If you thought hope was lost before, not it’s really gone.

In this section of the novel the narrator talks about how the people of the town cease to care about anything that had previously interested them – income, clothes, social class differentiation. He says that the plague is the ultimate equalizer, for everyone is in the same desperate circumstances as a result of its wrath. The plague does not discriminate, it affects everyone equally. The narrator describes how the town has “lost every trace of a critical spirit, while gaining an air of sang-froid” (183). The plague has crushed all hope the town had: “Without memories, without hope, they lived for the moment only” (182). The town is populated by an unseeing, listless population. One so thoroughly hopeless and “dominated by the plague that sometimes the one thing they aspired to was the long sleep it brought, and they caught themselves thinking: ‘A good thing if I get the plague and have done with it!’” (183).  Getting the plague, as this quote describes, has become an inevitability. No one bothers to try and protect themselves from it anymore, they have accepted the reality that it is a cruel, unstoppable force of nature, and that all efforts to resist are futile. “The plague had gradually killed off in all of us the faculty not of love only but even friendship” (182), as everyone has lost hope and accepts that the plague will eventually catch them. They no longer even bother with holding on to loves that had been shattered by the plague, or even friendships – by accepting their inevitable death they accept a life comprised only with a waiting for the peace death brings. 

Repetition

Throughout the novel thus far the author repeatedly fixated over the effect the plague is having on the town. I wouldn’t mind this, except for the fact that the reflections are always the same; everyone feels trapped by the plague and misses their loved one. It seems, since about page 100, that the author has run out of things to say so he keeps repeating himself. The action that drove the plot forward was the town’s contraction of the plague and the main character’s reactions to it.  Rieux stepped “up to the plate” and worked overtime trying to save as many people as possible. Rambert tried to escape but eventually came around and Tarrou, previously seen as contemplative and introverted started the sanitation squads. However, since these actions the progression of the novel appears to have come to a grinding halt. The narrator switches between describing things that the original author (because this is a translation) observed and a string of details about the plague’s effect on the town. These details are always the same; people feel hopeless and the ones separated from their loved ones are falling into despair.  A gradual progression can be seen as the town slowly drifts more and more into hopelessness as the plague continues to run its course – however, listening to the author detail this gradual progression over a span of 200 pages to me is the equivalent of watching paint dry. 

The Symbolic Burials: CRISTINA VALENCIA

In this chapter, author, Albert Camus more greatly focuses on the method of burial.  Due to the high number of deaths, the dead in the town of Oran are stripped of their right to a proper burial. All the victims are now thrown into mass graves; and when there is no longer space in the cemetery, they are cremated. This process of burial leaves the victims and their families with no proper method of identification.

            This burial although seemingly insignificant identifies all the individuals in the town of Oran as one.  The burial creates a unity between all the individuals in Oran.  Before, even the dead, depending on their social class received different burials: some a big plaque and larger area where their tombstone lays. Now, however, it is all the same. All individuals are receiving the same treatment and because of the new burial system, all individuals are looking at themselves as the same person.

            The burial is symbolic because it is the one element that is uniting the people of Oran. Because of this, the community begins to see themselves as a “true community” united through an important experience. Though, this chapter is the beginning of the unification of the town people of Oran, I believe that it is setting the stepping-stones for an ultimate change in setting. As of now, I am convinced that many things are going to change. Possibly, foreshadowing the conclusion of this horrid disease. 

A Newfound Unity: CRISTINA VALENCIA

By mid-August, the individuals in the town of Oran begin to view the plague as a collective disaster. Author, Albert Camus, describes the plague to deliver “impartial justice” because the victims hold all social standings. As I keep reading Chapter 18, I realize that there is an ultimate shift in the character of the people of Oran- they are beginning to share in their agony.

            The people of Oran, before this chapter, all suffered the effects of the plague. However, they suffered it privately. No one spoke of their anguish, though they had not left the walls of Oran, they still barely spoke to one another- they did not act like a community.

            Now, however, they are all sharing in their distress. I believe this is because they are recognizing that that in order to the fix this “plague” they must work as a team. The individuals in Oran have endured this bubonic plague and are now ready to conquer the consequences. I believe the citizens were able to identify the problem (their separation) because after a while, when their imagination stopped providing them with means to fill their idle time, they were finally able to acknowledge their “collective plight”. Another thing that helped them cope through this realization was when the they realized their plight is being suffered by all people- not just one social class; everyone is “equally condemned” because the plague is suffered by people through all walks of life. 

If i was in Oran...

If I was in this horrid situation in Oran, I think I would simply go mad. The monotony of the lifestyle, with only one true concern, am I going to get the plague today or no? This kind of helplessness Is the feelings I think Albert Camus has as he is writing this. He s unable to talk any sense into the people around him, unable to give hope to anyone as millions and millions of people die unnecessarily. The cruelty of the Plague itself I think demonstrates the destruction of war. Not only does it physically kill people, but it plays with the mind. Things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are ways that death play with the mind. Though that specifically is not what effects the characters of the novel, they are all mentally changed by the plague.

Trapped

Expanding on Cristina's point, I would like to say that I feel the same way. Unlike the stranger that had a more interesting development to the story and moved at a quicker pace, this novel seems to be dragging on forever, with nothing ever even happening. No only is exciting happening but all the characters seem to be in a progressive depressing spiral that leads no where. Everyone is dying and things at all happens. This contrast between The Stranger and The Plague seems to be due to a change in Albert Camus's perception on the world due to World War II (Thanks Shap). In the Plague I feel as if Albert could be sort of comparing the struggles of humans against each other, with the plague. This horrible disease that kills everyone without discrimination is like this inner flame in humans that has lead us though 2 World Wars and killed millions upon millions of young men. Also the depressed and hopeless state of characters such as Dr. Rieux represents how he feels about the state of affairs in the world during his life time.

A Better Understanding of the Views of the Author: CRISTINA VALENCIA

As I read what I believe to be a monotonous novel, I begin thinking more about the authors motives. This video, though unrelated to "The Plague" itself, gives readers a better insight into the thoughts behind the written words of Albert Camus.