Summary:
The book The Eleventh Plague begins with a 15 year old teenager Stephen Quinn, who was born in the aftermath of the war. Throughout his life, he only knew how to live a life of a salvager(a person who trades materials for goods/supplies and travels across the country). While travelling down the usual route salvagers take for trading goods, Stephen's grandfather dies thus leaving Stephen and his father to continue to survive on their own. As they continue down this path, they spot an old U.S bomber plane wreck in the middle of a flat open field, they go toward the wrecked plane and enter it. Inside they do not find much at first, but after prying open a locker, they find an old can of unopened pears. With excitement, they open the can, eat all the pears and fall asleep right after. After a few hours, they are woken up by the sound of slavers coming toward the plane in a jeep, and with no time to escape they stayed hidden in the plane. Stephen noticed that the men who entered the plane were held hostage a woman and her child. Stephen and his father waited until the men fell asleep, and once they did, Stephen and his father went over to the woman, and her child and released them. Unfortunately, they woke the slavers and were being chased by them. Stephen and his father got away from the slavers but fell into a rushing river. Stephen's father hit his head on a rock and fell into a coma.
A few hours passed and they were rescued by a group of people from a settlement called "Settler's Land" and were taken there. Stephen and his father are welcomed in by the Green family, and within days of Stephen's stay, he come encounters the Henry family; Celeb Henry and his son Will Henry, who dislike him for being an outsider towards the community. With Stephen seeing all these people in a community, at first, Stephen questions this with his grandfather's teachings, however Stephen starts to question if what his grandfather was teaching was the right way to live in the world of the post war era. He questions his grandfather's teachings because of the hospitality that came from the Green family. Not soon after, Stephen meets this Chinese girl by the name of Jenny Tan. At first, he thought that this girl who be trouble for him, but it turns out that he falls in love with her. In only days of Stephen's stay, Jenny and he get into a fight with Will Henry and his crew. Stephen knew at this point that he would get kicked out of the settlement, so instead of waiting to be kicked out, Stephen packed his things and left his father with the trust of the Green family that they would take care of him. Stephen then head for an abandoned farm, there he saw Jenny again. Jenny decides to play a prank on the Henry home, so they planted firecrackers near the home and let their livestock run wild. This prank triggered a battle that would involve another settlement "Fort Leonard" and Slavers. The Slavers were hired by Celeb Henry and the Slavers destroyed Settler's Land. Stephen devises a plan and kills the leader of the Slavers. At the end, the people of Fort Leonard arrive to the destroyed community and help the survivors by letting them live in Fort Leonard.
The Writing Style:
The book The Eleventh Plague begins with a 15 year old teenager Stephen Quinn, who was born in the aftermath of the war. Throughout his life, he only knew how to live a life of a salvager(a person who trades materials for goods/supplies and travels across the country). While travelling down the usual route salvagers take for trading goods, Stephen's grandfather dies thus leaving Stephen and his father to continue to survive on their own. As they continue down this path, they spot an old U.S bomber plane wreck in the middle of a flat open field, they go toward the wrecked plane and enter it. Inside they do not find much at first, but after prying open a locker, they find an old can of unopened pears. With excitement, they open the can, eat all the pears and fall asleep right after. After a few hours, they are woken up by the sound of slavers coming toward the plane in a jeep, and with no time to escape they stayed hidden in the plane. Stephen noticed that the men who entered the plane were held hostage a woman and her child. Stephen and his father waited until the men fell asleep, and once they did, Stephen and his father went over to the woman, and her child and released them. Unfortunately, they woke the slavers and were being chased by them. Stephen and his father got away from the slavers but fell into a rushing river. Stephen's father hit his head on a rock and fell into a coma.A few hours passed and they were rescued by a group of people from a settlement called "Settler's Land" and were taken there. Stephen and his father are welcomed in by the Green family, and within days of Stephen's stay, he come encounters the Henry family; Celeb Henry and his son Will Henry, who dislike him for being an outsider towards the community. With Stephen seeing all these people in a community, at first, Stephen questions this with his grandfather's teachings, however Stephen starts to question if what his grandfather was teaching was the right way to live in the world of the post war era. He questions his grandfather's teachings because of the hospitality that came from the Green family. Not soon after, Stephen meets this Chinese girl by the name of Jenny Tan. At first, he thought that this girl who be trouble for him, but it turns out that he falls in love with her. In only days of Stephen's stay, Jenny and he get into a fight with Will Henry and his crew. Stephen knew at this point that he would get kicked out of the settlement, so instead of waiting to be kicked out, Stephen packed his things and left his father with the trust of the Green family that they would take care of him. Stephen then head for an abandoned farm, there he saw Jenny again. Jenny decides to play a prank on the Henry home, so they planted firecrackers near the home and let their livestock run wild. This prank triggered a battle that would involve another settlement "Fort Leonard" and Slavers. The Slavers were hired by Celeb Henry and the Slavers destroyed Settler's Land. Stephen devises a plan and kills the leader of the Slavers. At the end, the people of Fort Leonard arrive to the destroyed community and help the survivors by letting them live in Fort Leonard.
