Fever 1793, a historical fiction novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson. The story takes place in a fever stricken Philadelphia. A young girl named Mattie Cook is living in Philadelphia with her busy mother, and her grandfather as they are keeping busy with the family-owned coffeehouse. When fever strikes, Philadelphia becomes a ghost town and mattie is forced to mature, fast. By using comparisons and description, Anderson creates the lesson that maturity can come faster than expected
Anderson shows that maturity can come fast when Mattie finds Nell at Nell’s house. Mattie knows that she can not care for Nell, but she also knows that she can not leave Nell by herself. Anderson writes, “ Now what? I couldn’t care for Nell; I could barely care for myself.” (163). Mattie has to become a motherly figure to Nell and learn to care for her because she feels the responsibility to do so. This is significant because large responsibilities came to Mattie at the age of only fourteen. She is not ready to care for a child and she is not ready to be on her own. Certainly it could be said that …show more content…
“His heart beat like a battle drum.” (88) This shows that grandfather can no longer care for himself because of his health. This connects to the idea of maturity coming fast because the situation forces Mattie to care for both of them. Laurie Halse Anderson also uses descriptive words to explain the situation Mattie is in. Anderson writes, “I waded in up to my knees and stood until my toes felt as if they were in a snowbank.” (90). This quote shows that Mattie will go through harsh circumstances in order to survive. This shows that maturity can come fast because normally Mattie would not have to do this if the fever did not break out. In the end, the author uses comparisons and descriptive words to illustrate the maturity Mattie must have to