The Plague The city of Oran was both ugly and boring. More so, it was "treeless, glamourless, and soulless." Through the cultivation of distracting habits, the inhabitants of this depressing city were able to float from one day to the next. In the end, habit gave the town an illusion of happiness. It was "a happy town, in short, if it is possible to be at once so dull and happy." One day, all habits were broken; a plague had immigrated. At first it seemed to be a minor inconvenience regarding to new plague-fighting ordinances and such, but eventually it came to consume every thought and action available in the poor city. To the citizens of Oran, this abomination was perceived as incredibly absurd. After all, who gets the plague in the twentieth century? This speaks of Camus' view of life as absurd. Being an atheist, Camus calls absurd what his religious representative Father Paneloux calls God's will and hidden purpose. In 'The Plague,' the plague represents both of these perspectives, but the most important aspect of the plague is how people deal with it. For, as Camus describes, everyone has the plague, and everyone must choose a way of coping with it, either the right way or wrong way. The two main characteristics of the plague the possibility of death it forces upon those involved and the responsibility each individual has towards these victims. Cottard represents the first characteristic. He had committed some sort of criminal act and had failed at that point to be arrested, but he knew the authorities knew of his acts. So then, Cottard was cope with the fact that not only is death an important possibility to deal with, there is a fairly high possibility that it could happen any second now. Fear and weariness result from the attempt to ward off this ever present force. In time, the entire town of Oran will feel these emotions that Cottard had been suffering already. Tarrou represents the aspect of the plague dealing with individual responsibility. He too, like Cottard had a premature encounter with the plague. For him it came upon realizing the immorality of his father's work. As a judge, he would often sentence men to death through decapitation or firing squad. Tarrou thoroughly made up his mind regarding this occasion after he first witnessed a man put to death through firing squad. Opposed to the stereotyped schema of this act, the executioners actually stood only a yard away from the condemned. All aimed at the heart and moments later, a fist sized hole replaced the once-vital life organ. Any argument that would enforce such brutality could only be immoral. A sudden onrush of anxiety flooded Tarrou when he realized that his tacit consent was partly responsible for this carnage. In the same way, many who had renounced the fight against the plague became responsible for the extra deaths this allowed for. Thus, the plague is a real feeling of the possibility of death and the individual responsibility each has for this death. It must now be stated that though Oran was a strange town undergoing a freak occurance, this absurdity is a human phenomenon and may happen anywhere. Actually, it does happen everywhere, constantly, because the plague is simply symbolic of man's existential relationship with the world. "I can say I know the world inside out, as you may see that each of us has the plague within him; no one, no one on earth is free from it." Everyone has the plague, it is the consequences of this fact that are of interest to Camus. Two negative consequences caused by the plague are exile and suffering. Both are described graphically in this book. For exile, the town of Oran is completely cut off from the outside world for nearly an entire year. Many are barred from seeing their loved ones, or even writing to them. Ten word telegrams must suffice to convey all the emotions brought about by the plague. Lack of communication then spreads from between those outside and inside, to those living next door and even in the same house. As the plague forces all thought to be of itself, the art of communication is greatly impaired. Families stay in doors the entire day with shades drawn. All are suspicious of everyone being another plague-carrier ready to infect them. Rieux, one day admits to himself that although he lives with his mother, he will never be able to share his love with her through words. This barrier to communication is brought on by the plague, and communication becomes a vital means of fighting it off. Exile, death, and responsibility each combine to make an altogether sufferable existence. From the stench of death given off by the crematoriums to the dust-filled winds and the unbearable sunlight, life becomes miserable in Oran. After months and months of fighting the plague, all thoughts of the future subside. Eventually even memories must go, an obstinate vigilance must be held to prevent one from thinking every second about death and despair. However, there is a bright side; for, of the three certitudes of life, there is not only exile and suffering, but love. Love is what ultimately gives those who choose to fight the plague their vigor and willpower. Love may take the form of an outsider lover, or love of God, or confidence in mankind and faith that life is worth living. The reason behind one's choosing to battle the plague be it religious, secular, or carnal - does not matter, it is the struggle itself that is important. A reason is simply an abstraction, action is a concrete decision to live, and is thus completely necessary in making life in Oran livable. This idea of abstraction is hinted upon often. First, it is spoken of regarding Rambert and his wife. After spending such time and energy on attempting to reach her, he realizes that she has become more of an ideal for him than a concrete object of his affection. Consequently, he chooses to stay in town and fight the plague. But this does not mean he does not love his wife, merely that, obviously, she must be present to love. Thus, the plague actually serves a beneficial role in grounding abstractions. Besides grounding abstractions, there is hope to be attained in fighting for humanity and against the plague. Those who do not attain hope through struggle, are the truly depressing cases of this novel. At the beginning, Father Paneloux had been absolutely confident in his preachings concerning his own self-righteousness and everyone else's blameworthiness for the plague. Upon seeing M. Othon's son die an excruciating death, Paneloux's beliefs were shaken to the core. How could God submit an obviously innocent child to forty-eight hours of spasmadic sufferings? While believing that all was part of some divine plan, he had not set a finger towards helping with the anti-plague campaign. After attempting to help and seeing this, he realized the incompatibility of doctoring and religion. Doctoring is a simply manipulating His creation. Paneloux then somewhat changed his oratory technique during his second sermon in order to deal with these conflicting ideas. He decided that concerning religion, it was an all or nothing decision. Relinquishing his unwavering love for God was not an option, and Paneloux was forced to give up any work with the hospital. His hope for God had been suffering, and by not striving for the hope in fighting suffering, Paneloux's last moments of life were emotionally difficult to bare. Thus Father Paneloux never attained the two hopeful remedies in dealing with the plague: hope through struggle and hope through love. Similarly, Cottard did not have either of these two necessary hopes. Instead of joining his fellow man in a life-or-death struggle, he chose to exploit the plague for his own personal and financial interests. Since he had already lived through a personal plague of his own, he was cheerful in seeing that others would share his miseries. Ultimately, when the plague was cured, Cottard could not stand it. Nothing had been fought for and nothing was to be gained for him. Actually, he would lose his companionship in suffering. Thus he chose to sniper rifle those celebrating their newfound freedom and gave up his life completely. If he had wanted to live happily, Cottard should have followed the examples of those around him who found meaning in struggle and love. Grand, Rieux, Rambert, and Tarrou all struggle against the plague and though they did not all live through it, they lived correctly and as happily as is possible. Each struggled in two different ways against the plague. Each had wholeheartedly worked his days throughout the wretchedness of the sanitary squads. When the end was finally achieved, they knew that they had had a powerful hand in dealing the death blow, which made the victory all the more moving for them. Life is a struggle, and though each character did not know specifically why he should continue on, there was an inner urge that forced them not to give up despite the horrors seen. Besides this physical struggle, there is also the struggle towards communication. Rieux wrote the book, Rambert was a journalist, Tarrou was a diarist, and Grand spent countless hours working towards the perfect sentence. While the plague had damaged man's ability to communicate with each other, each of these men were working to reinstate their ability as much as possible. Through communication and struggle, love is possible. Though each man's love does not come to fruition, it is the fact that they had never given up that makes their lives complete. It is not the actual love itself that is of importance, but the hope it gives in the face of insurmountable difficulties that gives it its worth. Thus, the counterintuitive conclusion of this novel: the plague is a necessity in order to live a genuine life. Life externally was pretty much the same both before and after the plague, but it was so much more meaningful and lovable after the experience with the plague. Through the plague, abstraction was ended and man was given deliverance and knowledge. Most importantly, true love becomes available. When the plague becomes knowable to you, will you struggle or renounce?