Geraldine Brooks explores how ignorance, superstition and hysteria can be as fatal as any plague within her novel ‘Year of Wonders’. During the trying year of the plague superstition, ignorance, and hysteria took over the village, causing people to make irrational accusations, decisions and behave immorally, turning against each other. Brooks explores how the plague acts as a catalyst effecting each of the villagers differently on a physical and emotional level. The plague is defined as a large amount of insects or animals infesting a place causing damage, within the novel we see the villagers become these animals. Fear and anguish brought out some of the worst qualities in the villagers causing them to turn against one another creating anger, conflict and damage unto one another.
But which was more significant? In this essay I will explain the two events and give my opinion on which event was more significant. The first of the two events was the Black Death. The Black Death was a terrible plague that happened in the 1300s. The disease spread from nation to nation, killing millions of people and seriously affecting their lives especially Britain.
The Black Death had a huge impact on all aspects of Medieval society. The peak of the Black Death resulted in a huge population loss for the city of London, and all over the world. Treatments and theories about the causes of the plague were prevalent in many aspects of life. Initially many believed plagues to be the result of evil spirits. For this reason, people would often huddle together to keep the spirits away.
Plague It is little surprise that the plague was the most dreaded disease of Shakespeare's time. Carried by fleas living on the fur of rats, the plague swept through London in 1563, 1578-9, 1582, 1592-3, and 1603 (Singman, 52). The outbreaks in 1563 and 1603 were the most ferocious, each wiping out over one quarter of London's population. Lucky Elizabethans would contract the basic bubonic plague with their odds of survival around fifty percent. Symptoms would include red, grossly inflamed and swollen lymph nodes, called buboes (hence the name bubonic), high fever, delirium, and convulsions.
| 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because many buildings were destroyed, Haiti’s large industry clothing was one of the worst affected, and were a lot of people lost their jobs. | 250,000 homes, 30,000 other building were either destroyed or badly damaged this included the presidents palace and around 60% of the government buildings. | Because of the large number of deaths the hospitals reached their capacity and bodies had to be piled up out on the streets. | Transport and communication links were badly damaged and destroyed, things like bridges. | The amount of bodies out on the street caused a lot of diseases to spread, diseases like, cholera.
They had to use their tins and duck behind the sheds in the trenches. Not only was this incredibly unhygienic and caused many diseases among the soldiers, but they were also dodging bullets. The enemy would shot them as they went to the toilet and because they were pre-occupied they could not defend themselves. The toilets were a grim place to be, cans of overflowing sewage, undetectable bullets and often the bodies of men who had died in the act. Another terrible problem was the rats.
One of the most severe plagues hit the medieval society, the Black Death. It was highly infectious and killed millions of people while it was around. It was believed to have started in Asia and then it spread to England. It was sure to have been spread around by fleas on rats. During that period of time, many changes took place, some were short term while others were long term.
The year of sixteen sixty-five through sixteen sixty-six was a time of great tragedy and learning for the village of Eyam, Derbyshire. During this year, the Bubonic plague swept through the village killing many loved ones. The bubonic plague, spread by rats and fleas, was a horrific and painful disease. Year of Wonders, a novel written by Geraldine Brooks, embarks on the journey of the Black Death in Eyam. The infestation tested villagers physically, emotionally, mentally, and religiously.
Death was constant and not unusual for soldiers. Many soldiers didn’t even survive the first day. Besides this, many of the trenches were infested with rats, and soldiers feared them. Rats tended to feed on human corpses, spread infections and contaminate food. Rats weren’t the only problem concerning infection.
WHAT IS IT PART Well the black death is one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, a plague that swept through Europe and Asia which killed millions in the 1300's. A plague is a disease that spreads extremely quickly and kills many people violently. Most scientist think that the Black Death was caused by a type of bacteria called Yersinia Pestis carried by the oriental rat flea. These fleas infested black rats and unfortunately, due to the unsanitary lifestyles of humans during the Middle Ages, these rats were literally everywhere. Once contracted by a human the disease became airborne.