Alana
Writing SO2
26.04.2020
SSR Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
In 1793, a major outbreak of yellow fever in Philadelphia, affected families of over 5,000
people and made their lives a living horror. “Fever 1793” by Laurie Halse Anderson takes
place in one of the most tragical and severe moments in history. The characters go through
real and fictional events, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. The book includes an
eventful plot, terrifying setting, as well as characters who learn to survive through sorrowful
and life-changing conditions of the yellow fever.
“Fever 1793” begins in Philadelphia, where the outbreak of the yellow fever occurred,
at the coffeehouse of the Cooks family. The exposition is when Lucille, Matilda’s mother,
receives the news about the death of Polly, Matilda’s friend, and their worker. This was when
the yellow fever started spreading around their town. The rising action happens when Lucille
falls ill and gets the fever which leads to Matilda and her grandfather being forced to leave
the town. However, they end up staying in the country side without any food or shelter as
suspects of being victims of the fever. Later in the story they return to the coffeehouse
finding no one and nothing but furniture and a little amount of food, leaving them finding it
hard to cope with the conditions. The climax of the story takes place when the thieves turn up
and soon after her grandfather dies. At this point, all the tragedies and loss Matilda went
through built up and brought her the most pain, she had to decide on her whole future,
become an adult, and take responsibility over herself and others. During the climax, her
whole life and herself has drastically changed and it was the major, pivotal moment of the
whole book. After, the falling action is Matilda finding Eliza and helping her take care of the
victims of yellow fever while she lives with her. Lastly, the resolution takes place after
Matilda has decided on what to do with her life, the fever vanishes, and her mother goes back
to the coffeehouse. Matilda, Eliza, and Lucille re-open and continue their coffeehouse
business in Philadelphia.
The book is located in Philadelphia, America. It takes place in the summer of 1793.
The setting plays a major part in the book since almost all of the events would not happen if
the location were different. That is because, this book is historical fiction with most aspects
of the book being true. Therefore, if the date and place were different, the historical event,
yellow fever, would not happen and the characters would not have to cope with it. Matilda
would not lose Polly, grandfather, and partially, her mother. She would also not meet and
take care of Nell. In my final analysis, Matilda would not experience all the tragedy and
evolve as a character.
The events in the story had a major impact on the main character, Matilda, and
drastically changed her as the tragedies took place. She is fourteen years old and has brown
hair and eyes. In the beginning she was seen and described as a lazy, disagreeable girl who
sleeps in and refuses to do her chores. She dislikes her mother’s constant criticizing and
comparing. In the beginning, Matilda depended on her mother however, after being left
alone, becomes more independent, responsible, and mature. The pain of losing her
grandfather and not knowing where her mother is teaches her to be strong and not take
anything for granted. She learns to cope and take care of others during a tragic outbreak. For
instance, meets and decides to take care of a little girl called Nell. Due to sudden, sorrowful
events, Matilda is forced to grow up quickly and change throughout the book.
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson portrays the lives of thousands of people going
through the outbreak of the yellow fever. Matilda’s life was turned upside down yet she kept
going with her hope and courage. This story shows how historical events completely changed
the life of people but also teaches the readers to not lose hope since no matter what happens,
something good is coming. This book is a notable example of a motivational, historical book
with an interesting perspective of a survivor of the yellow fever.
