Sometimes suffering can change a person for the worse, but it can also change them for the better. In Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, a fiction novel, shows how the main character, Matilda Cook, an impetuous and irresponsible teenager, is affected by the yellow fever epidemic that occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This story suggests how suffering can transform a person into someone better. At the beginning of the story, the main character, Matilda, displays the attitude of a typical teenager, irresponsible, unappreciative, and immature. Mattie does not appreciate that she has a hard working mother that tries her best to raise her. When she was asked to haul water by Eliza and was called “Little Mattie”, her reaction was, “Little Mattie indeed. Another month and I’d almost be as tall as Eliza. I hated being called ‘little’. I sighed loudly, put my dishes in the washtub and my hair into my mob cap, I tied a disreputable straw hat…” Her tone suggests that she’s not ready to take on small responsibilities such as something small as washing the dishes. …show more content…
Yellow cloths were tied on the railings and door knockers of houses to represent a yellow fever victim living in that household. There were also people carrying wagons full of dead bodies, this shows how much worse Philadelphia was getting. “It appeared to be a bundle of bed linens that had been cast out of an upper window, but then I saw a leg and arm. ‘It’s a man. Stop the wagon, we must help him!’” (118) Rather than just being a victim of the yellow fever, she is now the one that is giving help to other fever victims. She feels sympathetic. “Little Mattie” would’ve just leave him there for someone else to help
Death: the action or fact of dying or being killed; the end of the life of a person or organism. It is scientific. Straight down to the facts. Something is born, it lives, and it dies. The cycle never stops. But what toll does death take on those around it? The literary world constantly attempts to answer this vital question. Characters from a wide realm of novels experience the loss of a loved one, and as they move on, grief affects their every step. In The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, the roles of Lindsey, Abigail, and Ruth all exhibit the effect of dealing with death over time; the result is a sizable amount of change which benefits a person’s spirit.
Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig is a novel that presents the harshness of racial prejudice during the 19th century combined with the traumas of abandonment. The story of Frado, a once free-spirited mulatto girl abandoned by her white mother, unfolds as she develops into a woman. She is faced with all the abuse and torment that Mrs. Belmont, the antagonist, could subject her to. Still she survives to obtain her freedom. Through the events and the accounts of Frado’s life the reader is left with a painful reality of the lives of indentured servants.
Missie May aims to please her husband in more ways than one. Hurston portrays her taking a bath before her husband comes home. We get a glimpse of her physical body and attractiveness. Hurston writes, “Her dark-brown skin glistened under the soapsuds that skittered down from her washrag. Her stiff young breasts thrust forward aggressively, like broad-based cones with the tips lacquered in black” (Hurston, "AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club). Although her surroundings are impoverished, Mattie Mae is still beautiful. She aspires to be presentable to her husband in the same way she has made their home presentable.
Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat” is about a woman, Delia who is physically and emotionally abused by her husband, Sykes, whose actions she struggles to overcome towards her. Through all the abuse, Delia takes pride in her hard work and her religion. In this story, Hurston uses religions and moral symbolism that controls the character’s actions throughout the plot.
Kristof talks about a man named Fanha Konah, Konah lost all of their fingers and toes to leprosy but he managed to become a wood carver. Also, he talks about a 18 year old girl who has never received schooling, but built a three-foot electrical fan out of cardboard and scraps. Kristof uses inspiring stories like these to show that all hope is not lost for people who come across unfortunate circumstance. There is progress that is made by people who survived and live with these disease. This kind of attitude makes the reader have a different outlook and judgment on situations such as these. By telling stories such as these he reminds the reader that this one story can reflect whole millions of stories. Kristof is trying to persuade his audience to care about people as a
Hunger,Cold,Pain,Fatigue.All things most slaves had to deal with during the reign of slavery. Frederick Douglass is a slave who escaped from the clutches of slavery, his purpose in writing this narrative is to prove to the people that thought slavery was right that it is not, and to persuade people to join his cause. Fred does this with two claims. One, slavery is bad for slaves, and two, slavery is bad for slave owners, by using evidence from his life.
James Carroll learned the meaning of suffering at an early age. At the age of two, his brother who was only four contracted Polio. He would look at his brother and notice the bandages on his legs. When he would sleep, he would dream that they were his legs under the bandages and when he would wake up he would think he was the one who couldn't walk. He learned early, what suffering was. Later on in life he would be reminded of his brother's legs. The crucifixes all had his brother's legs and the nails were Jesus' polio. He was again reminded of his brother's legs the first time he saw pictures of the inmates of the concentration camps. That was also the first time he became aware of the slang term "Jew." He remembered hearing the term from his best friend Peter's parents. James and Peter were neighbors. The two boys were together all the time. Their parents though, never went beyond friendly neighbors. One day James was over at Peter's house and he was talking about how his father had joined the Belle Haven Country Club. He explained the fantastic swimming pool and invited all of Peter's family to come swimming and also told them they should join. Peter's parents responded with a simple "we don't go there." James was confused by their response and asked "why?" Their answer was "because it's a club and we're Jews." This was the first time James had heard the term Jew. He learned that Jewish was a synonym for unwelcome. He also learned that because of this difference Peter and himself were on the opposite side of the color line from each other. James' mom told James to live and let live. She agreed with James that the Seligmans were good people. James later on understood the quote as his mother's private rejection of the reigning Ca...
