The plague, though not unfamiliar to most in a historical sense, is brought about in a much more personal light in Albert Camus" The Plague. Through narration by Dr. Rieux, we watch the personal growth of a character trapped in a town where reality has been sacrificed for survival. But because of his self-sacrifice, determination, dedication to his patients and to all citizens in the town, and through the shared experiences of his friends, we see that Rieux has become a stronger, more understanding, and compassionate man.
Throughout this novel, we watch Rieux continuously care for the sick and struggle to stay strong for those who look to him for help and comfort. He is in many ways the anchor of the novel, a center point, not only because of his position as the narrator, but because of his continued support of all the other characters. Toward the end of this epidemic, though, we see Rieux start to question what has come of his efforts while he has survived and so many have not. Looking at his efforts to fight off the plague as a personal, as well as internal, "conflict", he states that perhaps what he has won is "the experience of having known the plague and remembering it, of having known friendship and remembering it, of knowing affection and being destined one day to remember it." He goes on to summarize that all that could be won from this conflict was "knowledge and memories", and through his experiences we see that these are valuable life-long lessons worth the sacrifice (291).
The first prize Rieux mentions is "having known the plague and remembering it" (291). While it may not be obvious at first that this is in fact a benefit, Father Paneloux's experience with the death of a young boy, as drastic as it was, created a more educated member of the church. While in the beginning Father Paneloux preached that the plague "came from God for the punishment of their sins", he later pleads "my God, spare this child" (99, 217).