Vocab
to return to health or strength; to recover
recuperate
What is the setting
The events take place in a time period from August of 1793 to December of 1793, Philadelphia, the USA.
Protagonist of the story, lives in Philadelphia with her mother and grandmother. This story tracks her development from careless child to kind-hearted woman.
Matilda Cook
a cook and a helper at the Cooks’ coffeehouse. In spite of the fact that she used to be a slave and is a widow, she is “the luckiest person” Matilda knows. She has her freedom, her brother, nephews and the Free African Society. She also has the Cooks who treat her with love and respect.
Eliza
unwilling
reluctantly
to envy or resent another's good fortune
begrudge
Who is the narrator and point of view
First point of view. The story is told by Matilda Cook, the protagonist of the story.
Strong, strict and brave. She disobeyed her parents to run away and marry a not very rich man.
Lucille Cook (mom)
a nurse at the Bush Hill.
Mrs. Flagg
to outline clearly or sharply
etch
extremely hungry
famished
Who is the protagonist of the story? What is the antagonist?
Matilda Cook is the protagonist of the story. Yellow fever is the antagonist of the story.
He teaches Matilda how to be a soldier and never give up in spite of all dangers. He survives yellow fever but dies at the hands of robbers
William Farnsworth Cook (grandfather)
is a little girl found by Matilda. Her mother dies of yellow fever and there is no one to take care of her. Matilda takes her away from her house, so that she could take her to an orphanage later.
Nell
evil, immoral, spiteful
vicious
extremely thin and bony
gaunt
What is the climax of the story?
Grandfather's burial
a serving girl at the Cooks’ coffeehouse and one of the first victims of yellow fever. Her death upsets Matilda, for the girls used to be good friends in the past.
A theme made obvious by the special relationship between Mattie and Eliza
The value of friendship:
Courtesy of friendship with Eliza, Matilda is not left alone without any support and deprived of any hope for survival. Feeling indebted to Eliza and being thankful for her help, love and kindness, Matilda offers Eliza to be her partner and run a coffeehouse together. This friendship stands the test of the epidemic, lack of food and despair.
calm or quiet
placid
threatening or foreboding
ominous
What is the major conflict in the story?
**Type of conflict AND what it was?
The major conflict in this story is person vs. nature, for it is depicted how helpless people become when their enemy is invisible and could not be fought with the help of any modern weapon.
a boy whom Matilda fancies. He is a young painter and a nice lad who seems to be both kind and funny, but Lucille doesn’t approve of his and Matilda’s friendship. He doesn’t earn enough money to be considered a good marriage material.
Nathaniel Benson
What is the main theme in Fever 1793?
(Think about what Mattie learns to do)
Learning to cope with loss.
Mattie learns to cope with the loss of the business, the loss of friends, loss of family and dealing with the actual illness herself.
to move or climb hurriedly
scramble