The Plague

A 1947 novel by Albert Camus in which a plague epidemic seals off Oran and tests its inhabitants’ solidarity, responsibility, and moral choices.

Epidemic: An outbreak of disease that spreads rapidly among many people in a community or region. The epidemic transforms Oran from a setting into a city under shared threat.
Absurdism: A philosophical outlook centered on the conflict between the human search for meaning and an indifferent universe. The characters act amid suffering that offers no guaranteed explanation or reward.
Albert Camus: A French-language writer and philosopher whose works include The Stranger, The Plague, and The Myth of Sisyphus. Camus’s philosophical and political concerns shape the novel’s moral conflicts.
Jean Tarrou: A visitor to Oran who organizes volunteer sanitary squads and records observations about its inhabitants. Tarrou’s chosen service gives the novel a distinct account of decency and revolt.
Quarantine: The restriction of movement for people or places exposed to contagious disease. Oran’s closure separates families and makes collective endurance unavoidable.
Resistance Literature: Writing shaped by opposition to occupation, authoritarian rule, or political oppression. The epidemic can be read as an allegory of occupation and collective resistance.
French Resistance: The networks and movements that opposed Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War. Camus’s work with the Resistance informs the novel’s imagery of occupation and defiance.
Father Paneloux: A Jesuit priest in Oran whose sermons interpret the plague as a test of faith. His changing response exposes the strain the epidemic places on religious certainty.
Rieux’s Chronicle: The account of Oran’s plague events narrated by Dr. Bernard Rieux. Rieux’s restrained record gives the outbreak its documentary form.
Solidarity: A bond of mutual support among people facing shared conditions or responsibilities. The novel treats shared action as an ethical answer to suffering.

Linked from 17 pages