Misconceptions caused a drastic amount of confusion in Philadelphia in 1793. A misconception is a misconception. Philadelphia was full of cleaners and carriers in 1793. Some people were willing to trust that people could stop the fever while others chose to flee. They were all afraid of getting sick from misperceived causes such as dead animals, dirty docks, refugees, etc. The novel Fever 1793, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about the devastation caused during yellow fever. The protagonist, Mattie Cook, is left to her own devices and others as she tries to avoid the supposed causes of the fever. The author of Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson, shows the misconceptions of the time period through the causes and treatments of yellow fever. Anderson shows the misconceptions of the time period by using the misperceived causes of yellow fever. Mattie doesn't understand what actually killed Polly and the others, but word in the cafe is that it was a miasma. He hears this conversation: “I have heard stories of fever among the refugees of Santo Domingan. They live near Ball's Wharf… Bad coffee is a nuisance” (Anderson 20, 21). No one understood how this could have started, so they left it up to the doctors and scientists to figure it out. Under enormous pressure, doctors and scientists were researching what caused yellow fever and why it was killing so many loved ones. According to Jim Murphy, on page 15 of An American Plague, "Foulke said he knew the origin of the fevers: the foul odor in the air caused by the rotten coffee at Ball's Wharf... Any number of things could cause this condition, such as for example poor diet, excess alcohol, poison or a dog... middle of paper... the first frost If doctors, scientists or citizens had realized earlier that the cause of the disease is infected mosquitoes, perhaps they could have done something to prevent more people from getting sick. Indonesian author/poet Toba Beta said: “Mistakes and regrets, illness and death… are not recognized by the mind capable of transforming into something else.” back then they weren't enough to stop the spread of the fever. Maybe misconceptions happen for a reason, to teach people a lesson once and not knowing what to do is what makes people stronger and more competent the next time . Works Cited Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793. New York, New York: Aladdin Paperback, 2002. Print.Murphy, Jim. An American Plague: The Terrifying True Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. New York, New York: Clariton Book, 2003. Print.