Life is certainly not over-flowing with health and vigor in The Plague , and perhaps the most tragic innocent victim of the disease is Tarrou who eventually develops a close relationship with Rieux. Robert DeLuppe discusses the first steps of absurd freedom as well as Camus ethic of living a life of passion in some detail. The enjoyment of the immediate present. The enjoyment of a succession of moments. The abandonment of distinctions.
Quantity replaces quality.
But regardless of whether it was intended to represent a mysterious disease that attacks and kills humans or an analogy depicting humans who attack and kill other humans, the end result is the same. We are all faced with death, one way or another, and The Plague is a reminder of that absurd fact. While facing the horrors of death, the characters in The Plague do an excellent job of bringing that philosophical point to life.