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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. To whom does Rieux disclose that the apris serum is not ideally effective?

2. In what important way has the plague changed?

3. What is one result of the sealed city?

4. How is the city situated geographically?

5. Who comes with Grand to see Dr Rieux?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Dr. Rieux muse about in Part 1 Chapter 5?

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

4. What does Fr. Paneloux tell the people in his sermon at High Mass?

5. What is Dr. Rieux worried about in Chapter 2?

6. Who is Joseph Grand?

7. In what era is the story set?

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

9. In Part 2 Chapter 3, what measure is taken by the town leaders?

10. Why is Jean Tarrou important in the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

'The Plague shows us the way people deal with adversity.' People's responses to adversity are affected by their strength of character, or the lack thereof, as well as their outlook on life. Examine the popular responses to the plague situation and compare these with Dr. Rieux's.

Essay Topic 2

Choose two characters from the novel, one appealing, the other not so. Compare and contrast these two characters, referring closely to the text.

Essay Topic 3

The blurb on the cover of the Penguin Edition of The Plague (c. 1969) says that the novel 'expresses most clearly the author's basic humanitarianism'. In a detailed essay, account for this point of view.

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