Question

The man ignored us and pressed on steadily.
“Perhaps he is transporting a poor woman to Rickett’s Circus, like Mr. Carris said,” I suggested.
“She should be moved at night, when good people are safe in their beds. Now what is he doing?”
The man had stopped at the corner of High and Seventh, in front of our coffeehouse. Grandfather sped up. “Sir, I protest most vehe­mently!”
I lifted my skirts and ran ahead of Grandfather. An unnamed fear shot through me. My eyes filled with tears.
“No, this is too much,” Grandfather called angrily. “Sir,” he shouted. “Take that away from my home. Off with you now and take your cargo, or I should call the constable.”
The man turned back and looked at Grandfather, then lifted the handles of the wheelbarrow and dumped the woman on the street.
“Mother!” I screamed.

Write a paragraph explaining how this fictional account of the yellow fever epidemic helps draw readers into the historical facts of the event.

Answer 1

I'm not going to write the paragraph for you, but I can try to help.

I would include how fearful the speaker is and how wary the people transporting the woman are. You could also add how they dumped the woman into the street, and how nobody agrees on how to move the woman.

Basically, the emotions of the characters are what draw readers into the historical facts. I hope that helps you!

Answer 2

The text shown above reports the historical events that happened due to a yellow fever epidemic. This text shows readers how the poorest population was most affected when infected by the disease. This is because, in order to obtain medical care, these people had to travel great distances, even though they were sick and debilitated. The text catches the readers' attention because it shows how people took great care in transporting their patients, in the best way they could find and even in front of some insensitive people who did not want to contact the patients in any way, probably because they thought that their lives would be in danger.