Term Paper

Paulo Parente April 30, 2013 Period 4 The Plague Term Paper: Freedom, Confinement and Isolation In the novel “The Plague” by Albert Camus characters are confined to the city because of a quarantine issued due to a deadly plague consuming the city. This physical confinement affects each character differently. Through each of their struggles both physical and mental it is clear that freedom is not necessarily a physical quality, but a mental capacity. The events that transpire throughout the novel affect each character differently. Were some people truly more free before the gates of Oran closed? Do their struggles with the plague bring this mental freedom to light for each character or do they simply return to their previous ignorance? The confinement that the people of Oran face is not simply the confinement to the city, but the isolation within themselves and from their fellow people that keeps them from truly living their lives. Dr. Rieux is the first character introduced in the novel and we quickly see that he is not a person without troubles. “The telegram informed Rieux that his mother would be arriving the next day. She was going to keep house for her son during his wife’s absence. When the doctor entered his apartment he found the nurse already there. He looked at his wife. She was in a tailor-made suit, and he noticed she had used rouge. He smiled at her.” (Camus, 10) Before the quarantine even begins Rieux a man without strong connections. He is emotionally isolated; he does not show much love or compassion at all with his wife who he is parting with for some time and this is one principle constraint on his “freedom”. People need to have friends and companions or they go crazy. Even as the novel progresses Rieux maintains this sort of detachment, when he goes to see his patients who have no hope of surviving, instead of providing some comfort he is cold and unemotional. After a while the struggles finally get to him and he talks about his wife “Rieux agreed, merely adding that the long separation was beginning to tell on him, and, what was more, he might have helped his wife to make a good recovery; whereas, as things were, she must be feeling terribly lonely.” (Camus, 191) In reality Rieux is not any more separated from his wife than he was before the plague, the separation has now just gone from emotion to actual physical separation. Nevertheless, this opening up to Grand is progress as Rieux is finally trusting a friend to talk about his problems, no matter how little he actually opened up and it shows that he is worried about his wife, breaking some of the emotional isolation, and freeing his mind. The physical confinement of the quarantine helps to start to break the previous mental restraints that Rieux burdened himself with. This mental freedom would only be possible with the physical restraint of the plague. A second character that is in essence “liberated” through this physical confinement of quarantine is Cottard. A man who before the plague, lived in fear of the authorities, always running and hiding in order to avoid jail. In so much fear that he even attempts suicide, is now in reality free. Because the plague has the authorities occupied he does not have to worry about them coming after him and he can go about his day. Before the plague not only did he fear the authorities, but he was isolated from society as well, “Cottard was a queer bird. For a long while their relations went no further than wishing each other good-day when they met on the stairs.” (Camus, 32) Even his own neighbor barely talks to him. This isolation from the other members of society seems to be a cause of his problems with the law. “Cottard sat down and replied rather grumpily that he was feeling tolerably well, adding that he’d feel still better if only he could be sure of being left in peace. Rieux remarked that one couldn’t always be left alone.” (Camus, 57) Cottard’s isolation from society generates some inner conflicts that cause his problems with the law that then cause him to want to isolate himself from the other members of society. Thus, starting a vicious cycle. The plague allows Cottard to sort of break this cycle by forgetting the authorities and returning to a relatively normal life, in which he once again integrates himself into society. Also by reentering society in this state he realizes that the quarantine will at some point come to an end so he makes the most of his time trying to earn friends that maybe at some point will testify in his favor. Thus, his the things he does such as help the journalist are a means of making friends in this world he hasn’t been a part of in so long and preparing for the return of how things were. A third and equally important character to analyze is Tarrou, how he has persevered throughout this quarantine. Tarrou came as a simple tourist to Oran intent on only spending a short amount of time, but is ultimately caught in this horrible situation. His detailed journal of his time in Oran is what Dr. Rieux uses to help gain an objective view of the story for his narration. Tarrou is an outsider from Oran and thus provides and more critical view of the people and their situation. Also, the fact that he does not believe in God influences his opinions of social responsibility. His views seem to be very similar to that of Dr. Rieux. For example both want the help of the people to clean up Oran, but while Dr. Rieux would be willing to get anyone to do the job, Tarrou believes that only people who are truly willing to help should be allowed because otherwise they will no do the job properly. Tarrou’s personal set of morals and ideals help provide a contrast to the people of Oran. Tarrou’s physical freedom was taken away when the plague came to Oran, but his involvement in the city’s affairs, his helpful initiative, and his preservation of his ideals keeps him mentally free and above the horror that is this plague. Though the book revolves mainly around a few main characters, 3 of which have already been discussed, Dr. Rieux, Cottard and Tarrou, but they are not the only people of importance. The narrator (Dr. Rieux) frequently mentions “the people of Oran” and how they have been affected by this quarantine and how they change in the face of this confinement. The people of Oran provide a nice contrast to that of the few main characters, as they lose their individuality though this confinement as opposed to surpassing that barrier. “It might indeed be said that the first effect of this brutal visitation was to compel our townspeople to act as if they had no feelings as individuals.” (Camus, 68) Also the people of Oran as the quarantine drags on they start turning towards religion for comfort and they in essence have nothing to lose since they think they will die soon. These kinds of actions taken by the general body of Oran along with these newfound ideals of looking towards religion serve to contrast the average person with the unique character of Dr. Rieux, Cottard and Tarrou. This unique contrast that is presented serves to further depict the uniqueness of these character’s situations. They have risen above just the physical confinement and found a purpose, or changed for the better, and thus this plague has brought them spiritual freedom. This isolation and confinement has brought them a release that they did not have before. What makes these ventures and character progressions special is that it is not something that everyone does, it is something that is unique for these characters and no one else can take that away from them. Thus, freedom is mental state of being which cannot be taken away by physical confinement or isolation. If a person is about to find a purpose or find some sort of release they will be able to forget the confinement and cope. Nevertheless this is a small minority of people as can be seen by the contrasts with the general population of Oran to the main characters. Works Cited Camus, Albert, and Stuart Gilbert. The Plague. 1st American ed. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1948. Print.