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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. This chapter focuses on which character in the novel?

2. What does Grand reveal?

3. What is M. Grand's job?

4. Why don't all sufferers have hospital treatment?

5. How does Rieux caution Tarrou?

Short Essay Questions

1. Which character is very persistent in Part 2 Chapter 5?

2. How does the relationship between Dr. Rieux and M. Grand develop?

3. Who is Jean Tarrou?

4. Why is Cottard questioned by the police?

5. Why is news of the plague kept from the people?

6. What literary device does Camus use in Chapter 5 to accentuate meaning?

7. Why have telegrams become the main means of contact ordinary people now have with the outside world?

8. What is one result of the sudden closing of the city gates?

9. How do people react to Fr. Paneloux's sermon?

10. What does M. Grand reveal in Part 2 Chapter 4?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Plague contains few female characters, yet while they might be 'off stage' women are important to the men who are the novel's main characters. In an essay, show how the minds and actions of Rieux, Rambert and Grand are influenced by the women they love.

Essay Topic 2

Usually in a novel there is a network of conflict between characters. While some of this happens in The Plague (think of Rambert's efforts to escape the city), it is minimal. What is the source of conflict in The Plague? Is it internal, external or a combination? How does this conflict arise and how is it worked out?

Essay Topic 3

Identify the sub-plots in The Plague. These concern the stories of certain characters. In an essay, show how the stories of characters compel us to be interested in the main plot--the struggle against the antagonist, which is the plague itself.

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