Albert Camus The Plague

The Plague by Albert Camus is about the physical and emotional trials of the people of the French city, Oran. The Plague shows how humanity is self centered, take life for granted, and does not care about one another. But once they have a common enemy (like the plague), they unite to overcome the problem. The book begins with the author refusing to explain who he is in the story. He also makes a very clear point stating that the chronicles of this book are unbiased records of the terrible plague that struck the city. Bernard Rieux is a doctor in Oran, France. Life was average as he waits for his wife, who is in a hospital in Paris. He soon notices that rats have crawled from the sewers in broad daylight, and lay dead, with blood spurting out of their noses. Rumors …show more content…
By the end of the book, the author reveals that he is Dr. Rieux (surprise, surprise!). He explains that the Black Death and war are similar: people are surprised when both occur, but they have been here since man himself. Rieux states that there is no real hero of these records, and this is not even a happy ending, for the Black Death could stay dormant for a long time until the cycle repeats (similar to Stephen King’s It). Although Dr. Rieux and the others have varying morals and views, they eventually join together to destroy the plague. It shows how the people of Oran are just sinful citizens suffering in a serious situation. The Plague peels open man to take a look at how society functions from the inside out. I would recommend this book. Although it sometimes drones on, the characters names are confusing, and Tarrou dies, I like the entirety of it. Each character is dynamic and has a different story. Nowadays books are “hero versus villain” stories, and it is refreshing to see a book where there is no true hero, and there is no definite villain. It shows that people are just people, and the true “villain” is who you perceive it to