The Plague | Quotes

The man who spits on cats is a character who illustrates the absurd because his action has no greater meaning, yet he takes delight in it. When one is able to find joy in the moment, the meaningless of life is less painful.

This line, which appears toward the beginning of the novel, foreshadows the end of the novel, when the narrator reveals his reason for writing is so people will not forget what happened. The inevitable surprise suggests a kind of collective denial in facing death.

The narrator explains why people, and especially the authorities of Oran, don't take the plague seriously for a long time. As long as they don't see the faces of the dead, they are not personally touched by their deaths.

Tarrou disdains the reaction of the government to the plague, saying that what is needed is imagination, not orders, to solve the problem. Tarrou's imaginative approach includes forming volunteer teams to fight the plague. His focus on using imagination, instead of simply experiencing the plague, is part of Camus's sense that more than one's present experience is significant.

As the narrator explains how people reacted to the suffering of the plague, he notes how they began to feel isolated from one another, despite the fact that they were enduring a similar problem. The suffering of the plague takes away something important from the people: the ability to step outside their present moment through thought, memory, and imagination.

The sky—the weather—weaves in and out of the story as a reminder of the indifference of the universe to human suffering. Nonetheless, the people continue to look to the weather for acknowledgement of their suffering, a meaningless act.

Grand, speaking of why his wife left him after years of marriage, expresses the difficulty he has with finding the right words—a difficulty that breeds isolation and continues to haunt him throughout the book. The inability to communicate through language translates into the inability to connect with humanity.

The idea that suffering and death are what all humans have in common is an important refrain in the book. This commonality defies imposed perceived differences such as race, class, or gender that people use to isolate themselves from one another.

Dr. Rieux says this in reply to a longer conversation with Rambert about having to choose between happiness with a loved one and working to fight the plague. Throughout the book, Dr. Rieux mulls over why he helps people. Readers don't get to find out what he decides until the final chapter of the book.

This simple statement that there are more admirable than despicable things about men is a positive and hopeful closing message. It supports the theme that acting admirably in the face of inevitable suffering is a noble aspect of the human condition.