The Plague, by Albert Camus, opens with a brief introduction by the narrator, informing us that the events about to be described occur in the 1940s in Oran, a French port in Algeria. At this time we are unsure as to the identity of the narrator, and how he knows so much about the events that transpired in Oran. I am actually really interested in who the narrator is, because he seems to know almost too much about what's going on. At first I thought it might be Doctor Rieux, but if it had been him I feel like the story would have just been told from his perspective.
From there, the story begins. A doctor Bernard Rieux exits his surgery only to encounter a dead rat. He pays it no mind, however, as he has more important things to do. What he doesn't know is that rats are dying in great numbers across the town. His sick wife is off to the countryside, where she hopes to recover. Initially I thought that that might be a way of transporting the plague out of Oran, but looking back that seems unlikely. After seeing his wife off, Rieux goes back to work. As he goes to visit his patients, the rats are frequently a topic of conversation, but he continues to ignore the problem. Now, I recognize that the title of the book may give away the plot somewhat, but it still seems like the residents of Oran are ignoring the problem to an extent. Rieux literally watches a rat vomit blood and die right in front of him and remains unconcerned. Seriously? While the typical reaction to seeing a dead rat may not be to sound the alarms and treat everyone for the plague, it seems like it took a long time for anyone to catch on!
Rieux gets a call from an old patient who asks for help, as his neighbor has just attempted to hang himself. This neighbor, Monsieur Cottard, claims that he had a crazy fit, but I feel like there must have been something that drove him to attempt suicide. It seems insensitive, but I wonder what it was (and whether or not it will be revealed later in the book). This episode didn't seem particularly essential to the plot except as a way to introduce Cottard. If Camus went to such pains to introduce him, then I feel like he must have an important role in the story - I just don't know what it is yet.
Eventually, people start dying. Rieux encounters several cases of men with high fevers, swollen limbs, and black patches. From his conversations with other doctors in the area, it's clear that he is not the only one with these issues. The press, which had been in an uproar over the rats, remains curiously silent. That seemed curious to me, but the doctors agreed that so long as each of them encountered only a few patients there would not be much to report. Finally, the doctors say what they have suspected all along - Oran has been infected with the plague. My main reaction to this little development was to wonder what took them so long! Even though the book is called The Plague, after seeing the rats die and then encountering the patients I feel like the doctors must have figured it out sooner. If they knew what was going on, why didn't they just say so? Not acknowledging the plague could have put a lot of people at risk. I'm not a doctor, though, so perhaps my judgement is unfair.
Even though the doctors have acknowledged it, officials seem reluctant to announce that the plague has come to Oran. Once the death toll hits 30 in one day, however, they (finally) get alarmed."Proclaim a state of plague stop close the town," reads the telegraph that ends part one.
