I know that sometimes when I set down to write on a topic I have a lot to say. Too much at times. My head swirls with anecdotes that prove my point. I don’t want to overwhelm my reader, but I want to paint an accurate and diverse picture of what I see in my mind. Laurie Halse Anderson in Fever 1793 provides writers with one way to tackle this dilemma.
Take a moment to read this short excerpt. What struck you?
Anderson spent a lot of time researching this time period in history. By repeating the line, “They told of…”, she was able to insert brief stories to illustrate an accurate portrayal of the Yellow Fever epidemic: some positive and some not so positive. I love how she juxtaposes…
They told of thieves who crept in and stole jewelry off the dead and dying.
with
They told of good people who refused to take any money for helping strangers, even thought they themselves were poor and near destitute.
The way that Anderson organized this piece really helps me as a reader to visualize the people of this time period and to infer that this was a traumatic time in our history. But most of all, it told me a lot about the narrator, Mattie. By saving the lines “No one told of stories of a painter’s assistant named Nathaniel or a cook named Eliza. No one told of my mother.” until the end, it reminded me of what was really important to her. (You always save the best or most important point for last, right?) She was listening to these horrific stories that echoed the halls of Bush Hill longing to hear some news about the people so very dear to her. Can you imagine knowing that at any moment you could overhear that your mother was dead or dying down the hall?
I’ve noticed authors using repetition before—in many different genres and for various purposes. However, Anderson has allowed me to add a new trick to my bag, so to speak. Introducing examples with a repetitive phrase will be added to my craft repertoire, and I hope I will see it in your writing too!
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 2000. Print.
