Fever 1793, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a historical fiction book that depicts the tragedy of the yellow fever virus outbreak in Philadelphia. Mattie Cook, the main character, deals with a tremendous amount of death and change throughout the book. The theme of the book, that people will do the right thing even if they know that risk, is supported by the author throughout the use of repetition and similes.
One theme that arises in Fever 1793 is people will do the right thing even if they know the risk. For instance, Eliza has joined the Free African American Society and is helping fever victims because Dr. Rush incorrectly concluded that African Americans could not catch yellow fever. Now Eliza has a life or death risk that she must
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For example, Mattie thinks to herself, “It’s best for Nell. It’s best for Nell.”(183) By saying the same phrase twice, the author shows Mattie is reluctant to give Nell up. She knows, in her heart, that there is a better option for Nell but she is trying to convince herself that there is none. This illustrates that even though this seems to be the better option for Nell because there is a less risk for Mattie, she still wants Nell to have a happy life with her. When Nell is not accepted into the orphanage and Mattie decides to take care for her herself, it solidifies that theme in the book. Anderson also uses a simile to bring forth the theme. In the book, the orphan mother is described “like a carved whirligig toy with six flying arms and a hopping head.”(183)s (A whirligig toy is a toy similar to a spinning top that was common in this time period.) The significance of this is to show how chaotic and hectic the orphanage is. By describing a person like this, the author is illustrating that the orphan mother is in over her head already. If Nell were to be given to the orphanage, it would only cause her to have an unhealthy lifestyle. Then Mattie decides to care for Nell herself. Despite the obvious risk of taking care of Nell, Mattie still decides to do what is best for Nell. Mattie must now take into consideration not only her own
In the book “Fever 1793” by Laurie Halse Anderson, Philadelphia is made victim of the Yellow Fever in August of the year 1793.The book is written from the point of view of a young girl, Matilda Cook, who is the protagonist of this long journey. Having been caught on from mosquitoes, the Yellow Fever as the antagonist in the book makes Matilda, or Mattie, fighting in a conflict of Man VS Nature. As Mattie is battling the Fever and the burden of those it affects, she also goes through changes throughout the novel. From running the household errands on her own, to picking up and taking care of a poor child off the street; at only the age of fourteen, Mattie possesses several character traits that makes this point so. These traits include both
Discuss how your investigation of the generic conventions of poetry has influenced your understanding of at least one poem that you have studied in this unit.
In the novel "The Immortal Like of Henrietta Lacks", by Rebecca Skloot describes many claims and events throughout the story. One important claim that the whole excerpt supports is the lack of communication between the doctors and the patients. Firstly, the lack of communication between doctors and the patients could have been a conflict due to fear of patients denial. On page 130 paragraph 4, it states,"-he was with holding information because patients might have refused to participate in his study if they'd known what he was injecting."
The setting and plot are rather historically accurate and reflect the events of the time period. For example, a yellow fever strain hit Philadelphia in the year 1793 in August. As well as date accuracy, many of the people mentioned were alive at the time. This includes people like, Benjamin Rush, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and George Washington. References to the Free African Society are correct too. The FAS was founded in Philadelphia and actually did help victims of the yellow fever. The last historical accuracy was the hospital at Bush Hill.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines gutsy as “marked by courage, pluck, or determination; having a strong or appealing flavor ("Dictionary and Thesaurus | Merriam-Webster"). It may be common to associate this adjective with a skydiver or daredevil, but what about an eighteenth century columnist named Fanny Fern? Fanny Fern, or as her birth certificate would state, Sarah Willis Parton, lived in the mid to late 1800s and wrote famously about controversial issues that are still prevalent in the twenty first century. Fern wrote with whimsy and liveliness, making issues like gender inequality in marriage and women’s reform seem funny and lighthearted, although looking closer, we can see that (through the use of several tropes) she was anything but. With cuts such as a woman’s cult of domesticity disguised as a relatable entry about silly husbands, we can look back at Fern’s work today and admire her courage to write without compromising her beliefs, as well as her ‘guts’ and determination. Fanny Fern famously used a witty mix of sarcasm, pun, and metaphor in her eighteenth century writing to critique and challenge her highly oppressive patriarchal society.
“What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger” (p. 28). In the scientific novel Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem with Jonathan Prince, self-acclaimed “Medical Maverick” Dr. Moalem makes in-depth analyses of current human diseases that, ironically, may have led to the survival of mankind in the past. He presents a novel concept that greatly contradicts what have been universally accepted beliefs surrounding biology and the process of human evolution for a long time. With the use of myriad scientific studies and research, he formulates surprising theories about a positive correlation between disease and humanity. Moalem narrates the scientific world’s findings that strongly exemplify his assertions, however arbitrary they may seem at first. Three of the diseases that he examines, hemochromatosis, Type 1 diabetes, and favism, could have been particularly useful for resistance against other illnesses and survival in a historically harsh environment.
