FREE ESSAY ON THE PLAGUE

THE PLAGUE

SSUMMARY: PART 1
The first part of The Plague, by Albert Camus, begins in describing the large French port
called Oran which is on the Algerian coast of Africa. The smug town is inhibited by
people largely concerned with business. The normal flow of the town is abruptly
interrupted by thousands of rats coming out of the sewers and dying. The concerned town
people are delighted to find an end to the disgusting rats, but are then faced with a
more severer problem. A fatal fever has swept the town. It takes government officials
quite a while, but a state of plague is proclaimed. A doctor by the name of Dr. Bernard
Rieux, who was recently separated from his wife due to another illness, has taken on the
task of treating the plague.
SUMMARY: PART 2
In part two of The Plague, the town of Oran is taken over by the illness. Everything is
different now that Oran can't interact with the rest of the world. The town was put into
exile. Auxiliary hospitals are opened to hold all the victims of the plague. The death
toll rises from 302 deaths a week to 137 deaths a day. Many people lose close ones who
have fallen from the plague. A somber tone has taken over the town. No one smiles
anymore. Dr. Rieux continues with his work, but finds it hard when supplies run short.
After a much respected Catholic priest gives a sermon blaming the plague as a punishment
for the people's sins, a man named Tarrou starts work to try to aid the government in
dealing with the destruction. Tarrou forms sanitary squads, with volunteers as workers.
The hot summer weather scorches Oran and inhabitants fond it hard to cope. Many manage by
going to cafes for alcohol. Security must be heightened since many are trying to escape
the plague. 
SUMMARY: PART 3
In part three of The Plague, conditions in Oran get considerably worse. The summer heat
is still unbearable, and the lack of rain brings clouds of dust over the town. As the
number of victims from the plague increase, the room for the bodies decreases. Soon the
number of coffins is insufficient as well as burial-places. When this occurs the
government first begins burying mass bodies in large ditches, covering each layer with
quicklime and soil. Later the authorities decide to make use of the crematorium and
streetcars which haven't been working since exile. They put the deceased into the cars
and bring them to be burned. The number of public servants helping with the plague also
becomes low. Although, since others were losing their office jobs, they soon replaced the
lost workers. Some jobs besides the sanitary squads were grave diggers and
stretcher-bearers. Time in Oran Has seemingly stopped. Inhabitants that previously were
only concerned with their own problems of being secluded from loved ones, now realize
they are in the same boat as everyone else. When a curfew is enforced to lower crimes
such as the burning of houses and escapes, Oran seems lifeless at night. The plague is
killing the town.
SUMMARY: PART 4
In part four of The Plague, conditions are still awful in Oran. Dr. Rieux is working
harder than ever. He gets only four hours of sleep, and he and his fellow workers are
always exhausted. When someone is diagnosed with the plague, they usually always die, so
Dr. Rieux's job has changed from curing people to diagnosing them. Oran's inhabitants are
getting restless. Numerous riots and various crimes occur daily. Although the number of
deaths were no longer increasing many people close to Dr. Rieux died. After delivering a
second, less hostile sermon, Father Paneloux came down with the plague. Another doctor
that worked with Dr. Rieux, named Dr. Richard, died as well. A horrible death from the
plague was a son of a magistrate. He was given an experimental serum that cured later
patients, but just prolonged his suffering. That serum, was acclaimed as the reason for
the decrease of deaths. Also the serum was accounted for the strange cases where people
recovered from the plague. One positive occurrence at the end of part four was the
appearance of rats again. They were healthy and running around. That's a good sign for
the end of the epidemic.
SUMMARY: PART 5
The last part of the novel describes the ending of the plague, and the beginning of the
life after. As winter sets in, Dr. Rieux continues to work hard. The number of deaths
continued to drop until the epidemic ended considerably suddenly. At the plague's last
breaths, Dr. Rieux's very close friend Tarrou died of the plague. Another close friend of
Dr. Rieux, Cottard, couldn't deal with the opening of the gates of the town, and he went
crazy. He shot people with a gun out of his apartment building until the authorities came
and took him away. He thought they might tell the police about his dreaded crime. Later,
Dr. Rieux got the sad news that his wife past while they were still in exile. He found it
difficult to celebrate with the rest of the town when the gates were finally opened. 
