Jack FitzWilliam
Mrs. Ruettgers
English
9 October 2012
Yellow Fever Horrible sickness, awful violence, and sudden death are all experiences that no child should have to go through. However, these experiences can change a person’s character completely in a helpful way. The main character, Matilda Cook, in the book Fever, 1793 experiences all of these things as a teenager. This book follows her story of how she makes it through the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793, and how it changes her character and personality in a constructive way. This book was written by Laurie Halse Anderson and published by Simon & Schuster Books in 2000. Fever, 1793 is a horrifying, historical fiction book that is understood easily enough that anyone over the age of ten or eleven could read it, but the content can be graphic when scenes of sickness or death arise. Laurie Halse Anderson has also published popular books such as Speak and Wintergirls. The book Fever, 1793 is a powerful story of horrible sickness and death along with the transformation of a teenager into a mature, young adult.
Stubborn
Matilda lives in her family’s coffeehouse in Philadelphia with her mother, grandfather, a parrot, and a cat. Just like everyone else at the coffeehouse, Matilda must get up early and do her chores, but Matilda is your average teenager. No teenager enjoys getting up early, and Matilda is no exception.
I woke to the sound of a mosquito whining in my left ear and my mother screeching in the right. “Rouse yourself this instant!” Mother snapped open the shutters and heat poured into our bedchamber. The room above our coffeehouse was not large. Two beds, a washstand, and a wooden trunk with frayed leather straps nearly filled it. It seemed even smaller with Mother storming around…I groaned. Mother had been a perfect girl. Her family was wealthy then, but that didn’t stop her from stitching entire quilts before breakfast, or spinning miles of wool before tea. It was the War, she liked to remind me. Children did what was asked of them. And she never complained. Oh, no, never. Good children were seen and not heard. How utterly unlike me. I yawned and I stretched, then snuggled back into my pillow. A few more minutes’ rest, that’s what I needed. (Anderson 1-2).
This quote gives an example of how Matilda is stubborn just like every other teenager. She does not want to get up in the morning, and she does not like the idea of following rules. Her mother was the perfect girl and Matilda obviously is not. All she can think about is leaving to her favorite spot down by the waterfront. “My favorite place was the waterfront…I promised myself a secret visit to the docks later.” (Anderson 4). She likes to watch the boats float by because it soothes her and lets her get away from everything. It will take awhile before she grows out of the teen stage and matures into a woman who is not as stubborn and is more productive, but that could be much sooner than later.
Courageous
In the beginning, Matilda’s life has no worries. There is no epidemic or death in her life. She is essentially the bratty, stubborn teenager. That is about to change, though. Her whole life will turn upside down and flipped backwards. This starts with Polly, a girl that works at the coffeehouse, being late. Actually, she never shows up at all. She has died from Yellow Fever and she is one of the first ones to die from the disease. This is just the first of many sicknesses and deaths in the novel. Soon the epidemic spreads rapidly and the next to get sick is Matilda’s mother, Lucille. Many doctors come to help, and soon they start draining her blood in an effort to cure her. While Lucille is sick, she demands that Matilda set off away from the city into the country to escape the sickness. So, Matilda and her grandfather set out into the country with another family on a wagon. Sadly, they were mistaken for being sick so they were thrown out in the middle of nowhere. She tries to take care of her grandfather who is in horrible shape. She is only fourteen years old and she is taking care of her grandfather while they are lost in the middle of nowhere. This takes so much courage! It is hard to find a person, let alone a young girl, that could deal with her deteriorating grandfather while lost without any food or supplies in the country while sick with Yellow Fever. Shortly after Matilda becomes sick, she passes out. Luckily, she wakes up in a hospital where her and her grandfather are helped back on their feet. When the two get back to the city, they find the coffeehouse entirely robbed by thieves. Later on, more thieves come back to take more food. They attack Matilda as she is sleeping and her grandfather tries to help, but he is wounded. He dies at her side and now she is completely alone. “There could be no running from this. Hiding from death was not like hiding from mother when she wanted me to scrub kettles, or ignoring Silas when he begged for food. I was the only one left.” (Anderson 151). She knew that she had to be courageous through the whole ordeal. She knows she has to find her friend who works with her at the coffeehouse, Eliza, and her mother. The only way she could do this is if she stayed strong.

Caring After Matilda’s grandfather was killed, she went out searching for her friend Eliza and her mother. She finds a young girl named Nell whose mother has died. Matilda selflessly takes Nell with her on her search for Eliza and her mother. Matilda takes care of Nell along the way keeping her safe and healthy as she can. This shows just how caring Matilda is. She already had enough problems and things to worry about, so taking care of Nell would slow her down and make her search even harder. Yet, she still takes care of her. Matilda and Nell finally find Eliza and Eliza takes them to her brother Joseph’s house. Two twin boys and an old woman helping take care of the boys live with Joseph. Matilda spends her time her taking care of the twin boys and Nell while helping Eliza care for sick people and their families.
I took the bread from my plate and broke it into three pieces which I handed to the twins and Nell. Every day more towns prohibited travel to or from Philadelphia. Even prices higher than any in memory could not tempt farmers into the city with fresh food. I tried not to eat more than I absolutely had to. (Anderson 189-190).
This quote shows how extremely selfless and caring Matilda is. She is giving up the small amount of food she had to Nell and the twins leaving herself nothing. She is eating the bare minimum to survive so that the children would stay healthy. Matilda is definitely one of the most caring people in the book. She is only a young teenager and she is beginning to mature into an adult.
Mature
In the beginning, Matilda was a stubborn, average teenager who did not want to do her chores and never wanted to get up in the morning. She was a slacker and did not have a worry in the world. When the epidemic hit, everything changed including Matilda’s attitude and character. The fever transformed her into an extremely mature young woman who helps people that do not do anything for her in return. She is empowered through helping sick people and their families, as well as orphans. She finally realizes what is important to her. The coffeehouse soon opens back up and Matilda plans to be the main businesswoman along with Eliza.
I imagined Mother's face when she arrived home and found what a splendid job I had done running the coffeehouse. I could just picture it – I would be seeing the last customers out the door when Mother would come up the steps. She would exclaim how clean and well-run the coffeehouse was. Grandfather would point out the fancy dry goods store I was building next door. I would blush, looking quite attractive in my new dress – French, of course. (Anderson 177-118).
Her mother finally returns and she is incredibly weak, but Matilda’s new plans, new life, and new character will take over. This is where the book ends. Throughout the story, Matilda has encountered many horrifying experiences. She has lost one of her best friends and has seen her mother sick with the fever as well as many others sick and dead. She has also been lost in the middle of nowhere taking care of her weak father while sick, and has witnessed her grandfather murdered by a thief. She finds an orphaned girl and helps take care of her along with two other twin boys. In addition to taking care of the orphaned girl and twin boys, she helps take care of many other sick people and their families with Eliza. Matilda has changed forever because of the experiences she has endured. The book Fever, 1793 is a powerful story of horrible sickness and death along with the transformation of a teenager into a mature, young adult.

Works Cited
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever, 1793. New York: Simon & Schuster Books, 2000.