The Decameron & Oh Death According to the Oh Death article by Huber, the Black Death took place in Europe

from about !"# to !$!% During thi& time, the bubonic plague killed off million& of people% Oh Death tell& u& that e'en today thi& di&ea&e &till kill& $( of patient& treated )ith antibiotic&, but back in the "th century, )e didn*t ha'e antibiotic&, and bet)een $+( and ,+( of the people )ho got the di&ea&e died% -n the face of &uch an epidemic, people had many reaction&. &till, the di&ea&e killed &o many, and e'en &ome &mall 'illage& )ere completely )iped out% -n The Decameron article, Boccaccio de&cribe& )hat the Black Death )a& like in /lorence, -taly% He e0plain& that no amount of kno)ledge or health precaution& could &top thi& di&ea&e, a& )ell a& no amount of crie& and prayer& to 1od% And medicine al&o )a& of no u&e% Boccaccio de&cribe& the di&ea&e a& beginning )ith lump& in the groin and armpit and that the&e lump& could &)ell to the &hape of an egg and the &i2e of an apple% The name for the&e &)elling& )a& ga'occioli% 3ot long after, the ga'occioli )ould appear on other part& of the body, and other brui&e4like &pot& )ould al&o &ho) up all o'er% Once a per&on &a) the&e phy&ical marking&, they kne) death )a& not far off% 5&ually people )ould die in about three day& after the fir&t &ymptom&% 6ome died )ith fe'er, &ome )ithout, and the di&ea&e &pread like a fire through dry gra&& or oil% The di&ea&e )a& &o ea&ily pa&&ed from per&on to per&on that a healthy per&on need only to touch the &ame ob7ect a &ick per&on touched and they )ould likely catch the di&ea&e% E'en animal& died in&tantaneou&ly after contact )ith a &ick per&on*& belonging&% Oh Death de&cribe& the di&ea&e &imilarly% 8e learn that the di&ea&e i& cau&ed by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis% Thi& bacteria li'e& in the flea*& inte&tine% The flea mo&t commonly ho&t& on rodent&, but the flea& may bite on human& if the human& li'e in clo&e contact )ith the&e rodent&, )hich )ill likely tran&mit the di&ea&e% The common black rat )a& the primary mean& of

plague tran&mi&&ion during the Black Death% The )ord Huber u&e& to de&cribe )hat Boccaccio call& ga'occioli i& the bubo% The lump i& de&cribed 'ery much the &ame )ay Boccaccio de&cribe& it% 6he inform& u& that the large, painful, red &)elling, u&ually located in the neck, armpit, or groin, i& the re&ult of a &)ollen and infected lymph node% High fe'er, chill&, e0hau&tion, occa&ional pneumonic &ymptom&, and e'entual &epticemia, &hock, and death u&ually accompanied the bubo% According to Boccaccio, there )ere four main )ay& people reacted to thi& deadly plague% 6ome people )ithdre), completely i&olating them&el'e& from the re&t of the )orld% They locked them&el'e& in&ide and a'oided all contact )ith the out&ide )orld% They only ate and drank 'ery &mall amount&, and they al&o tried to di&tract them&el'e& )ith mu&ic and other plea&ant thing&% The ne0t group )a& the party group% Thi& group belie'ed that the be&t )ay to deal )ith the plague )a& to en7oy one&elf ho)e'er one plea&ed% They )ent from ta'ern to ta'ern and practiced no moderation% They &ang and danced and had a good time% They al&o con'er&ed about plea&ant thing&% Thi& group beha'ed a& though they )ere going to die &oon, &o they cared nothing about them&el'e& nor their belonging&% But &till, e'en )ith all their )ild li'ing, the&e people a'oided the &ick at all co&t&% There )ere al&o people )ho practiced moderation% They did not re&trict their diet&, and they did not o'er4con&ume, but rather con&umed )hat )a& nece&&ary% They al&o didn*t lock them&el'e& in&ide, but in&tead )alked about holding a po&y of flo)er&, &pice&, or herb&, hoping that tho&e &cent& )ould help keep them from inhaling the rotten, polluted air% The la&t group of people )a& the group )ho fled% The&e people abandoned e'eryone and e'erything and tried to e&cape the plague by going to the country&ide% Although, Boccaccio inform& u& that the country&ide )a& not &pared either% 3o one )a& &afe any)here, and though &ome of the &ick could ha'e &ur'i'ed, they could not recei'e help, a& mo&t e'eryone abandoned one another%

There )ere &ome other intere&ting reaction& people had to the plague% -n Oh Death, Huber inform& u& that many people turned to their religion for &olace% 6ome people belie'ed that 1od )a& puni&hing them for their &in&, and &ome belie'ed that 1od )a& te&ting their faith% 9any people found comfort in &aint&, like 6aint 6eba&tian, )ho )a& a &ort of repre&entation of the plague, and 6aint :oche, )ho &ur'i'ed the plague and helped cure other&% 6ome people e'en blamed them&el'e& for the plague% 6ome of them roamed the &treet& )hipping them&el'e&% The &elf4puni&hment )a& &ignificant on an indi'idual le'el, a& it &uppo&edly brought one clo&er to ;hri&t*& e0perience at the hand& of the :oman&% And for the community, &elf4 flagellation helped e'eryone ackno)ledge each other&* &in& and their o)n% 6ome people blamed other& for the plague, and the <e)& )ere often u&ed a& a &capegoat% The comfort that religion ga'e the&e people in &uch a terrible time )a& &ignificant% The plague cau&ed them to confront death directly% But a& long a& they kept care of their &oul& and )ere one )ith ;hri&t, on <udgment Day, they )ould be re)arded )ith the infinite 7oy& of Hea'en% -f they did not, they )ould go to Hell% Or, &ome could end up in =urgatory )here they )ould ha'e &ome le'el of &uffering until their &oul& )ere purified% And through prayer&, lo'ed one& &till li'ing could alle'iate the &uffering of =urgatory and the length of time &pent there% And &o religion &trongly comforted tho&e during the Black Death becau&e there )a& a rea&on for the plague and there could &till be hope for them after they died, in the afterlife% A& for my&elf, if there )a& &ome &ort of plague or di&a&ter today, -*m not certain )hat my reaction )ould be% - imagine - )ould do )hate'er - thought )ould be&t en&ure my &ur'i'al% 9o&t likely - )ould flee, but - imagine thi& )ould be nearly impo&&ible a& &treet& )ould be too cro)ded )ith other& doing the &ame% - might try to build &ome &ort of &helter and i&olate my&elf from e'eryone and e'erything% But -*m not &o &ure that fleeing or )ithdra)ing )ould &a'e me

