Possible Theme: Hope

In the Plague, throughout the entire novel there is an interesting progression with the concept of hope. Hope is something that we all need and desire. Without hope people can lose themselves and the will to live. In Oran the people are unfortunately subject to this horrible disease that forces the entire city to enter quarantine. In the beginning everyone is hopeful and confident that they will get through these hard times, but as their condition worsens and the quarantine lasts longer and longer, hope begins to fade. As this happens people begin to react and adjust differently as the one thing that they used to rely on to drive them fades and they need to find something else to replace their lost hope. Something to motivate them to carry on.