At the Sign of the Sugared Plum
Hooper, Mary. At the Sign of the Sugared Plum.
London: Bloomsbury, 2003 . Print.
Summary:
In the year 1665, Hannah is ready for
her first visit to London. She’s going to help her sister Sarah, in her
sweetmeats shop, The Sugared Plum. When Hannah arrives, her sister Sarah does
not welcome her as planned! Instead Sarah is scared because the Plague is
taking over London, house-by-house, street-by-street and shop-by-shop. Each
week the number of people dying from Plague is increasing and no one is safe.
Day
after day, the news of death is spreading. The Plague is getting worse to a
point where even the king left London. The Plague cart takes around 600 bodies
per day and the people burry around 100 bodies in the same grave because there
is barely and space left in the cemetery.
During
her visit, Hannah meats with her old friend Abby and falls in love with the
doctor’s assistant Tom. One day, as Hannah went to visit Abby, she finds that
her house has a redo cross on the door. On the door there was a sentence, it
said: May the Lord have mercy on us. Hannah
felt scared because she is familiar with this sign. The windows on the building
were shut except one. The house was to be shut for 40 days. Hannah called Abby,
and she looked out from the opened window. Abby was pale and tired, she said
that her lady passed along with her husband. She said that she was infected
with Plague. There was only newborn Grace that was healthy and uninfected.
Abby
gave Hannah a letter that said that Hannah needed to take baby Grace to her
lady’s sister. Sarah and Hannah would
receive fake identities to be able and cross the London Bridge. Hannah, Grace
and Sarah went but before they left Hannah went to say good-bye to Tom. They
headed off, and they had some obstacles but they managed to arrive. In the end,
Hannah, Sarah and Grace arrived safely, and Hannah promised that they would
return to London safely and fight off the plague.
- o The historical setting is in the 1665 in London. At this time London was suffering from “The Great Plague”. It was also called the Black Death, because of the color of the lumps that come on your body as a symptom.
- o Plague germs were from fleas, which lived on rats. Although Plague had begun in 1348 in Brittan, the Plague never disappeared; it just became less until it rose again in 1665-66.
- o When this began, all the rich such as merchants, lawyers etc. left London to save their lives.
- o By June, the citizens wanted to leave, that they were clogging the gates of London. The Lord Mayor, decided to close the gates to anyone who didn’t have a certificate of health.
- o There was a rumor that cats and dogs were also causing this disease, so the lord mayor ordered that all animals should be killed.
- o The lifestyle of the English soon became to avoid everyone, so that they started keeping special plants with them that they thought prevented them from the plague.
- o After days passed, the number of deaths increased. However, the Plague slowly reduced, and in 1666 the King decided to return to London. People say around 100, 000 people died in London. However, it may have been larger.
Comparison:
What is the effect of the historical setting on the theme?
The historical setting affected the
theme(s) because during this time period of the Plague, the people were dying
(one of my themes) loosing hope (another of my themes) and having a goal that
they WILL survive this tragedy. Overall, this definitely was not an easy life!
On page 44, a quote says: This day much against my will, I did not on Drury
Lane see two or three houses marked with a red cross upon the doors and Lord
have mercy on us writ there.” This shows that the houses were shut (which meant
that people were dying; first theme.) It also mentions, much against my will, I assume that their will is to survive; this
means that they have a will to survive, are dying and are loosing hope that
they will not achieve their will/goal.
Who are the major characters? Describe them:
Hannah= Country girl, kind, helpful, has red hair and a lot
of freckles. Strong and determined and takes in consideration other peoples
feelings.
Sarah: Panics easily, scared, determined, helpful, kind and
does not have as much freckles as Hannah.
Tom: Nice, helpful, risks his life for Hannah, has dark
eyes, works as Dr. Da Silva’s assistant.
Dr. Da Silva: Helpful, strong, risks his life for his
patients.
Abby: Scared, pretentious, pretty, has black curly hair,
deep brown eyes and a curved mouth, believes/trusts in her friends.
What are some of the authors characterization techniques?
The author uses reflection and action
in the novel. Reflection, because on page seven, Hannah says: “I picked up my
basket, feeling my cheeks go pink.” This shows us what she is feeling and that she
is embarrassed. Action, because on page 111, Hannah says: “Let’s go quickly to
doctor Da Silva, then.” After her sister was supposedly infected by the Plague.
This shows us from her actions that she is helpful.
From what point of view is the story told? How does that point help develop the main character?
The
novel is written from first person perspective, I. An example is, on page 110,
Hannah says: “I looked around, alarmed, and she was sitting on our bed in her
shift, her face flushed, and a hand pressed against her jaw. I immediately
began to shake in fright, for I knew what must have happened, she was infected
with Plague.” This shows us how she felt through HER perspective when she saw
her sister having a lump on her jaw, which indicates Plague.
This
helps develop the main character because it shows what she is going through,
how she is behaving, and what she is feeling through her perspective, which helps
us have a stronger understanding of the character.
What is the theme of the novel?
Death-inevitable or tragedy:
This is a theme because this story
talks about the tragedy of the Plague and how the people were dying day by day.
Like on page 122, Abby was telling Hannah how someone dies on a boat because of
Plague. Also in the book, I realized that every week the amount of people that
died because of Plague was increasing. There is a quote in the book, on page
117 that says: “The people die so, that now it seems they are fain to carry the
dead to be buried by daylight, the nights not suffering to do it.”
Loosing
Hope:
There are many quotes and lines in the
book that show you how loosing hope plays a VERY big part in this novel. First
of all, the Plague is taking over, no doctors are providing true medications,
and no one is safe. On page 135, there is a quote that says: “Every day, sadder
and sadder news of its increase, arrives. It is feared that the true number of
the dead this week is nearer ten thousand.” The citizens are scared and they
don’t know what to do!
Will
to Survive:
Everyone in London wants to be safe;
they want to survive, but how? On page 163, Hannah says: “We were well on the
rode now, and I felt we would reach Dorchester and survive, for we had not come
this far to be overtaken by man or Plague.” This shows that they want to return
and survive the Plague!
This book matters because it shows how
the Plague or Black Death was during that time, and how the citizens survived
having a black, scary life. I liked this book because it included very nice,
adventurous “adventures” that show us how they lived and what they did during
that time. Like if someone in his or her family did because of plague, then
your whole house will be shut up for 40 days! They showed us how the people
used to come pick up the dead and how every day the number of deaths increased.
It was very sad, and I felt like I was living what she was living. It was
amazing; I recommend this book to anyone! I didn’t like historical fiction,
until I read this book! I would rate it 10 over 10!
New Vocabulary:
Despairing: adj. showing the loss of
hope.
Strewed: verb. Scattered, spread.
Faggot: Noun. Bundle of sticks/twigs
bound together for fuel.
Callous: adj. having a mean/cruel
disregard for others.
Maypole: noun. A pole painted and
decorated with flowers. People usually dance around it on May Day.
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