Symbolism In Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever 1793

When people first start reading a book there is one burning question: "What is this story about?" It’s a heavy question, especially for a fiction novel with so many fabricated details. You can fix this by saying a story is all about decisions. Of course, there are other themes, but the entire story is connected by the questions characters ask themselves and the outcome of their own answers. We can think about how this mimics real life. How every day we are forced to consider life's chance situations; some casual, some pressing, but all of them impacting our final growth as people and those around us to some degree. A good example of this is when in the book "The Outsiders", our protagonist Jonny decided to kill Bob in self-defense, this resulted in Jonny and Ponyboy going on the run. The decisions, the choices, that were made by Jonny change the course of his and his cohort's entire lives in an instant--directing the whole final tale and story outcome.

The stereotypes of the elderly are influencing Mattie's life. She is telling herself not to do things because of her age whether or not she is physically able to do them, simply because people associate age with inability and dependence upon others. Her family and friends are expecting and encouraging this dependence.

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.

People change and grow through their experiences and conflicts. For example, just 2 years ago I was a sixth grader. There was a lot more homework than I ever had in my non-accelerated / magnet elementary school. I had to work harder and for longer hours, but as a result, I was much more mature and knowledgeable. I improved my work habits and increased my concentration. In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “First Love”, a 14 year old girl is in love with a high school senior. She does everything she can to try to see him more often. At the end, she thinks she learns the true meaning of love. In Richard Wright’s “The Street”, a boy has to go shopping for food, but he is constantly stopped by a gang who beats him up. At the end, he beats up the gang with a stick his mother gave him because he had to to return home. In both “The Street” by Richard Wright and “First Love” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the characters start out as shy and naive, but end up as aware and wiser as a result of their respective conflicts.

Laurie Halse Anderson’s historical fiction novel , Fever 1793, takes place in Philadelphia. Mattie goes throughout the city wondering where everyone is after yellow fever has spread. Then she finds a little girl that will help her with walking around and trying to stay calm. By using emotions and character development, Anderson creates the lesson that when you have someone special in your life, you should never take them for granted.

In the book Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson the character, Matilda Cook, who is also known as Mattie, is a fourteen-year-old girl, who lives with her family above a coffeehouse in Philadelphia. Her family consist of her mom, grandfather, a parrot named King George, and her orange cat named Silas. She goes through an emotional journey because she had to handle lots of things on her own, and deal with situations she has never thought would come upon her. However, at the same time she goes through a physical journey because the way she acts and thinks changes throughout the story. Also, she loses the stubbornness that she had at the beginning of the novel and gained maturity throughout her journey.

Mattie is a determined young girl, but also a little naïve which makes her unintentionally funny. She shoes that she is very determined in her beliefs and decisions. One example of this is when she is talking to LaBoeuf about the journey and that he is not to come along with Rooster and her. She shoes that she is naïve when she is faced with ordinary situations. One example of this is in the book (Pg. 18-19) when she says “At the city police station we found two officers but they were having a fist fight and where not available for inquiries.” This shows that she is very determined yet still naïve.

In the era of the 1790’s many people were devastated by many diseases such as yellow fever. Not having the scientific advancements we have today, many unfortunate families went through a lot of hardships to survive during such difficult times including Matilda's family. Matilda’s life, which is the main character, is a perfect example of what many people had to go through during the yellow fever epidemic. Matilda had to learn how to thrive during painful experiences such as the sickness of her mother, the death of her friend Polly, the murder of her grandfather, and she also learn how to recover from devastating circumstances.

A common technique used by authors throughout literature is the growth of the main character into their own. From the maturation of a selfish soul into a triumphant hero, or the rise of a shunned underdog into a loved champion, authors have create situations for their characters that teach readers a significant life lesson about the world we live in. For example, John Updike’s Sammy from A&P and Flannery O’Connor’s Grandmother from A Good Man is Hard to Find both receive wake up calls from the respective antagonists of their stories. They are put in high-stress situations where their morals and beliefs are pushed to the limit. Both O’Connor and Updike utilized the high-stress situations to make the reader question their own beliefs; therefore, causing the readers to empathize with the main characters. Sammy and the Grandmother experience unique situations that force them to question their way of thinking; however, those lessons are not restricted to them, but also lessons everyone has to learn.

When reading a novel, readers are typically more engaged in novels that capitalize on literary elements. In the art of writing novels, many authors, knowingly, capitalize one dynamic aspect of literature known as point of view. Having a change in the point of view forces the reader to pay closer attention to the words being read and, as a result, they more fully immerse themselves in the story. Using a changing point of view also allows for the development of complex characters. Developing complex characters is crucial to the formation of an engaging story.

This book is a diary written by a young girl named Caroline Cowles Richards. Carolina tells the reader about her life. How at a early age her and her sister Anna, lost their mother, were sent to their grandparents house in canandaigua, New York. They were brought up with simplicity, sweetness and Puritan traditions. The diary begins in 1852, and is continued until 1872. She recalls swift transitions throughout her life that the reader can recall events happening in a history book. The majority of the diary takes place well before the civil war begins, and it is fascinating to see what the daily

recognize these aspects of a story is a way to give more depth to it, making the story

This literature bridging text and context, helped me understand that every author when he writes a story he puts in it details that relate to his life. Behind every story there is a life, the life of the author who wrote it.

What would happen if a deadly fever passes through your city killing your friend and getting your grandpa sick.How will Matilda deal with all this loss This sets the mood for this story .Even thouugh people may say that you can’t tell the mood and the setting of this

On Mattie’s quest for vengeance many people try to take advantage of her due to her age and her sex. When Mattie goes to obtain the horses that her father had purchased before his death she was able to negotiate with the man selling them to her tried to overprice them back down to the original price. “You are powerful young for a horse trader, not to mention your sex” (Portis 89). Mattie has broken the tradition of women being week in society when she stands up for herself in situations. It is very unusual for women especially in this time to be independent and fend for oneself. But Mattie is young and makes the wrong decisions at time. Her mother is not as smart or independent as she is and needs Mattie to help run the family business. She receives a letter from her family’s lawyer stating “Your mother will make no decision without you, nor will she sign anything,” (87) Mattie creates her own agenda and completely disregarding her family’s needs. She makes her choice as an independent woman to avenge her father and she goes through all the hardships till the job is done.