The Air We Breathe Chapter Summary

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Fresh air was once thought to be an actual medical cure for tuberculosis patients in sanitariums. The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett is an accurate representation of tuberculosis patients' lives in sanitariums during World War I. Although the book is fictional, all the facts about tuberculosis sanitariums are true. The book's plot revolves around several main characters that are living in a tuberculosis sanitarium during World War I. The story is told by a nameless narrator who is also a patient in the sanitarium. The storyteller focuses on two patients, Leo and Miles, who were both sent to the facility after contracting tuberculosis. The story also follows three staff: Naomi, Eudora, and Irene, all of whom have dedicated their lives …show more content…

The novel conveys how strictly the patients' lives were regulated and controlled by Dr. Petrie, who monitored the patients in the Tamarack Lake Sanitarium. In the 1930’s patients were expected to follow the strict rules of the sanitarium, which often made them feel like prisoners (Blank and Murphy 43). Each patient that came to Tamarack Lake is required to sign a list of rules that states: “I understand that I am occupying a bed badly needed for someone else, that I am fortunate to be here, and that only by obeying the rules conscientiously can I show my value to the community" (Barrett 15). These rules make the patients feel like prisoners. Naomi tells the patients that the rules are only there for their benefit: if they follow the rules, they will recover more quickly. In sanitariums of the 1930's, several key rules were stressed in order to allow the patients to build up their strength so that they could fight the tuberculosis (Blank and Murphy 45). In the book, the patients are not allowed to participate in running, sports, or any other activity that would require them to physically exert themselves. In actual sanitariums, there were strict rules governing coughing or spitting in public (Sucre, par. 14). Similarly, nurses at Tamarack are even given strict rules on cleaning up after the patients in order to avoid the spread of the disease. In the 1930's, in every sanitarium, the patients' treatments were all strictly regulated and observed (Rinehart 34). The rules at Tamarack are also made by those in charge in order to protect the health of all the patients and

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