Book Inquiry Report Daniel Defoe’s, A Journal of the Plague Year, was written in 1722 and published in 2001. Although written by Defoe, this story is narrated by H.F., a Londoner who lived through the devastating mayhems during the bubonic plague that disturbed England in 1664-1665. The Journal tells us what H.M. experienced at the time of the plague. The story begins with H.M. believing that the plague has returned to Holland due to the death rate and the number of parishes infected. However, it is currently winter at this time, and it seems that the cold weather has swayed off the worst of the plague. When May and June come around, the plague has yet again resumed and the number of deaths increase dramatically. It is at this point where H.M. questions if he should stay or leave the city. Due to H.M.’s strong affiliation with God, he decides to stay. H.M. notes how the deprived are basically being forced to stay and witnesses how fearful they are of the impending plague while the rich are leaving with no difficulties. City bureaucrats attempt to be alert regarding the plague and publish a set of procedures, called the “Orders of the Lord Mayor and Alderman of the City of London,” which are mainly regulations that state how infected houses will be “shut up” which means people will be forced to remain in that house, houses will be guarded, and if people were to assemble in large groups, those will be shut down. H.M. depicts many in depth ways of how people were affected by the plague. Some of these behaviors include people having psychological complications, people desperately trying to survive by escaping the city, the sorrow of watching men trying to hopelessly support their families, and more. The people affected by the plague... ... middle of paper ... ...e fiction however Defoe alters it with facts. Therefore, when someone is reading the book, they are unaware as to what factual and what is false. At this point, I have around six sources out of the minimum of 10 required. Two of my sources come from the book itself, and two come from databases from the high school library. I have also found a huge article online regarding my research question that will help me tremendously write this paper. I was at first having trouble finding sources, however when I realized what my paper was going to be focused on, it gave me much lead way. The hypothesis of this paper so far is that because Defoe altered fact with fiction, this in some way, influenced the medical world. The impact could be both negative and positive. There have been accusations made that Defoe is a ‘great liar.’ His lies lead people to believe false history.
A law was made, saying that once someone was ill with the plague they were to stay in their house. Anyone who happened to live in the same house as the unfortunate soul was also locked in, with fear that they could spread the disease. Beggars were not allowed to wonder the streets at anytime, and were executed immediately for doing so without a given reason. All of these, although sensible ideas (apart from the execution..) would not contribute towards public health, as the disease was not contagious in the human community. It was in fact passed on from fleas living on black rats, but this knowledge had not yet been developed.
Norman F. Cantor is a qualified historian who studies the Middle Ages. He has written many books regarding the Middle Ages. In his extremely detailed book, In the Wake of the Plaque, he writes about what he calls “the greatest biomedical disaster in European and possibly world history.” (Cantor, Wake p. 6) His book is divided into three parts. The first part tells about the biomedical effects and symptoms of the plague, the second part analyzes the effects it had on all the people, cultures, societies, and institutions in Europe, and in the last part of the book it covers the aftermath and the history of the plague. The Black Death also had a huge impact on art and literature. According to Cantor the rhyme Ring Around the Rosie was based on the bubonic plague and the flu like symptoms. To repress the memory of the plague the children would dance around and sing this rhyme. (Cantor, Wake p.5)
The years 1348 through 1350 had been an extremely gruesome and miserable time in our world’s history. During this time period, one of the most devastating pandemics in history had struck half the world with an intensifying and deadly blow. It had been responsible for over 75 million deaths and 20 million of these deaths were from Europe alone. Out of the countries that were hit hardest in Europe from mortality rates and economic downturns, England was one of them. This grave disease that marked the end of the middle ages and the start of the modern age is known as the Black Plague.
Kira L. S. Newman, “Shutt Up: Bubonic Plague and Quarantine in Early Modern England,” Journal of Social History, 3, (2012): 809-834
After the plague in the city of Halesowen, “82% of the plague-vacated holdings were taken up by new tenants within the year.” For those young, new people, the plague gave rise to opportunities to fit into the privileged tenant class. “However, the recurring outbreaks of the plague reminded survivors that all earthly delights will inevitably come to an end. Images in churches functioned to remind people of their own perishability.”...
