in the Massif-Central region where he published The Stranger. He remained in Southern France because of the allied invasion of North Africa
The Plague (French, La Peste) is a novel written by Albert Camus that is about an epidemic of bubonic plague. The Plague is set in a small Mediterranean town in North Africa called Oran. Dr. Bernard Rieux, one of the main characters, describes it as an ugly town. Oran’s inhabitants are boring people who appear to live, for the most part, habitual lives. The main focus of the town is money. “…everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the
When thousands of rats begin dying and rotting in the streets of Oran, the citizens are bewildered. It is when the peculiar cases of a severe fever begin appearing that Dr. Rieux and Dr. Castel dare to consider that the plague has descended upon the city. For this reason, The Plague by Albert Camus is appropriately named. The novel explores the condition of a society living in constant fear of a disease that almost guarantees death. The title does not only reflect the name of the disease but as well
condition, destiny, God, and fate. The novel is about a plague that takes place in Oran, Algeria that is fictional, but it’s believed to be relatively based on a cholera outbreak in the mid 1800’s in Oran that killed thousands of people. Dr. Bernard Rieux is the protagonist but also is the narrator. However, he doesn’t admit to being the narrator until the end of the novel. Camus writes in the beginning that the instances in Oran are being told by witnesses of the plague. In The Plague, Camus wants his audience
Joseph Grand was portrayed to us as being the meek, indecisive, poor citizen of Oran. He didn’t have much but a failed marriage, a municipal job, and a one-sentence novel. Despite his faults, he is among the first to volunteer with the “sanitary squads” without a moment’s hesitation. Grand does not look at what he is doing as a hero’s work; he looks at this as being a necessary duty. In fact, when Dr. Rieux thanked Grand, Grand states; “ Why, that’s not difficult! Plague is here and we’ve got to
for the next day to come. In “The Plague,” according to Christopher Capewell at the University of Birmingham, “The people of Oran were so accustomed to a lifestyle of routine, never having to face the anguish of their own existence that one is prepared to argue that they were already dead before the plague arrived.” Camus writes on page 4 “The truth is that everyone [in Oran] is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their