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Essay on the history of influenza
Factual texts and fictional
Essay on the history of influenza
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Nowadays, infectious diseases have become a major source of mortality and one of the greatest concerns for the society as whole. Equally this was the case during the mid-seventeenth century, when an unexpected plague returned again in Holland. Published in 1722 by Daniel Deofe, the novel was a first-person narrative told by the fictional character of H.F. recalling his experience and events from the plague. It is interesting to know how the author intended the historical novel as a warning to guide and comfort, especially the poor.Classifying the journal as fact or fiction was an issue since its publication being that it involved a fictitious account of a real event. With this idea in mind, I will argue that this detailed tale is a mixture of both fact and fiction.
The journal began in the second half of 1664, when the narrator with initials H.F. started to spread the rumors that the plague threatened to return to Holland once again. This report did not spread instantly due to the limited resources. Everyone was doubtful about its origins but the reality was that concerns raised as the news spread. To clarify how violent the disease was, the narrator used bills of mortality to prove his point. An example was the deseace of two Frenchmen. People believed that the evil has gone being that there was not news about the plague for several weeks. To make the situation even worse, the sickness destroyed two more men in the same manner.
In addition, the plague was so severe that the people had no control over it, leaving them no choice than to leave the city. Pain and sadness were seen at everyone's faces. This served to show how they are confused and desperate. As a result, the city was isolated. The narrator mentioned how t...
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... never appeared" or the appearance of "the angel clothed in white, with a fiery sword in his hands." These fantasies do not only serve to add suspense and tension but also to test whether or not they had overcome with delusions. We may say that Defoe has experienced the plague, but it is clear to say that the journal does not belong to him since he was at the age of five when the infectious disease happened.
Overall, it is not true about the notion that all novels are fictionalized. Defoe was presented as an eyewitness, in which his invention was to use statistics to relate a story of immense tragedy and suffering. Regardless the text reads as fact or novel, indeed it is a historical novel that mingles both history and fiction. But most importantly is Defoe's intention to reunite with H.F. to collect these journals so we know the great plague as we know today.
The Doctors’ Plague was a meaningful book to read because of the information provided, its ability to break new ground, and the credibility of its author and evidence. Overall, there were more strengths than weaknesses, and this served to cement new knowledge into the reader’s heads. I would recommend this book to anyone in the medical field, as well as for anyone who likes
Kira L. S. Newman, “Shutt Up: Bubonic Plague and Quarantine in Early Modern England,” Journal of Social History, 3, (2012): 809-834
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.
For example, when Froissart attempted to describe the severity and mortality of the plague known as the Black Death, he wrote that ‘People died suddenly and at least a third of all the people in the world died then.’ This can be regarded as the author’s own assumption and there are no statistical reliability to his claim. However, it is also interesting to note that even though Froissart tends to neglect the life of commoner and peasants in his own writing (as his work generally central around the idea of chivalry and aristocratic belief of the Middle Ages), he has included some descriptions of the reactions of the people during that time of Black Death in order to ward off the plague to make his writing relevant and interesting for the readers. For instance, he has written that: “They were men who did public penance and scourged themselves with whips of hard knotted leather with little iron spikes. Some made themselves bleed very badly between the shoulders and some foolish women had cloths ready to catch the blood and smear it on their eyes, saying that it was miraculous blood.”
In the 1300’s, England was struck with a plague called the Bubonic Plague, better known as the “Black Death.” Historians believe this disease arrived by ship at a seaport in modern day Ukraine (Byrne 1). Fleas living on the back of rats were the main cause of spreading. Because of the poor living conditions, rats were very common in towns, making it simple for fleas to bite the human, giving them the disease. Symptoms were easily spotted; the victim would have lumps on his or her groin and armpits, which would then turn to black spots on the arms and thighs (Trueman 1). Most who suffered form this epidemic did not live past three days (Trueman 1). Because the vermin spread this disease so rapidly, it would eventually affect most of Europe. The source of the Black Death was unknown at the time; therefore physicians could not stop the spread or treat the infected (Byrne 1). Many people thought that it was God’s punishment, so to appease Him, they publicly whipped themselves (Byrne 1). Before declining, the Black Death killed around forty percent of the European populations, which is about 25 million victims, making it one of the most widely known epidemics. Once the Bubonic Plague died out, it only had two...
Lapaire, Pierre J. "The Plague: Overview." Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Lesley Henderson. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 24 Mar. 2011.
