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Character development in the Plague

the.believer's picture
Submitted by the.believer on Sun, 04/10/2011 - 3:11pm

 The beauty of the Plague is that it creeps up on you in a slow and infectious way. What starts off as just an ordinary, insignificant town can turn into a story that is retold over and over again for years to come. The characters in the Plague show a slow but gradual character development (in contrast to Generosity) that makes sense. The doctor begins as a normal everyday doctor caring for his patients but as the story progresses, the doctor becomes immune to the suffering of his patients. The energetic Rampert desperate to leave the town to return to his love ultimately decides to stay behind with the suffering. Camus builds this gradual character development that pulls me deeper into the story line. After following the flat, static characters from Generosity, the characters in Camus's story feels more real and relatable. Well done, Camus!  

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Poppyflower's picture

I somewhat agree with the

Submitted by Poppyflower on Tue, 04/19/2011 - 10:58am.

I somewhat agree with the statement that the doctor in "The Plague," changes. While I do think that the book in general displayed a stronger plot and character development than "Generosity," I do not think that, focusing on the singular character of the doctor, that he changes very much, despite his drastically changing environment. The only concern he seems to display throughout the entire novel is at the beginning when he is worried about his ailing wife. However, when plague symptoms keep continuing and becoming more prevalent, he only seems to think it is curious, although he does not seem to have any sort of strong or defining emotion towards his patients. So while he does detach himself as the novel continues, his initial level of attachment or emotion is questionable.

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