Epidemic manifestation in daniel defoe's a journal of the plague year and COVID 19: A comparative study

Abstract

Epidemic manifestation in Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year seems to be a guiding picture that shows people how to deal with the current global epidemic. This novel is meant to support a precise chronological sequence of the pace of the development of an epidemic, from the appearance of the first symptoms to the disastrous climax, and then back to ordinary life. The study has aimed at making comparative study about the current epidemic (Covid 19 ) with the epidemic (Bubonic Plague) that is mentioned in Daniel Defoe's novel, as fatal viruses. However, the present study has adopted the descriptive analytical comparative study;where the two epidemics have been comparatively studied. The analysis is focused on clarifying the similarities and differences between the current situation and what happened in the 1665. The researcher has come up with several results, the most important of which are: Bubonic plague and Covid 19 are similar because they have the same effect on the people who are contemporary with them, but the plague is more dangerous health crisis. They are not only regarded as health epidemics, but actual disease that affected societies in all their aspects;religion, economy, political issues, sports, educational systems, etc. People suffers from desperation, pain and sadness. Furthermore, the present study recommends from a literary point of view that history repeats itself and that people should learn from past mistakes to be ready for any kind of disaster. © 2021 Karadeniz Technical University. All rights reserved.