What Is It That Leads The Narrator To Declare That Grand Is ‘Real Hero’ Of The Plague?
The introduction to Grand as a character describes him as having ‘all the attributes of insignificance’, yet Dr Rieux’ description is momentous in so many ways.
We see on page a great deal of wordiness when dealing with the issue in the committee meeting. I will attempt to argue that the way in which Grand faces issues and facts directly and personally is part of his appeal in comparison with other characters; He was one of those rare people, rare in our town as -elsewhere, who have the courage of their good feelings. What little he told of his personal life vouched for acts of kindness and a capacity for affection that no one in our times dares own to. Without a blush he confessed to dearly loving his nephews and sister. Also, his sense of isolation and affliction with such a shortage of relatives inevitably leads the reader to feel a great deal of empathy for him. The same could easily be said, however, for Rieux, were it not for the reassuring presence of his mother.
One can also see Grand as a character symbolizing revolt in everyday terms, his refusal to protest at the absence of a promotion, means he is forever stuck in the same position; ‘He appeared to have been put in this world in order to carry out the unobtrusive but indispensable role of a temporary municipal clerk’. Grand in that sense personifies a world without revolt, one of passive submissiveness, and which in turn is testament to what happens in Oran.
Indeed, I think we can view Grand in terms of the novel’s greater context in dealing with the French-Algerian war. In his simple and humble characterisation, it is clear Camus wishes to use Grand as a representative of the greater masses revolting against the oppressor. To explain this, we have to take onboard Camus’ upbringing. Oran as microcosm of France during the war.
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