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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. How do the people of Oran react to the sermon at High Mass?

2. After the sermon, what happens in the town?

3. What interesting character enters the novel at this point?

4. What is Tarrou's response to the ideas in the High Mass sermon?

5. Where do notices about the disease appear?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Who is Raymond Rambert?

3. How does the heatwave further discourage the citizens of Oran?

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

5. What does Tarrou record about M. Othon?

6. Why is Cottard questioned by the police?

7. What is the main function of the city of Oran?

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

9. Who is Joseph Grand?

10. Who is Jean Tarrou?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Imagine that you are a member of a school board. Some of the board members wish to remove The Plague by Albert Camus from the school district's reading program as they claim it is too depressing for students and is, furthermore, anti-Christian. Compose the speech you will deliver to defend teaching the novel. What does it contain that is of value to American students?

Essay Topic 3

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

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This section contains 647 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample