Oran The Good The Bad And

Oran: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Essay, Research Paper

Oran: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Oran, peaceful and unprepared, is overcome by Bubonic plague.

Separation, isolation and indigence become the common lot of distinct characters

whose actions, thoughts and feelings constitute a dynamic story of man

imprisoned. Prior to the closing, people went about their business as usual,

almost oblivious to the plague. When Oran was shut off from the world, its

residents had to adapt to the new conditions of life. Men reacted to the

terrible visitation in different ways, according to their beliefs and characters.

I believe their reactions were based on their personality and their experience

during the plague. Each react to the circumstances of the plague in a unique way,

and emerge from the plague with his own new perspective of life and its values.

The residents of Oran are as travelers on a long, straight, boring road.

They came upon the plague as a traveler comes upon an unexpected fork in the

road. Some veer left, some right. A few are unaffected by (or unaware of) the

fork in the road, and proceed straight ahead with their lives with very little

change in habit. These persons lift themselves above the desperation and focus

their actions on the grueling responsibility of making life better for

themselves and others.

The greatest affliction the citizens of Oran suffer when visited by the

plague is not fear but the sense of separation, the loneliness of exile, the

pain of imprisonment. The plague has an affect on most everyone in Oran. Some

become better people, some worse. Grand, Rambert and Paneloux are all markedly

changed afterward. Dr. Rieux and Tarrou are virtually unaffected. Cottard

undergoes but a temporary metamorphosis.

Monsieur Cottard is a criminal hunted by the law. A silent, secretive,

plump little man, he comes to Oran to hide from prosecution. M. Cottard is

basically a man lacking in morals, drive and direction, a, ” a traveling

salesman in wines and spirits.”

He tries unsuccessfully to hang himself when life seems hopeless. Prior

to the plague, he had an aloofness and mistrusted everyone. When the plague

descends upon the city, he develops an altruistic side. He sets out to help

people. He becomes more amiable as the plague progressed through the population.

He tries to take control of his life but becomes discouraged by circumstances.

Rather than dealing with the circumstances effectively, he allows them to

dominate his life. When the plague passes, and his philanthropic efforts are

outmoded, he looses his humanitarian side and starts randomly shooting. The

plague gave him only a temporary suspension from prosecution and the plague had

only a temporary affect on his behavior. Cottard’s true self is basically

unchanged by the plague. He is the same moral-less, direction-less, undriven man

he was following the plague as he was going into the plague.

Joseph Grand is a petty official. He is not motivated by ambition, and

therefore never achieved success in life. Rieux said of Grand, “He had all the

attributes of insignificance.” In spite of his lack of success, he persists in

his search for perfection, the perfection of an insignificant aspect of life –

the first sentence of his book. His motive for writing the book seems to be his

difficulty in expressing himself, he “couldn’t find his words.” He leads a

dreary, quiet life until the plague seals off the city from the outside world.

He is odd and eccentric, but is among the first to volunteer to help with the

plague. During the plague, he does his best to assist his fellow man, doing

this out of a heartfelt responsibility. During this period of trial, he gains

an insight into his writing project and into the reasons why his marriage failed.

Grand succumbs to the plague, but recovers. Rieux sees Grand as having a weak

constitution, and believes he will therefore probably survive the plague. I

would rather believe he survives because he heard his calling in helping the

plague victims for the sake of humanity. Grand is an aging man with little to

show for his many years. He is still searching vainly for a purpose in life. The

plague gives him this purpose. He gains an understanding of his life from his

volunteer work. He emerges from the plague a better man, a man with a better

understanding of his life’s purpose.

Father Paneloux, a learned and militant Jesuit priest, interprets the

sudden plague as just punishment for the sins of the city. He lectures his

congregation on the ills of sin and exhorts his belief that they deserve this

affliction. His sermon comes from a black and white, right or wrong way of

thinking. Paneloux enrolls in the plague fighter’s battalion, and his

perception of the plague visibly changes. However, he still does not see the

plague as unjust, but rather as merely God’s will. He demands his congregation

accept and em

Внимание, отключите Adblock

Вы посетили наш сайт со включенным блокировщиком рекламы!
Ссылка для скачивания станет доступной сразу после отключения Adblock!

Скачать