When the plague broke out in Europe, millions were affected, causing several different reactions from all kinds of different people. With each new reaction came new problems, on top of the already outrageous disease. A few various responses to the outbreak were superstition caused by others lying, fear that people would lose their lives, and blaming others for the issue that no one had control over. Superstition, people began to think the worst about others, they no longer saw anyoneany one as trustworthy, not even their own family. “About 40 people at Casale... smeared the bolts of the town gates with an ointment to spread the plague… The heirs of the dead and diseased had actually paid people at Casale to smear the gates in order to obtain …show more content…
Document 5 states “Whatever house the pestilence visited was immediately nailed up, … throughout all the country, all the roads and highways were guarded so that a person could not pass from one place to another.” Proving how much fear was running rampant throughout all of Europe. No one wanted anyone near them for fear that others had been infected or that they had been around others who were and could be spreading the disease. They nailed up people’s houses while they were still living inside in order to make sure that they were not affected by the disease. They closed off towns that had been infected in order to insure others safety, while also closing off towns and not letting anyone in for the purpose of keeping it out that town, because no one there had been infected yet and they did not want that to change. This was all done out of fear, the fear of death, or worse, knowing that you are dying, and having to deal with that. “For nobody will dare to buy any wig, for the fear of infection that the hair had been cut off the heads of people dead of the plague.” ( Document 13) People were afraid of other people being dishonest with them, to the point where they even assumed that merchants had taken hair off of dead plague victims. Which does not really make sense, because they could have been infected just being around people that had the plague, causing the merchant to die, and not be able to …show more content…
“The plague and sickness in England is due to the filth in the streets and the sputum and dogs' urine clogging the rushes on the floors of the houses.” (Document 2) Everyone blamed someone beside themselves for the disease. They had no clue at the time that the actual problem was caused by fleas on rats, because science was not as advanced during this time period. The public blamed dogs, urine that people other than themselves threw out into the streets, and filth in the streets. When they said filth in the streets part of that filth was the lower class who had to stay in the streets because they had no other place to live. They were much less sanitary, and dirty and could not afford to feed themselves properly, causing them to become much more susceptible the disease. When they got it it truly spread like wildfire, because everyone had to walk in the streets, which was where they lived, and since the disease was airborne everyone caught it. Others blamed God for the plague believing he had caused it, and that it was meant to punish his children for sinning, as shown in Document 16 “The plague must be considered a particular chastisement exercised by an angry God over a sinful and offending people rather than as a calamity proceeding from common and natural causes.” They chose to blame God, saying he is they reason such death is coming with this disease, he is punishing
One piece of evidence stated, “As the plague kept occurring in the late 1300s, the European economy sank to a new low (Document 9).” Another piece of evidence states,” In the second half of the 14th century, a man could simply up and leave a manor, secure in the knowledge that Faith in religion had fallen because the prayers of the people were not answered. The people even thought that it was god whom had unleashed this deadly disease. One piece of evidence that I used stated,” Some felt that the wrath of God was descending upon man, and so fought the plague with player (Document 6).” Another piece of evidence stated,” Faith in religion decreased after the plague, both because of the death of so many of the clergy and because of the failure of prayer to prevent sickness and death (Document 6).”
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.
At the beginning of the novel, people were reluctant to recognize the plague as something that would change their lives. They thought it was simply a passing inconvenience.
...to prevent the disease. Some people fled to the country side and quarantined themselves. In the churches they took measures that would have not ever been seen if the plague had not taken place. In one instance, one of the priest was giving out mass on the end of a pole. Pope Clement sat in-between to big fires in order to breath pure air.
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...
Slack, P. (1988). Responses to plague in early modern Europe: The implications of public health. Social Research, 55(3), 433-453. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
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.
When the plague first reached Europe, people panicked. They wanted to survive, many began to abandon what they had and moved to villages and country sides in hope of not catching the disease. Families abandoned each other and left children to die. The horror that people in Europe were feeling was traumatic...
During the course of the Plague common beliefs and/or concerns underwent a dramatic change. During the early years of the Plague outbreak the prevalent belief was of fear of the Plague and its uncertainty of the cause. Most people during this time were concerned that the Plague would affect their economy and their own work/business. People were also concerned of their lives and their family's well being. Then as time went on beliefs changed from this to fear to a religious superstition.
During the fourteenth century, bacteria and viruses were mostly unknown to doctors, which meant they were most certainly unheard of for the majority of the population. Now, it is widely believed that it was caused by bacterial strains. Back then, however, people had to produce their own reasons for the Plague. In Europe, the causes of the Black Death were said to be miasma (impure air) carried by the warm southern winds. The event of March 20, 1345, the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and excessively atrocious clothing were thought to add to the ubiquitous disease. In contrast, the people near the East believed that the said disease was supposedly caused by miasma as well, but due to wind carrying the vile odor of Mongol bodies...
Anyway in early 1348 the plague hit Grange, it was devastating right from the get go, from Charles Brinks’ third Status Update he says “It’s raining death, it is really sad to see so many close lads dyeing” this announcement tells us that there was no safe place even working in the country and that there was no cure at the time. During this horrific plague, the priest lost his social status, and peasants gained authority. There were many thoughts on who brought the Plague, some say it was cats and dogs, others say Jews and others say God, however one type of people believed so much that it was a punishment from God, that they thought punishment would stop this plague, these type of people were called Flagellants, and are shown in Charles Brinks’ 7th
The Black Plague, perhaps one of the worst epidemics in history, swept its evil across Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing an estimated 20 million people. This major population shift, along with other disasters occurring at the time, such as famine and an already existing economic recession, plunged Europe into a dark period of complete turmoil. Anarchy, psychological breakdowns, and the dissipation of church power were some of the results. As time passed, however, society managed to find new ground and began its long path of recovery. The plague, as catastrophic as it was to medieval Europe, had just as many positive effects that came with this recovery as it did negative effects prior. An end to feudalism, increased wages and innovation, the idea of separation of church and state, and an attention to hygiene and medicine are only some of the positive things that came after the plague. It could also be argued that the plague had a significant impact on the start of the Renaissance.
How to Survive a Plague (2012) is a documentary about the story of two coalitions, ACT-UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group). Both groups dedicate their time and energy to stop AIDS from being the deadly disease that it has been for years and is only getting worse. Those affected by the disease were primarily of the LGBT community. Those with AIDS struggled to see progress with research for a cure because of those who held leadership roles had in certain religious views along with a lack of political interest. As millions of individuals were dying from this abhorrent disease, the two coalitions continued to protest and advocate for change. Through their actions, an effective treatment was found for AIDS. Their actions even led to the LGBT community
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.