Fever 1793
Why is it that most people blame others for their suffering? Frequently people look for someone to bear the responsibility of their actions. In the story Fever 1793, many people blamed God for what they believed was a purge, the free black population, and some even believed that the epidemic was a punishment. The story had many hidden parts to it that some may have overlooked such as the references to the free black society. The free black society was a group that went around to help yellow fever victims that were thrown out of their homes and/or left for the dead. What the book Fever 1793 didn 't mention was that in real history a man named Matthew Carey attacked the society using a pamphlet that he published, that included his incorrect and clouded view on what he believed the society was doing. In the pamphlet, he charged the society of overcharging burials and stealing from the victims. This is only one example of many showing that during even the worst of devastation and epidemics, some still look for others to blame for their suffering. Nevertheless, the story of Fever 1793 suggested repeatedly that when you don 't have a negative outlook on life, such as the main character Mattie, people can live their life to the fullest rather than ponder on who or what caused their personal
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By the middle of the story, Mattie has endured heartbreak after heartbreak, though not once did she blame others for her misfortune. As Mattie approached her near deceased mother, her mother “Shouted in a ragged voice. ‘Leave me, go!’... I ran sobbing to the window. Breathing in the fresh air helped calm my stomach. The houses along the street were shuttered tight and dark. I had to help her. She was depending on me” (69). This illustrates that Mattie knew she could have gone off and wallowed in sadness, or blamed others for her calamity; she realized in the end that spending what time she had left with her mother was more valuable than any pouting or planned