1. The contrast between Cottard and the other characters is that while everyone is constantly afraid of catching the plague and doing everything they can to fight the disease, Cottard is happy about the fact that the plague has put an end to the police investigation into his mysterious. crime . Cottard probably also enjoys the camaraderie of everyone else who finally finds themselves in the same situation as him.2. The symbolic significance of the opera scene is the parallel with the situation in which the people of Oran find themselves. The same opera has been performed for several months, but no one seems to care. The first act proceeds as usual, but in the second act Orpheus gets a little creative by begging Hades to let his wife come back to life, complete with jerky movements and strange noises. Finally, in the third act, Orpheus staggers and ends up collapsing, victim of the plague. Like the opera scene, the plague follows a similar storyline: when the rats appear at the beginning, even after being there for a while, no one seems to care. At the start of the plague, things seem to be business as usual. After a while, the citizens of Oran begin to worry and everyone begins to feel the pain of exile and separation. Death follows and begins to take victims of the plague.3. After Rambert talks with Marcel and Louis' mother, who tells him that he has nothing else to live for than this woman in Paris, he decides not to join his wife probably because he wonders what what she really means to him. He goes to the hospital. Instead of trying to escape, once there, Rambert admits to Rieux that he would be ashamed if he left the city. Rambart has matured a little and now he realizes and understands that h...... middle of paper ......tem who have the "monopoly" on the death penalty. This is why the plague in Oran taught him nothing new. All he knows is that they have to fight this. Tarrou claims that he remains modest and incapable of judging anyone. He believes that there are afflictions and victims, and that it is our duty to divert attention from the amalgamation of calamities.10. Camus includes the swimming scene to bring some humanity, normality and common sense to the novel. Consider it a personal day. They simply take a break from their incessant work to swim in the ocean, hang out, and get rid of their worries, if only for a moment.11. Just when everyone is convinced he is going to die, Grand miraculously recovers. The fact that Grand was spared from the plague is a sign of hope. His recovery marks a reversal of trend for all those affected by the plague..