The Plague

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1. The contrast between Cottard and the other characters is that while everyone else is in constant fear of catching the plague and doing everything they can to fight the disease, Cottard is cheerful in the fact that the plague has put a stop to the police investigating his mysterious crime . Cottard probably also enjoys the camaraderie of everyone else finally being in the same position as he is.
2. The symbolic significance of the scene at the opera is the parallel of the situation that the citizens of Oran find themselves in.
The same opera has been playing for several months, but no one seems to care. The first act goes down as usual, in the second act, however, Orpheus gets a little creative while begging Hades to let his wife come back to life, with jerky movements and odd noises. Finally, in the third act Orpheus staggers about and finally collapses, a victim of the plague.
Like the opera scene, the plague follows a similar storyline;
When the rats show up in the beginning, even after they have been around for a while, no one seems to care. In the early stages of the plague things seem to go down as usual, After sometime, the citizens of Oran start to get anxious and everyone begins to feel the sting of exile and separation. Death ensues and begins claiming victims of the plague.
3. After Rambert talks with Marcel and Louis’s mother, who tells him he doesn’t have anything to live for besides this woman in Paris, he decided against joining his wife probably due to questioning what she really means to him. He goes to the hospital Instead of trying to escape, when he gets there, Rambert confesses to Rieux that he would feel ashamed if he left the town. Rambart has matured a little and now realizes, and understands that h...

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...tem who have a "monopoly" on the death penalty.
This is why the plague in Oran has taught him nothing new. All he knows is that they have to fight against it. Tarrou states that he is still in fact modest and not qualified to judge anyone. He believes there are afflictions, and there are victims, and it’s our job to divert from amalgamating the calamity.
10. Camus includes the swimming scene to bring a bit of humanity, normalcy and sanity to the novel. Just think of this as a personal day. They are simply taking a break from their never-ceasing work to swim in the ocean, hang out and throw their cares away, if only for a moment.
11. Just when everyone is convinced that he will die, Grand makes a miraculous recovery. Grand's being spared from death by the plague is a sign of hope. His recovery marks the turning of the tide for everyone affected by the plague.

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