Fever 1793 A-Z Book

1. Fever 1793 A-Z Book By Mrs. Hill 2012

2. A is for Apothecary (V) • Definition: a druggist who supplies medicine • “I wanted to own an entire city block—a proper restaurant, an apothecary, maybe a school, or a hatter’s shop” (12).

3. B is for Blanchard’s Balloon (F) • Jean-Pierre Blanchard was an aviator in the late 1700’s-early 1800’s. After many flights in Europe, he conducted the first American balloon flight in Philadelphia on the tenth of January 1793, the winter before the novel takes place. His flight is important to the story because Mattie, the protagonist, yearns to be an adventurer like Blanchard after being enchanted by his flight.

4. C is for Captain (L) • “Life was a battle, and Mother a tired and bitter captain. The captain I had to obey” (17). • This metaphor is significant because it explains Mattie’s relationship with her mother. Mattie’s mother is commanding and does not take suggestions for how to run her business or life. The literary device is also important because Mattie, who is a young girl living after the Revolutionary War, has many war references in her everyday speech.

5. M is for Matilda (C) • Matilda is the protagonist of Fever 1793. She is a round character because we know that she is a teenage girl living in Philadelphia who survives the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. We also know about her family, including her deceased father, plus about her friends, aspirations, and even potential love interests. She is dynamic because she starts the book a sheltered teenager, and emerges a responsible adult. • “I vowed to do that one day, slip free of the ropes that held me” (4-5).

6. P is for Polly’s Death (P) • Polly’s death is the inciting incident of the novel. Polly was a friend of Mattie’s who worked in her family’s coffee shop. When Polly fails to show up to work, Mattie’s mother goes out to find out where she went and comes back with the news that Polly is one of the first victims of the yellow fever epidemic. All events after this one stem from Polly’s death of the fever. • “She shook with fever briefly, three quarters of an hour, cried out once, and died in her own bed” (15).