Slack, Paul. “Responses to Plague in Early Modern Europe: The Implications of Public Health.” Social Research 55.3 (1988):433-453. Academic Journal. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
The Black Death is one of the deadliest epidemics to ever hit mankind. It is estimated that this epidemic killed nearly 30%-60% of the population depending on the location. Recently, scholars have argued over the existence of the Black Death as a Plague in the form of Yersinia Pestis. Many argue, through scientific research and primary sources, that the Black Death was indeed a plague. Their critics argue that there is not enough evidence in the correlation of the scientific research and the primary sources to conclude that the Black Death was really a plague. The primary source The Black Death, by Rosemary Horrox, is a compilation of different accounts of the plague throughout Europe in the 1300’s. The two modern sources Plague Historians
Arrizabalaga, Jon. "Plague and Epidemics." The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol. 3. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. 1314-317. Print.
Around 1347-1348 the most well-known epidemic struck the European world. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death or the Black Plague, rained sickness over millions; for most people, death was the only end to the sickness. The Black Death is known as one of the most depressing occurrences in history. It attacked the three most important aspects of a person’s well-being, their mental, emotional and physical health. While the plague impacted early society, authors, Jean de Venette and Giovanni Boccaccio, described the epidemic in their own words. Modern author, Charles L. Mee Jr., describes the plague with the scientific knowledge he has living in today’s society. These three authors wrote about the bubonic plague with their own voice’s and reasoning’s but many of the accounts they mention are similar to one another. Jean de Venette, Giovanni Boccaccio and Charles L. Mee Jr. explain the symptoms, the causes and the way people acted because of the black plague.
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
The plague affected people not only on a physical level but a mental one as well. The mental health of the citizens of Oran was amongst the plague's many victims, it suffered of exhaustion as well as being forced to handle mental confrontations. When the citizens dealt with these issues, some people lost their capacity to love as intently, but overall the general capacity of people to uphold their devotion remained resilient to the challenges the plague provided.
Albert Camus was a French writer who was very well known all over the world for his different works but especially with the idea of “absurdism”. Camus believed that something that was absurd was not possible by humans or logically. It was beyond ridiculous and therefore impossible. This was the basis of one of his most famous works, The Plague. The Plague is a novel that explores aspects of human nature and condition, destiny, God, and fate. The novel is about a plague that takes place in Oran, Algeria that is fictional, but it’s believed to be relatively based on a cholera outbreak in the mid 1800’s in Oran that killed thousands of people. Dr. Bernard Rieux is the protagonist but also is the narrator. However, he doesn’t admit to being the narrator until the end of the novel. Camus writes in the beginning that the instances in Oran are being told by witnesses of the plague. In The Plague, Camus wants his audience to read the book unbiasedly not knowing the narrator in order to take sides with the characters that one wants to and not to be persuaded by the narrators telling of the events.
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death was a raging disease. Most people thought of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot.
The Plague (French, La Peste) is a novel written by Albert Camus that is about an epidemic of bubonic plague. The Plague is set in a small Mediterranean town in North Africa called Oran. Dr. Bernard Rieux, one of the main characters, describes it as an ugly town. Oran’s inhabitants are boring people who appear to live, for the most part, habitual lives. The main focus of the town is money. “…everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits. Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, 'doing business’” (Camus 4). The citizens’ unawareness of life’s riches and pleasures show their susceptibility to the oncoming plague. They don’t bother themselves with matters not involving money. It is very easy for the reader to realize that they are too naive to combat the forthcoming calamity. The theme of not knowing life is more than work and habits will narrow the people’s chances of survival. Rieux explains that the town had a view of death as something that happens every day. He then explains that the town really doesn’t face towards the Mediterranean Sea. Actually it is almost impossible to see the sea from town. Oran is a town which seems to turn its back on life and freedom. The Plague was first published in 1948 in France. “Early readers were quick to note that it was in part an allegory of the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, which cut France off from the outside world; just as in the novel the town of Oran must close its gates to isolate the plague” (“The Plague” 202). When the plague first arrives, the residents are slow to realize the extreme danger they are in. Once they finally become aware of it...
Cowie, Leonard W. “Plague and Fire London 1665-1666.” East Sussex: Wayland Publishers, 1970. 56-63. Print.