The Plague's Timeline in Camus' The Plague: A Year in Oran

Albert Camus' 1947 novel The Plague chronicles a fictional bubonic plague outbreak in the Algerian city of Oran. The narrative unfolds over a precise one-year cycle:

• Onset: Early April—first dead rats, then human cases.
• Escalation: Spring into summer, with the death toll peaking in June.
• Decline: Autumn brings decreasing cases as temperatures drop.
• Resolution: Early April the following year—the city gates reopen.

Camus uses this timeline not just as historical fiction but as an allegory for the Nazi occupation of France and, more broadly, the human confrontation with absurdity and collective suffering. The seasonal arc mirrors the emotional trajectory of the characters—from denial and fear to solidarity and fragile hope.