The Plague
The PlagueThe Plague
In “The Plague”, Albert Camus creates many characters who all deal with the plague in their own way, but only Tarrou acts heroically. Rieux comes close to a hero, but he fights the plague because it’s expected of him and shows that he is not, at the end of the book. Besides Rieux and Tarrou, none of the other characters show any heroism to the plague, except the sanitation squad under Tarrou. Tarrou shows how to heroically deal with death. For these reasons, only Tarrou can be considered a hero.
All the characters except Rieux and Tarrou can’t be considered heroes. Paneloux believes in sainthood and God, but he does not help to the plague. Rambert chooses to run from the problem rather than face it. McCarthy also denies his basic job as a reporter by not recording anything; a job that Rieux and Tarrou take over. Cottard embraces the plague, and tries to profit from it. The rest of the people either waste their time, waiting for the end or join the sanitation squad, under Tarrou. Nobody takes a stand and resists death except Rieux and Tarrou.
Rieux and Tarrou do seem to show the same level of heroism. Both resist the plague and both record the events of Oran. Rieux fights the plague only because he sees it as his duty. More probably could of happened but he was a doctor. He views the plague as “a never-ending defeat.” Tarrou acts to gain sainthood. Paneloux might also be considered a hero for this reason, but he doesn’t fight the plague as Tarrou does. Tarrou also sacrifices his life, and pays more for his heroism than Rieux. By the end of the book Rieux is still a doctor and Tarrou has died and made sainthood. Tarrou accomplishes his goal, but Rieux hasn’t been able to cure everyone of the plague. Paneloux, for all his religious beliefs, chooses not to fight the plague and misses out on sainthood. Rieux doesn’t fight the plague not because he hates death but because he’s a doctor.
Camus probably set Tarrou up to be a hero in the plague. He’s the only hero because nobody except Rieux comes close to fighting the plague, and Rieux only acts as a doctor. He’s a saint because he resists death and fate and gets to sainthood. He’s a hero because he shows the right ways on how to deal with death.