Furthermore, the medical experts who provide professional insight into the symptoms and transmission of the plague subtly contribute to the overall non-discriminatory sense of Aberth’s book. Although not explicitl...
Despite all, their love was not strong enough to fight against the plague. They had prayed every night for help for Alice, but shortly they all fell ill. Together they experienced nausea and violently vomited. They began to swell; hard, painful, burning lumps on their neck, arms and thighs then appeared. Their bumps had turned black, split open and began to ooze yellow, thick puss and blood. They were decaying on the inside; anything that would come out of their bodies would contain blood and soon puddles of blood formed under their skin. They slowing withered away together. The home became repulsing; the flowers in their yard could no longer mask the smells of their rotting bodies and revolting bodily fluids. Alice was the first to leave, then John, Mama, and Papa followed. Together they all fell victim to the Black Plague.
Cantor, Norman F. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made. New York:
Graveyards were full, medicine failed, parents abandoned ill children and in just six months, millions had died. It was the beginning of the Black Death. It was a deadly plague that spread through Europe and Asia from the mid 1330’s -50’s. The cause of death for twenty million people, the survivors thought it was God’s anger at something they had done and, therefore, the end of the world. In Venice, ninety thousand died and in Florence, half the population. There were three types of the plague. The Bubonic plague was the most common, the Pneumonic Plague was less common and the Septicaemic Plague was the most deadly and rarest of them all.
Cowie, Leonard W. “Plague and Fire London 1665-1666.” East Sussex: Wayland Publishers, 1970. 56-63. Print.
Daniel Defoe wrote his fictional novel Robinson Crusoe during the 18th century, a time of colonization, and the British agricultural revolution. In the novel Robinson Crusoe desires civilization and comforts during his years on the island, so much that he alters the ecology of the fictional “island” in order to fulfill his craving. Consequently, Robinson Crusoe changes the ecology of the island, with the introduction of invasive species, European crops, and enclosures. Crusoe uses the practices of the British agricultural revolution to colonize the island, and to better his life during his stay.
Defoe as innovative developer of narrative technique in the novel is a considerable topic of conversation in critical circles. No longer are we hearing complaints about artificially connected, episodic writing and plot inconsistencies. Ian Watt notes a "lack of co-ordination between the different aspects of [Defoe's] narrative purpose" (118) in "Moll Flanders•, as well as denying a conscious and consistent employment of irony, but he also praises Defoe for ...
A common theme often portrayed in literature is the individual vs. society. In the beginning of Robinson Crusoe , the narrator deals with, not society, but his family's views on how he was bound to fail in life if his parents' expectations of him taking the family business were not met. However, Defoe's novel was somewhat autobiographical. "What Defoe wrote was intimately connected with the sort of life he led, with the friends and enemies he made, and with the interests of natural to a merchant and a Dissenter" (Sutherland 2). These similarities are seen throughout the novel. "My father...gave me serious and excellent counsel against what he foresaw was my design," says Crusoe (Defoe 8-9) . Like Crusoe, Defoe also rebelled against his parents. Unlike Crusoe, however, Defoe printed many essays and papers that rebelled against the government and society, just as Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, did in England by depicting society languishing in social malaise (Marowski 231). It were these writings that eventually got Defoe charged with libel and imprisoned (DIScovering Authors). In Defoe's life it was the ministry that his father wanted him to pursue (Sutherland 2), but, instead, Defoe chose to become a tradesman (DIScovering Biography). The depth of the relationship between Crusoe and his parents in the book was specifically not elaborated upon because his parent's become symbolic not only of all parents, but of society. In keeping this ambiguous relationship, Defoe is able to make Crusoe's abrupt exodus much more believable and, thus, more humane.
Daniel Defoe has frequently been considered the father of realism in regards to his novel, Robinson Crusoe. In the preface of the novel, the events are described as being “just history of fact” (Defoe and Richetti ). This sets the tone for the story to be presented as factual, while it is in of itself truly fiction. This is the first time that a narrative fictional novel has been written in a way that the story is represented as the truth. Realistic elements and precise details are presented unprecedented; the events that unfold in the novel resonate with readers of the middle-class in such a way that it seems as if the stories could be written about themselves. Defoe did not write his novel for the learned, he wrote it for the large public of tradesmen, apprentices and shopkeepers (Häusermann 439-456).