The Plague
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In The Plague, Albert Camus inflicts the plague of the title on a group of people in the town of Oran, and this infestation becomes an event that tests the mettle of different people and shows how they survive under this sort of pressure. The plague is a life or death matter, and its presence forces the people of the town to face not only their fears for themselves but their willingness to help others. The plague becomes another instance in Camus's work showing the indifference of the universe toward man's existence, and in this way Camus emphasizes the absurd nature of human life, which is ultimately deemed pointless because it ends in death. How people live becomes a measure of the value of their existence, and this is the issue to be considered with reference to Dr. Rieux. He failed to take sufficient action to prevent Cottard from engaging in criminal activities during the state of emergency. Had Rieux used his influence and his contacts in the hierarchy of the city, the argument goes, he could have had Cottard punished, which would have meant Cottard would be working on the sanitary squads. This might be detrimental to Cottard's health, but it would have protected others from Cottard's criminal activities. Camus shows in The Plague how a number of the characters demonstrate that they are either on the side of grace or the side of the law according to how they respond to the emergency situation. The division is not a clear one and does not break down strictly on
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an ironic reality--while he has sought his own death by suicide, he abandons that effort in the face of the random death inflicted by the plague. He is also willing to watch others die from the disease the plague entails. Cottard does not revolt against the plague as do others, though he does submit to the request of Tarrou that he not spread the germs causing the plague. Cottard is clearly beset by some sort of anguish which pushes him toward suicide, and this anguish is reduced as he interacts with the town during the plague before it returns as the strength of the plague lessens. Cottard's personal sense of life seems tied to the plague in an inverse way.
The issue, though, is how Dr. Rieux reacts to Cottard and why he allows Cottard to remain at large. If Rieux did use his influence and have Cottard punished and forced to work on the sanitary squads, he (Dr. Rieux) would be taking command over Cottard and preventing him from making his own choices. He dose not do this, and indeed Cottard continues to make his own decisions (to the degree anyone has freedom of choice), including the choice at one point to work on those same sanitary squads because he comes to see himself as being just like the other people in town. Cott
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Approximate Word count = 1682
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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