Is The Plague by Albert Camus based on a true story?
The novel is set in 1940 but is loosely based on a cholera epidemic in 1849, after the French colonisation of Algeria. Albert Camus said the novel could be read on several levels and was also an allegory of the French resistance to the pestilence of Nazism and the German occupation during the second world war.
Who is Jean tarrou?
Jean Tarrou is the author of the account that Dr. Rieux uses to give greater texture to his chronicle of the plague. Tarrou is vacationing in Oran when the epidemic requires a total quarantine of the city. As an outsider, his observations on Oran society are more objective than those of a citizen of the city.
Who originally published The Plague?
Camus used as source material the cholera epidemic that killed a large proportion of Oran’s population in 1849, but situated the novel in the 1940s….The Plague (novel)
| Cover of the first edition | |
|---|---|
| Author | Albert Camus |
| Set in | Oran, French Algeria |
| Published | 1947 (Gallimard, French) 1948 (Hamish Hamilton, English) |
What crime did cottard commit?
smuggling business
Cottard also runs a profitable smuggling business during the epidemic. When the plague retreats he goes mad and is arrested for firing a gun at passersby in the street.
What is Tarrou struggling for?
Jean Tarrou had devoted his life to fighting against the death penalty. He considers his own ability to mobilize people and to organize them to fight evil as his greatest asset.
Why is grand a hero in the plague?
In Albert Camus’, The Plague, Joseph Grand is identified as a hero because he brings salvation to the society of Oran. Joseph Grand’s authenticity and heroism are manifested through relieving suffering, sacrifice, and devoting his life to work.
How does Dr. Rieux deal with the plague?
He remains in Oran to fight the plague with all his talent and strength. There is nothing heroic about his actions. He fights death and disease because he has been trained to and because he conceives of his life having value only when he is continuing to help others combat death and achieve health.
What lesson is implied in the story the plague?
Back to Albert Camus’ book, La Peste, and the lessons we can learn from it: we can see that the writer encouraged us to accept our human condition, i.e. our mortality, instead of running away from it through fear and distraction. To accept our smallness and to embrace our role on this planet with more modesty.