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Tarrou: The Plague's Only Hero - Online Term Paper

Tarrou: The Plague's Only Hero

In "The Plague", Albert Camus pits humanity against an unstoppable
force of nature: the bubonic plague. He creates a variety of 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 indifference at the end of the book.
Besides Rieux and Tarrou, none of the other characters show any heroism or
resistance to the plague, except the sanitation squad under Tarrou.
Through Tarrou alone, Camus asks the reader how to heroically deal with
death. Tarrou also provides an example of heroes who get crushed by fate
for defiance. For these reasons, only Tarrou can be ...

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interprets
as a parody of Rieux's inability to explain the plague (109-10). Cottard
wholeheartedly embraces the plague, revels in it, and attempts to profit
from it. The rest of the people either waste their time, waiting for the
end (the old man spitting on the cats, the bean-counter, etc.) 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, both are symbolically cleansed in the river, and both
record the events of Oran. Brée thinks that for Rieux "morality is first
of all a question of curing people (150)." Rieux fights the plague only
because he sees it as his duty, and one has to wonder if he would have done
anything if he wasn't a doctor. He views the plague as "a never-ending
defeat." Tarrou acts for a more noble purpose: to gain sainthood.
(Paneloux might also be considered a hero for this reason, but he doesn't
fight the plague ...

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Tarrou: The Plague's Only Hero. (2006, December 15). Retrieved January 13, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Tarrou-The-Plagues-Only-Hero/57183

"Tarrou: The Plague's Only Hero." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 15 Dec. 2006. Web. 13 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Tarrou-The-Plagues-Only-Hero/57183>

"Tarrou: The Plague's Only Hero." Essayworld.com. December 15, 2006. Accessed January 13, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Tarrou-The-Plagues-Only-Hero/57183.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/15/2006 10:47:35 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Free Paper
Words: 785
Pages: 3

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