Survival of the Sickest is a fascinating book that explores why we need disease and how different diseases have evolved from the beginning of time. Author, Dr. Sharon Moalem goes beyond the surface and answers many questions about evolution and disease for example, “Was diabetes evolution’s response to the last Ice Age?” and many others. Dr. Moalem shares how many of the diseases that we call harmful today have actually proven to be beneficial to survival for our ancestors. This book shows how every single thing that our ancestors have done in the past from the environment they lived in to the food they ate can be seen in our genetic code. Survival of the Sickest does not solely focus on the history of disease and evolution, it shows the reader
Mothers are pictured as the care giver of the families and the ones who love their children unconditionally no matter the situation. They’ll do anything to support their family and raise their children right. In “The Queen of Mold” by Ruth Reichl, the mother in the story is pictured as the one who makes a meal almost out of nothing, just to provide and have something on the table for her family. Even though the food she cooks is moldy, this is how she demonstrates her motherly love.. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the mother is portrayed at first as an over excited mother waiting for her over achieving daughter Dee. As the story progresses the excitement for the daughter starts to go away and her motherly love towards Dee becomes complicated because Dee thinks she is greater and much smarter than the rest. Both of the stories depict complex motherhood, in Reichl story her mother’s love becomes complicated when she cooks food for the guest and her daughter tries to save the guest from being killed, while by the end of Walker story she only has love for the one daughter that has always been by her side and that’s Maggie.
She uses similes in the essay like this one to help the audience to not give up on something so easily “the man could in no way pry the tiny weasel off, and he had to walk half a mile to water, the weasel dangling from his palm, and soak him off like a stubborn label.” This simile is effective because it helps form an image
As Peter S Beagle says, “You ever want to see real witchcraft, you watch people protecting their comfort, their beliefs.” This quote is saying if you want to truly understand someone, learn about what they believe in. It all began in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The accusations toward people who were thought to be witches was on the rise. These would not be the kind of witches a person would think about in today 's world, but women and men who were put on trial for witchcraft hysteria, which in turn caused mass hysteria. Based on the excerpts from Carol Karlsen and Laurie Winn Carlson, there are two main theories about the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria. One theory about the “witches” was crafted and explained by Carol Karlsen. She believed
1. “It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.” In this quote the author is referring to the rose bush by the prison as being a symbol of the sweet moral lesson offered by Anne Hutchinson, a woman who preached to the Puritans without the male-dominated permission of the Puritan church. Like Hester Prynne, Anne was punished. She was sent to the prison. No matter how small an action is, the culture of a society can respond in rage, loathing disgust, even fear. It is behavior that is learned and passed on through religion and community. In colonial Puritan society people were socialized to be very strict and religious and to punish anyone who behaved in a way that was considered improper. Any kind of sin had an exaggerated evil in the Puritan’s eyes, especially ones regarding marriage and sex. Hester Prynne and Anne Hutchinson are both character representations of women who stood up for the rights of women to live their own lives in a strict society.
At some point in a person's life, they must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. Many of a persons early life experiences can contribute to this transition, even if it is the simplest of things. Yellow Fever hit Philadelphia hard in 1793. It also hit hard in the book Fever: 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. In this book, fourteen year-old Mattie Cook?s life gets turned upside-down when Yellow Fever strikes Philadelphia. In her adventure, Mattie must show responsibility, and experience the pain of death before she matures into an adult.
In this paper, I will dispute that in Mary Fisher 's "A Whisper of AIDS" speech, the use of pathos and ethos assists in her demand to end the ignorance, prejudice and silence surrounding HIV/AIDS. I will discuss how she replaces the "face" of AIDS with her own, allowing the conservative crowd to connect with HIV/AIDS. Fisher approaches the speech as an epidemic speech; heavily relying on ethos and pathos she created compassion and connection to an audience that usually shows disinterest and silence on the topic of HIV/AIDS. This paper will also discuss the logos within Fisher 's speech, and how she cleverly surrounds the logos of her argument with pathos and ethos. Although, Fisher has approached the speech as an epidemic, she holds a strong pervasive argument within the speech.
Fever 1793 is a historical fiction novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson that describes how Yellow Fever affected lives of everybody during the three months of sickness and panic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Life today is more straightforward than it was in 1793 because of the technology. Fever 1793 is a story about a young girl, Matilda “Mattie” Cook, who faces challenges surviving in a Yellow Fever- struck city (Philadelphia). Mattie loses her grandfather on her journey of survival and her mother is nowhere to be seen, leaving Mattie to grow up and survive her journey alone. If the story was taking place in modern times, Mattie and the rest of Philadelphia would not struggle as much as they did in the story. The modern day technology that is here today allows this generation to progress through life smoother. Today’s technology would have a significant, positive impact on the community during 1793. If the people of Philadelphia had the knowledge of symptoms and treatments of Yellow Fever, they would have known for sure if the fever was occurring in the beginning and they would have also known how the fever was to
Unlike animals, humans are able to observe past the mere monochromatic vision of survival. We have an impeccable ability to desire more than just living to breed, and breeding only to someday perish. Thus, we gradually brush this canvas with the colours of ethics, control, and knowledge. Whether the colours fade or become prominent through time, this canvas becomes our perception of normality and we allow it to justify our actions; favorable or harmful. We, as well as the narrator in the short story The Hunt by Josephine Donovan represent this. However, because of the narrator’s difference in perception, self-indulgence, and greed for power, the story introduces a feeling of infuriation to the reader.