A New Perspective on an Old Character

In this section, Tarrou suggests to Rambert that his group is in search of more volunteers and that Rambert would be useful in helping in his anti-plague efforts. However, Rambert’s response was no. This response was not surprising; however, the question was. Raymond Rambert, the writer who visited the town of Oran to write a feature story for his newspaper article was in a state of disbelief when he found no way out after the small town was quarantined. Throughout the story, he has spent his time begging people for help to find a way out since he did not know one person in the town. His response made a great deal of sense. On the contrary, I believe that Jean Tarrou is so absorbed with his relief efforts that he does not realize that Rambert would obviously not want to offer his assistance. This somewhat innocent question is a way in which author, Albert Camus, wants to demonstrate that even the sanest people in the town of Oran are beginning to loose their minds. This element of foreshadowing is sending an underlying message to the audience: everyone is becoming deranged and now, the idea of quarantining Oran is useless. Though it is hard to fortell what will happen at the end of the story it is easy to figure out that it is not positive. Jean Tarrou’s above suspicious question should not be overlooked because it is something more significant than expected.