In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, many characters must adjust to the face of adversity to better their
Within the novel “Delirium” written by Lauren Oliver, there was a girl by the name of Magdalena (Lena) Haloway. She existed within a society where love was considered a deadly disease, and upon reaching the age of 18 it was mandatory you were ‘cured’ of it. Most accepted this fate, as it guaranteed you a life without the inconvenience love may bring. But those with the illness did not want to live without it. Despite their wishes, not a single citizen had a choice in the matter. Each and every citizen was forced to receive “The Cure”.
The excerpt above employs a metaphor, comparing him being tired of editing to death, in order to express Stephan King's character. Through the use of this metaphor, “sick to death”, the author is able to convey his indifference of editing. This foreshadows his future in becoming a writer, for writers utilize creativity and they are usually unpredictable whereas editors are stale and predictable. He further expresses his disinterest towards editing by creating his own newspaper. The boredom that he was experiencing demonstrates to what extent society will undergo in order to fulfill their desires. In Mr. Kings position, he had a strong crave to write, so he continued to write and break some rule while doing it, portraying him as a rebel. Later,
The limited character in Michael Ondaatje’s novel, The English Patient, was Almásy. Almásy was a man who was burned from head to toe, and whose identity is unrecognizable thus making him a limited character. The novel takes place in a villa where the man was being taken care of by Hana, a young nurse who stayed behind to take care of Almásy while the rest of the nurses escaped to a safer place to stay. She calls him the English patient because of his accent, though she is unaware of where he is from. The entire novel is focused on the history of the English patient, where he tells the story of his past to Hana, Caravaggio, and Kip. Although in the present Almásy is a limited character, the novel is based on the constant flashbacks of his terrible past where he is a normal man struggling for his true love thus leading him to his present state.
Albert Camus provides a unique look at humanity and the intricacies of living in an absurd world full of hopeless suffering in “The Plague.” Many facets of Camus symbolism within the book can only lead the reader to ponder “Should I kill myself?” while leaving them with the answer “No, life is worth it if I make it worth it. I can overcome suffering.” First, Camus use of parallelism to atrocities, specifically war, function to highlight that death and suffering derives from both humanity and nature. Second, to Camus, humanity needs to stare death in the face by questioning the usefulness of existence and if it is justified to live even if you are suffering. Third, to Camus, god is dead, he is just a tool for humanity to give their lives meaning.
More than just the disease by Bernard MacLaverty. ‘More than just the disease’ by Bernard MacLaverty, focuses on a young man. boy, Neil, who has a skin condition called psoriasis. This disease makes Neil feel insecure and his mother’s attitude towards him also. does not help, she is almost ashamed of her sons condition and this.
Instead of feeling down by her parents ignoring her, Matilda decided that she was going to make a difference in her life. She could have easily let her parents steal her self confidence; instead, she decided to stay strong as an individual. Matilda would do this by pulling pranks on her entire family. For example before her father woke up, she went into his bathroom to mix two substances into his hair gel solution. One would think that she found out how to do this because of a book she read at the library. Once she was done mixing it, she heard her mother and father start to get up, so she knew she had to get out of the bedroom quickly. She used her size to her advantage by staying low and making sure she did not make a sound. That same
Brocklehurst as a harsh and uncaring man, "should any little accidental disappointment of the appetite occur… the incident ought not to be neutralized by replacing with something more delicate to comfort lost…take the opportunity of referring to the primitive Christians" (pg. 63). The food was less than satisfactory and if something were to be wrong with it then the girls would have to eat it anyway. Malnourishment was common for these girls and their diets were very unhealthy. Charlotte is commenting on the conditions of the time period and how some would simply just ignore the lack of cleanliness because it was beneficial for them. Brocklehurst was making money from his school and spending very little on the girls. He didn't care about the conditions because he resided in a nice house a few miles away where he hid, "Mr. Brocklehurst and his family never came near Lowood now: household matters were not scrutinized into" (pg. 77). Many people would turn their eyes away from the poor and sick until it became such a devastating factor that they could no longer ignore it, "when the typhus fever had fulfilled its mission of devastation at Lowood, it gradually disappeared from thence" (pg. 83). There were