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Chapter 18
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Great Influenza, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Leadership and Crisis
Truth, Free Press, and Propaganda
Science vs. Nature
Education, Research, and Institutions
Summary
Analysis
Two days after the Liberty Loan parade in Philadelphia, Krusen announced that influenza had exploded through the city. Hospitals had to start refusing patients. On October 3, five days after the parade, Krusen banned all public meetings in the city. Within just 10 days, there were hundreds of thousands ill and hundreds of deaths daily.
Meanwhile, Lewis had been spending all his time in his laboratory, even more so than usual. He was horrified to hear about the deaths but continued in his search for a cure and vaccine.
The dedication of scientists like Lewis provides a counterpoint to the lack of commitment from political leaders when it came to fighting the virus.
Themes
Two thirds of the people who died in Philadelphia were under 40. Undertakers ran out of coffins. The symptoms, which could include blood flowing from the eyes and nose, were terrifying. Rumors spread that the disease was a new Black Death.
The horrifying details in this passage help convey what experiencing the disease must have been like to people who lived through the era, something that can’t be fully conveyed in generalized statistics.
Themes
The virus spread throughout the country, while Philadelphia remained in a state of constant fear. In one hospital, about a quarter of patients died each day. The streets were quiet, no longer filled with cars, and the life of the whole city seemed to have stopped.
The quiet in the city and the lack of cars represent how totally the virus disrupted normal life, and also provide an eerie portent of what the rest of the country might soon be facing .
Themes
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