Ethical Issues in the Book Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

From The Book Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
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Outbreak of a Fever
After reading the book, Fever 1793, it is clear that a contagious disease had broken out in 1793, killing many people. When the disease broke out in August, people thought it was a fever from the cold that would soon pass, and things would go back to normal (Anderson, 2011). However, more people fall sick, and there is a lot of chaos in Philadelphia, and the yellow fever diseases are deemed strange as no one seems to understand them. For their safety, Mattie and her grandfather are forced to go to the country, but they are faced with a lot of opposition on the way. Therefore, the paper will discuss the ethical issues in the book and various technologies and information that have advanced since this book was written.
The first ethical issue was that rich individuals escaped to the country when the disease broke out, leaving the poor to suffer. There were a lot of restrictions placed on those allowed to get into the country (Anderson, 2011). Ethically, this act was wrong because no one should be barred from protecting their lives because of their financial status. By abandoning people in Philadelphia, it was an indication that the condition was associated with the poor because the rich had the ability to escape to the country where it was believed to be safe.
Secondly, another ethical issue was how workers in different places were treated. When Polly dies of yellow fever, Mattie's mother claims that she was their servant and that they had no obligation to go comfort her family (Anderson, 2011). Despite people having stopped the slave trade, some individuals still deem others slaves. Polly had died when the disease had just begun, so Mattie felt the need to pay her respects. However, Lucille deemed Polly unfit to receive such honors from Mattie because she was a servant, as Lucille labeled her.
Another ethical issue was associating those who were infected with the condition with sin. People would assume that those who died from the condition were sinners in the marketplace. The other ethical issue was travelers leaving Mattie and her grandfather with no means of going back to Philadelphia just because they were fearful of contagion (Anderson, 2011). Mattie was a young girl, and her grandfather was old. Due to fear, leaving two vulnerable individuals without food and water is unethical and inhumane. The travellers would have been gracious enough to ensure that Mattie and her grandfather were safe.
Additionally, many technological changes have occurred since the book was written. First, various technologies have...