reveal his identity at the end of the novel) (Camus,4), one can
believe that Albert’s choice in not naming his character was to avoid biasness. As the reader progresses through the story, we are introduced to many different characters ; Dr Rieux himself for example. A honest and upright man with many good values. Dr
Rieux, who was the main character and protagonist of the story portrayed a kind/human friendly kind of character. As we read
from the story, “his professional struggle against death—the
doctor’s testimonial stance is, of necessity, at once one of
resistance (to the Plague) and one of preservation (of life, as
well as its memory): in much the sameway the physician wishes to
preserve life, the historian in Rieux wishes to preserve
events.” (Camus, 112) From this excerpt, Dr.Rieux in a way, has
the role of the town hero/saviour. Him along with Dr.Castel are
among the few characters not to suffer negatively from this
crisis and thanks to this, they avoid our critique of them
suffering from moral degeneration, but more precisely gain the
title of trying to prevent the moral decline of their community.
As we progress through the story, we are acquainted with the
presence of father Paneloux. Now father Paneloux is an
interesting character due to his view on the plague. Mr.
Paneloux viewing the plague as a judgement call thinks that
those who are hit by the terrible illness deserve to have it and
that it is in a way divine punishment for their sins (Lund,148).
Interestingly, Camus uses Paneloux as a figure of power.
Religion at this time(post world war 2 era) was still very
powerful. At this time, where the citizens of Oran were subject
to believe many bogus theories, father Paneloux took this
opportunity to inflict moral degeneration among his followers.
Encouraging anti-humanistic thoughts, father Paneloux did not in
any way contribute to the progress of their community. Now we
can compare this figure to many of our religious structures
today, being corrupted (NOT ALL OF THEM). As Giulina Lund tells
us in her article, “Of course, when referring literally to
disease, it is imperative to recognize that individuals are not
to blame for their illnesses; even in those cases when
behavioral modification might prevent infection, bacteria are
not agents of divine punishment, nor are symptoms the stigmata
of sin.” (147) We can deduct that father Paneloux was completely
wrong with his theory/attitude towards plague and he contributed
to the decline of the small town of Oran.
Proceeding along of the lines of the novel, we later meet
Raymond Rambert. Rambert, a French journalist temporarily
residing in Oran finds himself stuck in the quarantined village.
Although Raymond Rambert does not