Chapter 9 Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

In Chapter 9, we are introduced to the conflicting views of the doctors.  We see again the word, pestilence: a fatal epidemic disease.   Think back to the poem we studied, Pestilence by Phillip Freneau. What was the tone of that poem?  How did he feel about the doctors? We are also introduced to Rev. Allen (Richard Allen) and Dr. Rush.  What do you remember learning about them when you did the internet workshop?

We learn for the first time what yellow fever looks, feels, and sounds like.  Mattie describes her mother:
#67 Mother shivered so hard, her teeth rattled... She lay under the faded bedding like a rag doll losing its stuffing, her hair a wild collection of snake on the pillow, her cornflower blue eyes poisoned with streaks of yellow and red. It hurt to look at her. Her face was pulled taut in pain, and she jerked in her sleep.  #68  The tops of her hands were roped with muscle and veins, but her skin was wrinkled and soft. ... Mother flew off the pillows and was violently ill, vomiting blood all over the bed and floor.  Her eyes rolled back in her head.

Let's study the following video to get another picture of what the victims of Yellow Fever might have had to endure.