The Plague Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 3: Chapter 1 Summary

Part 3: Chapter 1 Summary

People have lost all sense of individuality; they think only in terms of the collective interest. The sense of exile and deprivation dominates everything else. The disease, which had been concentrated in the poorer parts of town, now moves to the center of the city. Looting begins to be widespread; martial law is declared and a curfew imposed

Funerals take place with few formalities. Since the family is usually quarantined, they cannot come, and speed has become extremely important because of the numbers that are dying and being buried. What formalities there are take place at the hospital. In cases where the corpse is accompanied by a family member or members, a priest meets them at the cemetery. The priest is already saying prayers as the coffin is removed from the vehicle and carried to one of a series of open graves and deposited. Before the holy water has been...
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