the death number continued to rise, a telegram was sent from the Prefect that read, Proclaim a state of plague stop close town. (page 61) Even though this was the only means to be taken by the authorities, it shows that the people are giving up the battle against the plague and they are trying to fence in the disease and the people. One could read into this that the authorities have decided to sacrifice the unlucky people of Oran. This state of emergency symbolizes that a few deaths really do not matter in the over-all scheme of things.[T]he townspeople paraded the brilliantly lighted streets in boisterous groups, laughing and singing. (page 253) The people not giving up and returning to their regular lives symbolizes how even though they have gone through months of torture, the plague is over.The symbolism throughout this novel depicts all of the stages the plague went through before life in Oran could return to normal.I did not have to read far into this novel, before Camuss imagery had painted a vivid picture of Oran in my mind. In the second paragraph a few sentences describe the feel of the dark, dead city. It almost led me to believe the town was asking for an epidemic of the plague by the way it let all of the seasons pass it by.The town itself is ugly, gives me the image of an old town with colonial style buildings packed along streets so tight that there is not room for a diseased rat to filter between them in search of food. When seeing Oran, I do not see a greasy, cluttered town, but I see a dried-up-town that has a layer of undisturbed dust form the lack of wind through the town.Camus described the town as a town without pigeons, without any pigeons, without any trees or gardens. This expresses that there are not enough rays of sunlight or breezes of fresh air for anyone that does not have to stay to keep them happy. The pigeons have chosen to leave this desolate town in search of greener grass. The idea of no ...
