The Black Death Symbol Analysis

The Black Death—a deadly plague that tore through Europe in the Middle Ages— symbolizes how people understand their present by looking to the past. The Black Death was mentioned frequently by people who lived through the 1918 influenza pandemic. Though no one alive for the 1918 influenza pandemic was alive for the Black Death, many people knew enough about history to understand roughly what life must have been like during the earlier plague. The Black Death struck at a time when Europe and Asia had recently been linked by new trade routes, and the 1918 influenza epidemic also struck during an era of increased international movement—this time due to World War I. The Black Death, which for many represented a scary but distant past, suddenly became a reality, forcing many people to confront the idea that the past might not be as far off as it seemed. While the specifics of the Black Death, such as the disease that caused it and its lethality, differed greatly from the influenza pandemic, it was still a helpful comparison since so many people were familiar with it. The Black Death shows both how disease has always been a part of human life and how even modern scientific advances are not always enough to hold back the horrors of the past and the power of nature.