Literary Techniques Used In Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever 1793

Laurie Halse Anderson’s historical fiction story Fever 1793 takes place during the summer of 1793 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the beginning of the yellow fever epidemic but everything is normal for Matilda Cook until her mother gets the fever. The mother and daughter are separated and Matilda must get through many challenges and losses to survive the fever. Anderson uses figurative language and emotions/feelings to show a lesson about caring for others times of need.

In Fever 1793, Eliza cares more for others than herself during the fever. For example, Eliza is a free African American. People thought that African Americans could not get the fever, but Eliza knew this was not true. She goes to fever victims to care and help them

When Eliza says, “ I’m not going to die. I have too much work to do,” it shows that she wants her life to be for doing her work and helping others (176). The sentence shows how she feels about helping people and how it affects her in her life. Life is an important thing and she would take that up just to do what is right and to do her duties. Using emotions and feelings is not the only author’s craft that Anderson uses to describe the theme. She also uses foreshadowing to show caring for others. The author writes, “When the frost comes the fever will vanish. We just have to find a way to make it until then,” (177). This foreshadows that further in the book frost will come and it will end the fever. This connects to the theme of helping others during a tragedy because Eliza is focusing on getting to the frost and helping others get there to. By saying, “ We have to find a way to make it until then shows that she will do whatever to get others past he fever. Although some may argue that she is saying this and meaning that she is just trying to get herself and Mattie past the fever, it also has the meaning of everybody getting through and surviving to the frost. The foreshadowing and the emotions/feelings that Laurie Halse Anderson uses help to indicate the theme of helping others during a