Thucydides, Dekker, Hodges, Defoe

Discussion questions: readings on plagues

1. What are some of the common features of these accounts?

2. Some of these authors try to sound factual; others try to sound dramatic. Which are most interesting or powerful, in your opinion, and why?

3. Which accounts address medicine and caring for the sick? What do they suggest about medicine at the time of that plague?

4. Do any of the elements Sontag talks about show up in these accounts?