The Hot Zone
The Hot Zone Summary | Part 1, Chapter 1 Something in the Forest Summary
Chapter one introduces the reader to Charles Monet. He is a French expatriate working on a sugar plantation in western Kenya. The story begins on New Year's Day, 1980, when Charles and a woman take an overnight trip to Mount Elgon, a formerly active volcano. During their trip, they visit Kitum Cave.
After returning to his quiet life, Monet becomes ill. The reader knows that he is experiencing a catastrophic illness, but Charles and those who treat him are unaware of how serious it truly is. He experiences headaches and backaches for several days before spiking a fever and vomiting violently for a long period of time. His eyes turn red, his face becomes expressionless, and his personality changes. Finally, a coworker drives him to a hospital in the city of Kisumu.
Doctors at the hospital cannot explain Monet's illness, and their antibiotics have no effect, so they put him on a crowded plane to Nairobi Hospital. During the flight, Monet becomes so ill that he vomits huge amounts of blood with black specks. The author explains that this is vomito negro and that it is saturated with whatever virus is making Monet sick. His blood has been clotting in his blood vessels and internal organs, and by now his body has depleted the clotting agent. He is bleeding from his nose, as well as internally. By the time he reaches the hospital, Monet "crashes" and falls to the floor in a river of virus-infected blood.
The Hot Zone Summary | Part 1, Chapter 1 Something in the Forest Analysis
The author develops the first chapter with extreme attention to detail. In the plot structure of The Hot Zone, Part 1 acts as the exposition. The landscape of the region is used to foreshadow the potential for fear and death that may follow throughout the book. In fact, humans' fear of death becomes a recurring theme throughout the book. The sugar fields have been burned for acres around, the dark clouds gather to create a
Chapter one introduces the reader to Charles Monet. He is a French expatriate working on a sugar plantation in western Kenya. The story begins on New Year's Day, 1980, when Charles and a woman take an overnight trip to Mount Elgon, a formerly active volcano. During their trip, they visit Kitum Cave.
After returning to his quiet life, Monet becomes ill. The reader knows that he is experiencing a catastrophic illness, but Charles and those who treat him are unaware of how serious it truly is. He experiences headaches and backaches for several days before spiking a fever and vomiting violently for a long period of time. His eyes turn red, his face becomes expressionless, and his personality changes. Finally, a coworker drives him to a hospital in the city of Kisumu.
Doctors at the hospital cannot explain Monet's illness, and their antibiotics have no effect, so they put him on a crowded plane to Nairobi Hospital. During the flight, Monet becomes so ill that he vomits huge amounts of blood with black specks. The author explains that this is vomito negro and that it is saturated with whatever virus is making Monet sick. His blood has been clotting in his blood vessels and internal organs, and by now his body has depleted the clotting agent. He is bleeding from his nose, as well as internally. By the time he reaches the hospital, Monet "crashes" and falls to the floor in a river of virus-infected blood.
The Hot Zone Summary | Part 1, Chapter 1 Something in the Forest Analysis
The author develops the first chapter with extreme attention to detail. In the plot structure of The Hot Zone, Part 1 acts as the exposition. The landscape of the region is used to foreshadow the potential for fear and death that may follow throughout the book. In fact, humans' fear of death becomes a recurring theme throughout the book. The sugar fields have been burned for acres around, the dark clouds gather to create a