The Writing Style:
The book is written in a omniscient first person view. The writing style is very dramatic, as it leads the story to a good climax. The rising action in this book highlights what the protagonist faces in the story and as a normal teenager. Stephen being 15 years old, faces the dilemma of becoming a man according to his grandfather's teachings and what he learned from his parents and experiences. This writing style is suitable for the book because instead of focusing on the post war affect on the people, it shows how even a teenager born in the post war, can feel the emotions of the normal teenager born before the war.
The language that is used in this book creates an effect that gives the reader a sense of feeling like a young teenager. The language does not use many words that sound intelligent but uses words and sentences that a normal teenager would easily understand. When I read this book, I feel as though I am the protagonist, I understand the way he thinks because I am a teenager as well. The language also gives the effects that you feel like you are surviving along side the protagonist.
Five Literary Devices:
The five literary devices that I have found in the book are symbols, foreshadowing, themes, verbal irony and pathetic fallacy.
One of the symbols that I found in the book is, The Lord of the Rings book. Stephen values this book because the book reminds him of the memories of, his dad, grandfather and him traveling around the United States trading goods for other goods among the other salvagers. The book also reminds Stephen of how they would go to famous places while travelling, sleep in abandoned buildings that were about to fall and the book reminds him of his mother, and his sister that never made it. The foreshadowing that appears in the book is when the slavers appear in the first part of the book and in the third part of the book. The slavers are first introduced when Stephen and his father are stuck in the plane, and again appeared near the end of the book when the Settler's Land is nearly destroyed. This foreshadowing shows that the slavers were the antagonist of the book, that would lead to the destruction of Settler's Land, which they did. In the first part of the book, everything was fine until the slavers showed up ,and started chasing Stephen and his dad. After that, the slavers were on the hunt for them, while Stephen and his dad took refuge in Settler's Land. Then finally at the end, the slavers appeared once again and destroyed Settler's Land.
The literary device theme is shown in the book. The theme that is found in the book is love of the one you can about; for example, when Stephen father falls into coma and accepts Marcus' offer to take them into Settler's Land. This example shows the love theme of love for the one you love because Stephen thinks about his dad's health and not worry about what his grandfather's teachings say. Stephen shows how much he really cares about his dad and not what the teachings of his grandfather. Another example that shows this theme is when after Stephen knew he would be kicked out of the community after fight Will Harris and his crew. This example shows that Stephen cares about his dad because upon discovery that he will be kicked out, he decides the leaves before they can kick him out, but he leaves he father behind, trusting the Green family to take care of him while Stephen is gone from the community. Thus concludes that the theme of love for someone you care about is shown in the book. As well, shows that theme is parent in this book.
Verbal irony is a literary device found in this book. An example of this is when Stephen says that he will follow the ways of how his grandfather would live when he was alive and Stephen completely does the opposite. This example shows verbal irony because Stephen was the type of person who would always follow the teachings of his grandfather and would not like to change his lifestyle of being constantly on the run then to switch to a lifestyle of staying in one place in with security all around, with other people. This explains how Stephen goes against what he previous said when he first entered Settler's Land.
Another literary device that is in the book is pathetic fallacy. This literary device is shown when Stephen and his father enter the old wrecked airplane, and the it started to rain. This is an example of pathetic fallacy because the rain shows how Stephen and his father are in a dangerous situation where the slavers arrive. The rain also shows how this initial incident triggers the start of the story, where Stephen and his father being chased by slavers, for freeing the woman and the child. Where Stephen and his dad have to worry on where they are going, and how they are going to lose the slavers that are on their tail.
Effectiveness of the book on the reader:
The concept of a post war world that the book talks about is believable because the countries in the world are constantly in disagreement with each other, even though the media reports them having agreements. As far as the story goes, it is believable and convincing, in a way, it may happen because the book shows a person can feel and what they may think in a post war era. The book allows the reader to make connections to current events that are happening around the world. In the case for this book, the reader can make the connection to the war between Russia and Ukraine. As it would now, that battle may turn out to have the same aftermath as The Eleventh Plague describes it has. Though this is the only connection I could really made with this book.
Since the book is about the aftermath of war and has a 15 year old teen-aged boy as the protagonist, it makes a little bit of an engaging book to read. The reader can understand what the protagonist is thinking and why he is thinking that way. The protagonist, Stephen Quinn, is constantly reminded of what his grandfather has taught him growing up. Stephen is battling with the thoughts of what his grandfather taught, and what his own experiences have taught him how to live in the post war era, while he has to also worry about real world problems. This element that is added in the story is engaging because their are two conflicts going on at the same time: an internal conflict and an external conflict. This made the story better, in terms of it being interesting. What also made this book engaging is the fact that it barely connected with the title of the book. When I see the title, I would expect the book to talk about how the life is in a world that has been affected by a chemical out break, however, The Eleventh Plague doesn't talk about that at all.
