A Journal of the Plague Year Quiz

Read the following excerpt from A Journal of the Plague Year: "The shrieks of women and children at the windows and doors of their houses, where their dearest relations were perhaps dying, or just dead, were so frequent to be heard as we passed the streets, that it was enough to pierce the stoutest heart in the world to hear them." Which word best describes the narrator's tone in this excerpt?

• Bitter

• Horrified

• Indignant

• Disgusted

What can you infer based on details about the burial pit in paragraphs 2-3?

• The mass burials in the pit violate the teachings of the church

• The churchwardens care little about the people in their parish

• The plague is deadlier than many citizens could have imagined

• The churchwardens have mistakenly dug too shallow a burial pit

In paragraph 7 of A Journal of the Plague Year, what does the sexton mean when he says that the churchyard is a speaking sight . . . and has a voice with it, and a loud one, to call us all to repentance?

• The narrator will hear voices of the dead when he visits the churchyard

• The narrator will tell the world what is happening after he visits the churchyard

• The churchyard is full of crying and wailing from mourners of the plague victims

• The churchyard makes people think about death and seek forgiveness of their sins

Which two excerpts from A Journal of the Plague Year are most effective at achieving verisimilitude, the sense that the narrator is recording actual events?

• Were it possible to represent those times exactly to those that did not see them, and give the reader due ideas of the horror that everywhere presented itself, it must make just impressions upon their minds and fill them with surprise.

• I went all the first part of the time freely about the streets, though not so freely as to run myself into apparent danger, except when they dug the great pit in the churchyard of our parish of Aldgate.

• ... they began to bury in it the 6th, and by the 20th, which was just two weeks, they had thrown into it 1,114 bodies when they were obliged to fill it up, the bodies being then come to lie within six feet of the surface ...

• This may serve a little to describe the dreadful condition of that day, though it is impossible to say anything that is able to give a true idea of it to those who did not see it ...

• The cart had in it sixteen or seventeen bodies; some were wrapt up in linen sheets, some in rags, some little other than naked, or so loose that what covering they had fell from them in the shooting out of the cart, and they fell quite naked among the rest ...

Which statement best describes the narrator of A Journal of the Plague Year?

• He wants to become famous for his reporting on the plague.

• He is driven to witness what is happening during the plague.

• He is skeptical about reports that he has heard about the plague.

• He is proud of his ability to evade restrictions imposed during the plague.

Based on the narrator's reactions to the events in Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story, what can the reader infer about his attitude toward his patients?

• He is pessimistic about their chances because of the severity and high fatality rate of Ebola.

• He remains cheery and hopeful for each and every patient.

• He is realistic about the likelihood of death, but still moved by individual patients.

• He works harder to try and save the patients with whom he has a personal connection.

Which two sentences from Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story best support the answer to the previous question about the narrator's attitude toward his patients?

• Death was part of the daily routine, but some deaths affected us more than others.

• George savored his triumph over death, dancing and jumping, but bad news was about to arrive in the form of his wife and two sons, one aged five, the other a toddler.

• Although he did not explicitly say so when I first explained the situation, I had the distinct impression that he thought I was utterly out of my mind.

• The more sanguine among us would view every stirring as an indicator of impending improvement, while those more naturally predisposed to pessimism noted that he wasn’t looking like the true survivors.

• George began to wail again, and I struggled like mad to stop the tears from flowing down my face, for this was not my loss, and I didn’t dare guess whether such a show of emotion would be considered appropriate.

In Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story, the main cause of the narrator's strong reaction to Williams's death is his feeling of —

• fear

• guilt

• anger

• incompetence

In "Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story," what is the most likely reason that Williams is buried so soon after his death?

• For the safety of others

• To free up space in the compound

• To be consistent with local customs

• For the benefit of his family

Which characteristic of a memoir is most evident in "Inferno: A Doctor's Ebola Story"?

• The writer's expression of feelings about events when they occur gives insight into the impact of the event on people's lives

• The writer's revelation of thoughts about events around the world gives insight into the importance of preventative measures to people's lives

• The writer's reference to the historical significance of his experiences gives insight into past viral diseases

• The writer's philosophical interpretations of the meaning of his experiences give insight into the need for psychological treatment for those in traumatic situations