ONE SIGNIFICANT CHARACTER:
One significant character in the novel, the Plague, is Father Paneloux. He is a highly
educated, and well respected priest in the town of Oran. Father Paneloux is first
mentioned in the novel helping the concierge, M. Michel, at Dr. Rieux's apartment
building. The concierge was sick and Father Paneloux was helping him to his bed (17).
Father Paneloux worked at various places during the epidemic. Utilizing his education, he
helped at the Oran Geographical Society and gave educational lectures about historic
plagues (92). After the first month of the epidemic, Father Paneloux gave a dramatic
sermon at the town's church at a high Sunday mass (95-99). Paneloux believed the plague
was sent by God on the people of the town as punishment for their sins (92). The people
had different responses to the sermon. Many rebelled against the church and dropped their
beliefs, and others just ignored it (100). Father Paneloux thinks the plague opens men's
eyes and forces them to think. He finds a positive side to the prevailing disease (125).
Up until this part of the novel, Father Paneloux is depicted as a rigid man, and is not a
very pleasant character. At this point, Father Paneloux's emotional side shines through.
Father Paneloux witnesses a torturous death of the son of M. Othon, a magistrate. The boy
was given an experimental serum that prolonged his death. Paneloux pleaded with God to
spare the child during his drawn out, discouraging death (216-219). After the child's
death Paneloux had a talk with Dr. Rieux about death and grace, and the link between God
and doctors (218-219). Paneloux soon joined Dr. Rieux's band of workers and stayed at
hospitals and places with plague (220). Paneloux wrote an essay titled, Is a Priest
justified in Consulting a Doctor? (220) He gave a sermon about the essay at a mass for
men, in which he asked Dr. Rieux to attend. This sermon was much gentler and had a more
thoughtful tone than the first sermon. Father Paneloux said, we instead of you, which
made it easy to identify with (222-228). 
The place at which Paneloux lived was requisitioned and used to help in the treatment of
the plague. Paneloux moved in with a pious old lady (230). There he got sick, but
insisted on not calling a doctor. The lady followed his request until she felt he
desperately need medical attention(231). The doctor thought it was the plague. Rieux came
to the house and took him to the hospital, after giving him his crucifix. Paneloux died
in the hospital with no symptoms of plague except congestion. The doctors weren't sure if
it was plague (231-234). 
REACTION:
The Plague, by Albert Camus, is a vivid description of a horrid epidemic. The novel
reveals the feelings of the people that experienced the disaster of living in a plague
stricken tone. This novel appeals to the emotions of the reader, and leaves the reader
thinking about love, death, and freedom.
The Plague has a depressing theme, therefore the tone of the majority of the novel is
somber. This novel teaches about coping with the loss of loved ones and friends. When Dr.
Rieux got the news of the death of his wife, following the death of his friend Tarrou, he
told his mother now to cry. He said it was hard, but he had to stay strong. This teaches
a valuable lesson on coping with death.
The most heartbreaking part in the novel was the passing of M. Othon's son in the
hospital. This scene also revealed how to cope with death. The different men who
witnessed the death, showed how different people deal with death. This scene also added
an element of religion when Father Paneloux pleaded with God to spare the child. 
The Plague is a captivating book, but the plot is dismal. The death of the most
interesting character, Tarrou, was disappointing, but it revealed how one may feel in
losing a close friend to a disease.
The excerpts from Tarrou's journal were fascinating, and humorous at some points. They
lightened the tone just enough to preserve the effect, but keep the novel from being
entirely depressing.
ALLEGORY:
An allegory is defined as: The representation of spiritual, moral, or other abstract
meanings through the actions of fictional characters that serve as symbols. 
The Plague is an example of an allegory. The characters each had their own symbolic
meaning in the book, and the plot had meaning as well. The entire plague epidemic was a
representation of WWII and the holocaust. The way in which the epidemic was not disposed
of in the very beginning due to the inhabitant's inactiveness, represents the Nazi party.
They weren't taken seriously in the beginning, until the party grew into great
proportions. The holocaust comes in when everyone starts dying. They use the crematorium,
which is very holocaust like. Also, just as in the holocaust, people started to become
benign to the dying. They ignored it, just as some non-Jewish, non-Nazi Germans did. The
Plague is a commentary on WWII. 
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