The concept of a post war world that the book talks about is believable because the countries in the world are constantly in disagreement with each other, even though the media reports them having agreements. As far as the story goes, it is believable and convincing, in a way, it may happen because the book shows a person can feel and what they may think in a post war era. The book allows the reader to make connections to current events that are happening around the world. In the case for this book, the reader can make the connection to the war between Russia and Ukraine. As it would now, that battle may turn out to have the same aftermath as The Eleventh Plague describes it has. Though this is the only connection I could really made with this book.Since the book is about the aftermath of war and has a 15 year old teen-aged boy as the protagonist, it makes a little bit of an engaging book to read. The reader can understand what the protagonist is thinking and why he is thinking that way. The protagonist, Stephen Quinn, is constantly reminded of what his grandfather has taught him growing up. Stephen is battling with the thoughts of what his grandfather taught, and what his own experiences have taught him how to live in the post war era, while he has to also worry about real world problems. This element that is added in the story is engaging because their are two conflicts going on at the same time: an internal conflict and an external conflict. This made the story better, in terms of it being interesting. What also made this book engaging is the fact that it barely connected with the title of the book. When I see the title, I would expect the book to talk about how the life is in a world that has been affected by a chemical out break, however, The Eleventh Plague doesn't talk about that at all.
Rating:
The rating I give for this book is a 3 out of 5. I give this rating for the book because the book was not the best to read and it was not the worst. In parts of the book, the writing seemed to be a bit boring and some of the mini interactions the protagonist has are relevant to the main story line. As a read this book, I seemed to read just to get the chapter over with. Some chapters of the book would only talk about how the protagonist feels and would just repeat the same idea over again in different words. The protagonist being 15 years old, I could not really relate to him. Thus making the book less interesting, as I found it sort of a child's book to read.
I would not recommend this book to another reader in my age group because the book is more fit for someone who is 15 years of age. The book talks about love occurring at a younger age and how the protagonist would just leave with a girl and forget about everything, and live on their own, surviving together. I think someone who is my age, would find this book just a waste of time and just dread reading majority of the book.
The rating I give for this book is a 3 out of 5. I give this rating for the book because the book was not the best to read and it was not the worst. In parts of the book, the writing seemed to be a bit boring and some of the mini interactions the protagonist has are relevant to the main story line. As a read this book, I seemed to read just to get the chapter over with. Some chapters of the book would only talk about how the protagonist feels and would just repeat the same idea over again in different words. The protagonist being 15 years old, I could not really relate to him. Thus making the book less interesting, as I found it sort of a child's book to read.
I would not recommend this book to another reader in my age group because the book is more fit for someone who is 15 years of age. The book talks about love occurring at a younger age and how the protagonist would just leave with a girl and forget about everything, and live on their own, surviving together. I think someone who is my age, would find this book just a waste of time and just dread reading majority of the book.
Evaluating Bias:
My personal bias effects the way I read this book by connecting it to my own experiences that I may have been through in my life. When I read this book, I expected it to be about about how people are surviving from zombies, but I got a book about how people are surviving against one another. I would say the that this made the book a little bit more enjoyable to read because that is happens in real life; we survive against one another. We compete with against each other in almost everything like in sports, work, education and life. No matter what we do, we always are against one another. And this is what I made when I read the book.Also when I read this book, my personal bias effects how I view the actual story line. As the story is explaining how China and the United States were at war. I find this aspect of the story as being stereotypical because in almost every movie that has come out from the United States, the main cause of an event happening is due to China or is connected to China somehow. As well, it's ironic because the United States uses China for production of their materials and goods.
Author Influences:
The author Jeff Hirsh, started writing at the age of 7 and was encouraged to continue writing from his teacher Denise Stewart. Jeff got inspired to write The Eleventh Plague after he found out how much he loved writing books for teenagers, he found this love after writing his first book of an adaptation of The Real Names of Rock Stars. He was also inspired from writers like M.T Anderson, KL Going, and David Almond. Other influences he made had were that he was an actor, went to a writers boot camp and got his masters in dynamic writing. These influenced him to write the Eleventh Plague in his own way. Connections to the world:
As mentioned earlier, the book addresses the issue of racism, as the seeing in the book, the Harris family completely disliking Jenny Tan (Stephen so called girlfriend). Unfortunately, racism still exists in Canada, although it is becoming more diverse. There are places in the world where people think that their own race is the best race and that interacting with other races is a bad thing. People who are racist usually do not talk to people that are not he same colour as them or do not even acknowledge their existence. With these kinds of people think like that, there is no way the world will become a place that is safe for anyone. Again it's terrible to still see this, but The Eleventh Plague addresses this serious issue and talks about how a community should live together and start a brand new beginning.
Works Cited:
Author Influences
