"A Journal of the Plague"

    "A Journal of the Plague" by Daniel Defoe was in a way very unsettling to read during this time in the world. The more I read about the plague the more I learned how similar this illness is to COVID-19. Although this virus is not nearly as deadly as the plague, it seems to spread almost as quickly and viscously. Initially I thought the plague was extremely easy to spot, such as the excessive sweating, sores all over the body, and a disturbing scent. That sometimes may be the case, but other people displayed essentially no symptoms and just dropped dead in the middle of town. A vast majority of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic and venturing around town as though nothing is wrong, much like people with the plague. Similar to what the United States has been attempting to do for the past few months, mayors of towns greatly infected with the plague locked up houses of contaminated people, as an effort to slow the spread of the illness. Something that greatly stood out to me in Defoe's writing is the list of what to do if the plague or something similar to that returns. Many of the ideas listed have been attempted by the United States government but relatively unsuccessful. After learning that our world has already gone through something so similar, it is very disappointing to see that we have learned essentially nothing from all of our prior mistakes, especially with all of the advanced science and technology we have at this time. 

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