A Journal Of The Plague Year By Daniel Defoe

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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.

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