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Truth Regarding Plague

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The Truth Regarding the Unfortunate Events that Plague Society From the very beginnings of recorded history, there has been a record of tragedy that has continued as society has progressed. If we start at the beginning of time, we can see a narrative of biblical misfortune that has fallen upon societies as a whole. Some may have deserved it, but I can confidently say that a fair majority did not. For example, in the book of Numbers, the Israelites complain that all they’ve been given to eat is manna, and they’d like a better variety of food. God sends a multitude of quail, providing far more meat than they can eat, but as they gorge themselves on it they are struck by a plague. (KJV Numbers 11) I highly doubt that an entire population came …show more content…

The original sin/misfortune is an Augustine Christian doctrine that says that everyone is born sinful. This means that they are born with a built-in urge to do bad things and to disobey God. It is an important doctrine within the Roman Catholic Church. The concept of Original Sin was explained in depth by St Augustine and formalized as part of Roman Catholic doctrine by the Councils of Trent in the 16th Century. (BBC) If we are to believe this, then sin/misfortune is a natural flaw in …show more content…

This is well reflected in the narrative titled, “The Thing in the Forest,” by A.S. Byatt. In the story, two young girls are displaced by war. They find themselves temporarily located in a safe house in the forest. As they begin to venture out into the surrounding forests, they come across a monster. The story then goes on to describe the beast and all it causes. The monster’s resemblance to war is clearly no accident. In reality, what the monster is, is an allegory for war and the devastation left behind by war. The monster is a “depiction of the lasting effects of war and its losses. For example, the way the monster “gave the strange impression of moving in waves from the whole perimeter of the forest.” (Byatt 306) resembles a wave of troops storming into a battlefield. Moreover, the sounds the monster makes are very similar to sounds that one might familiarize with war or a battlefield. “A crunching, a crackling, a crushing, a heavy thumping, combining with threshing and thrashing,..” (Byatt 306) The monster unfortunately leaves our two protagonists in such devastation and so traumatized that it negatively affects them all the way up to their adulthood.

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Monsters are born in literature through their words, origins, thoughts, and actions. Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, as well as Burton Raffel’s Beowulf, contain such monsters that are large impediments to the hero’s quest. Also the expeditions or quests are affected in terms of intimidation by the monsters who are always overwhelming at first to the pessimistic eye such as how the Israelites viewed Goliath, the Philistine, when David went to fight him. A monster’s thoughts, origins, and words are often used to construct the description of monstrosity in literature and are very critical.

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The plague then started to infect thousands and thousands until 35% of Europe’s population was deceased. This reduced the world population in total to seventy-five to one hundred million people. Massive loss of life was caused. For a short time war stopped and trade declined. Many of the serfs died, so the remaining ones demanded higher wages.

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To answer the question of “Who is the monster?” when talking about “War of the worlds” and “Monsters”, one must understand what a monster is. A monster is not simply a creature so ugly or monstrous it frightens people, it can also be defined as a person or thing who excites horror by wickedness or cruelty. This second definition establishes that we, humans, can be classed as a monster even if we do not fit the stereotypical description of what a monster looks like. This question is an important

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In 1347, Europe had just been infected by the Black Death. This epidemic killed over 2/3 of Europe’s population and lasted for over five years. The pathogen that caused the Black Death was Yersinia Pestis which causes many forms of plague. The Plague originated in central and south Asia then traveled through trade routes like the Silk Road, all the way to Sicily The Black Death killed most of Europe’s population, thus ending Feudalism by having not enough serfs and workers to run fields and farms. The land owners started to offer more for their work and labor, making the lower class more wealthy, and providing more jobs.

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The plague raged throughout Europe from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century evoking various responses from the people who experienced its terror. It affected all regions of Europe, killing one-third of the population. Various responses to the plague expressed different beliefs and concerns including exploitation, fear, and religious superstition. During the course of the plague these beliefs and concerns underwent change. During the outbreak of the plague fear dominated Europe, and as time passed fear became more irrational and superstitious.

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During the mid-fourteenth century, a plague hit Europe. Initially spreading through rats and subsequently fleas, it killed at least one-third of the population of Europe and continued intermittently until the 18th century. There was no known cure at the time, and the bacteria spread very quickly and would kill an infected person within two days, which led to structural public policies, religious, and medical changes in Europe. The plague had an enormous social effect, killing much of the population and encouraging new health reforms, it also had religious effects by attracting the attention of the Catholic Church, and lastly, it affected the trade around Europe, limiting the transportation of goods. As a response to the plague that took place

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Gaius Messius Quintus Decius was the Roman Emperor who ruled from 249 AD to 251 AD. Little is known about Decius’s life before becoming a military leader, which ended in his ascension to the throne. However, a few scholars have attempted to piece together what information is known. Geoffrey Nathan is one such author. In his article, "Trajan Decius (249-251 A.D.) and Usurpers during His Reign”, Nathan indicates that Decius was born into an aristocratic senatorial family around 201 AD.

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Monsters will NEVER ever die: all cultures around the world have them and have had them since people first thought of them. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, Stephen T. Asma, in his essay, Monsters and the Moral Imagination, describes how we look at and are drawn to monsters. But not just monsters, murderers and psychopaths also. Monsters never age, ranging from the first civilization to now. In Asma's essay he asks, "Why do monsters exist?

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The monster archetype has been one of the most riveting archetypes that surrounds the concept of ‘evil’. It has been portrayed as a supernatural creature with grotesque features that normally brings disruption to the city and needs to be tamed or controlled to bring once again peace to the story. Due to this, it is most commonly depicted with a negative connotation, and with the idea of horror and fear. The monster has been present since the bible, which was written approximately 3,400 years ago, with the anecdote of Goliath. It has remained with its primary role of converting the protagonist into a hero and providing fear to the storyline.

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