A Foreshadowing Character

In this section, the audience is introduced to Father Paneloux, the Jesuit priest in the town of Oran. Author, Albert Camus, uses Father Paneloux to foreshadow the future of Oran while providing insight into Paneloux’s character, perceptions and beliefs. It is identified that the individuals in Oran are deafly frightened of the sudden end of lives around them. Father Paneloux claims that this is known by their attendance on Sunday’s sermon due to “their attempt at finding God”.

             Following a series of comments and claims that the plague was brought upon due to the townspeople’s lack of prayer and attendance to church, Paneloux foreshadows that by some means God will carry them out of the horrid fever. Paneloux exclaims that, “God is the divine compassion which has ordained good and evil in everything; wrath and pity; the plague and your salvation” (90) and that “Christian hope is granted to alike” (91).

            Albert Camus portrays Father Paneloux as a deceiver. By thoroughly depicting Paneloux’s mannerism when speaking at the sermon, Camus subtly identifies to the audience that Paneloux wants to engrave the memory of the Lord before all the individuals in the town of Oran die. Though the townspeople aspire to gain optimism and hope to live through this crisis by listening to Paneloux’s sermon, Paneloux is clearly aware that there is no method of escaping the fever that has overtaken the town. The reader becomes especially aware of Paneloux’s belief of death when talking about the hand of Lucifer he claims, “no earthly power, nay, not even-the vaunted might of human science can avail you to avert that hand once it is stretched toward you” (89).