Analysis Of The Plague By Albert Camus

The Plague by Albert Camus is a novel that demonstrates the selfishness of the people of Oran, Algeria as they fall victim to a plague, causing the entire town to be quarantined. The book’s narrator, Dr. Bernard Rieux, shows his viewpoint of the citizens of Oran through his remark, “In this respect, our townsfolk were like everybody else, wrapped up in themselves; in other words they were humanists: they disbelieved in pestilences.” The Plague was written not only to demonstrate how selfish humanity is, but also to prove how quickly people are willing to forget human suffering.
The novel opens with Rieux noticing a significant amount of dead rats littering the streets. As the days go by, the number of rats seems to multiply, causing panic among citizens. The authorities quickly make arrangements for the rodents to be collected and cremated. Suddenly, the porter where Rieux works falls ill and dies of the mysterious fever. When multiple similar cases appear, Rieux and his coworker, Castel, become suspicious that this epidemic is none other than the bubonic plague. Eager to stop the plague before it begins, the pair speaks to government officials about taking action, however, the government denies anything is happening and sends them on their …show more content…
It is also discovered that while in quarantine, Rieux’s wife had passed away. Unlike the majority of the town, the criminal, Cottard, did not want the plague to end. Therefore, when it did, he ran into the town and fired his gun until he was arrested. While these three characters suffered unpleasant endings, many townspeople survived the plague. Eventually, the city’s gates open to the rest of the world once again, marking the climax of the novel. However, they returned to their everyday life, seemingly forgetting all of the suffering that had just befallen the town of