Spread In Fever 1793

Did you know that the yellow fever is estimated to infect 200,000 people a year causing 30,000 deaths. 90% of these deaths are in Africa. In Fever 1793, there is an outbreak of the yellow fever in the newly born country now called the United States of America. The main character, Matilda is very childish and lazy when it comes to work around the house. When her mother is diagnosed with the fever, her whole life and future is filled with fear. After she personally experiences the fever and survives, she starts to accept what is going on around her. She is still very afraid at this time. After all these hardships, she comes out of this experience as a mature young adult. These four stages have major effect on Mattie’s personality, confidence,
Her fear begins when she sees the fever outbreak around the city. Her fear is truly seen when her mother very weak and sick, but expands much further when she has to leave her mother. This so happens because Mattie is unaware of what is going on and wishes to be with her mother. On page 69, the reading says, “I ran sobbing to the window. Breathing in the fresh air helped calm my stomach. The houses along the street were shuttered tight and dark. I had to help her. She was depending on me.” This goes to show that Mattie was very frightened when she was around her mother, but felt it was her duty to stay by her side. Once she was forced to leave, she was filled with other fears like when she got the fever in chapter 13(pages 88-95), or when grandpa says no one was at the coffeehouse when he went back to visit. On page 97, Mattie’s thought wander in saying, “I slept and the fever fired my dreams with terror.” This phase, fear and hysteria, overlaps the next stage, but starts faintly in chapter eight and increases until about the end of chapter fifteen. Fear is still present after that but slowly fades as the fever does. This stage was one of the most important stages to the rising and climax of the