6. Fever - Literary Luminary - Yoonji

"Farmers had come back into town following the frost, and their prices dropped as quickly as the temperature." (Chapter 26, page 211). This phrase was found in a section of descriptions right afterwards the end of the fever, along with the frost, a sign of healing among the sick in the story. It has been depicting how the livelier aspects before the strike of disease had returned, especially to the reopened markets and supplies. However, this statement is a metaphor, interesting in terms of description. However, the decrease in price in the sentence implies the assumed prices; during the fever, better products and such were hard to access, therefore rare and expensive, and after the fever, the foods were available again.

"The Lord helps those who helps themselves," (Chapter 27, page 223) This was a saying from Joseph, Eliza's brother, implying that he thought that independent survival was mandatory while the sickness still roamed. I believe that he is rather straightforward or sometimes ill-tongued when concerning the devastation from the disease. That may be related to the sickness of his children, intensifying the worry.

"She felt like a frail bird." (Chapter 29, page 234) - I thought this was ironic, for Mattie's mother evidently projected a strong and stubborn persona prior to the event of her getting infected by the epidemic. I was actually slightly confused by the sudden change of character, when she had become significantly weaker and quiet over the fever period.

"Nothing could keep those rapscallions down for long." (Chapter 26, page 213) This implies that Mattie accepted the little children as very energetic and childish, which I thought she had developed a rather mother-type attribute from her personalities; her change was notable near the end, as she took responsibility in her actions much more than she had at the beginning, when, to be honest, she was a brat-like child (unlike the children she later talked about).

"Day was begun." (Epilogue, page 243) -  This was the ending word, symbolism representing the end to the dreadful fever and the tragic times. Anyhow, there was quite an amount of representation in this book, but it had used a dramatic feature by utilizing this type of symbolism.