any)ay, and in that ca&e, - )ould probably 7u&t try to make the mo&t out of the little time - had left% - think that all the reaction& e0plained by Boccaccio and Huber )ould e0i&t today, too% think there )ill al)ay& be the people )ho )ant to fight for their &ur'i'al &o much that they either lock them&el'e& a)ay from the re&t of the )orld or flee, e'en lea'ing behind tho&e they lo'e the mo&t% And - think there )ill al)ay& be the people in the middle )ho practice moderation and hope for the be&t% And there )ill al)ay& be the people )ho party hard becau&e they figure that )ith almo&t certain death nearing, they &hould li'e it up the be&t they can% And there )ill al)ay& be tho&e )ho turn to their religion for comfort% There )ill al)ay& be tho&e )ho think 1od i& puni&hing mankind or te&ting their faith% There )ill al)ay& be tho&e )ho blame other& or them&el'e&% 8hat - find mo&t intere&ting about all thi& i& >ue&tioning if people beha'e &imilarly e'en )hen there i& no plague or di&a&ter, etc% - think that e'en )hen not directly confronted )ith death, people &till ha'e &imilar reaction& in e'ery4day life becau&e death i& &till lurking there &ome)here behind it all% -t*& 7u&t not right there in your face% But it*& in the &ubcon&ciou& or &omething% And - think that in e'ery4day life )e ha'e the people )ho i&olate them&el'e& completely4the out&ide )orld i& too &cary% All you ha'e to do i& &tep out onto the &treet and you could get hit by a car or pick up a germ% -t &eem& &afer )ithdra)n% And in e'ery4day life, )e ha'e the people )ho party hard all the time% They might &ay that partying i& 7u&t fun, but could it be &ome innate death4an0iety, and partying all the time and li'ing )ild could be an e&cape, a di&traction from death? And in e'ery4day life, people practice moderation% 9aybe they are a)are of death but &till )ant to en7oy )hat life ha& to offer and &o &teer a more middle ground and hope death come& later in&tead of &ooner% And in e'ery4day life, - think )e may ha'e tho&e )ho try to

flee death, too% - per&onally >ue&tion my&elf and )hy - am al)ay& mo'ing from place to place% -n the pa&t - had thought - 7u&t hadn*t yet found )hat - )a& looking for% But - >ue&tion )hether may actually be running from &omething and )hether my running could &omeho) be &ymbolic of trying to run from death% And in e'ery4day life, )e ha'e tho&e )ho find comfort in religion, and religion i& often &omething that can e&&entially &a'e u& and our lo'ed one& from death% think that e'en )hen there i& no plague or di&a&ter, people beha'e &imilarly a& to )hen there i& plague or di&a&ter, becau&e )e are reacting to death, )hether )e ha'e no idea )hen it )ill come, or )hether )e kno) it )ill likely be &oon, a& in the ca&e of deadly plague% The only difference i& that during time& of death and di&a&ter, our reaction& to death become inten&ified and in the forefront% - reali2e though that there are many other rea&on& )hy people in normal e'ery4day life )ithdra), party hard, practice moderation, flee, and turn to religion% - don*t think it i& al)ay& about death% But - do think that death i& often a ma7or influence in the )ay people li'e, beha'e, and react, )hether they reali2e it or not% -n fact, thi& bring& me to a thought -*'e been to&&ing around recently% -t*& a bit off topic, but -*ll thro) it in here any)ay% -*'e been >ue&tioning if it could be po&&ible that maybe &ome mental illne&&e& in &ome indi'idual& could actually not be mental illne&& at all, but rather a heightened death a)arene&& and@or death an0iety A)hether con&ciou& or &ubcon&ciou&B% - mean, death can make a per&on beha'e in )ay& that &eem cra2y% 6peaking from e0perience, fi0ation on death can be a do)ner and cau&e one lot& of anger and rage, and - >ue&tion if that could po&&ibly re&ult it mi&diagno&i& of depre&&ion or manic4depre&&ion% And if one attempt& to e&cape death through fanta&y and appear& to ha'e lo&t touch )ith reality, maybe mi&diagno&i& of &chi2ophrenia could occur% And all the per&onality di&order&4- 7u&t )onder if &ometime& it could 7u&t be thi& cra2y fucking life in the face of death )hich cau&e& one &o much confu&ion, an0iety, fear, and

fragmentation% And O;D and eating di&order&4if control i& &ometime& at the ba&e of it, )hat are people trying to control? Cife? Death? ;ould it go back to death in &ome ca&e&? -*m not &aying it doe&. - kno) a lot goe& on in the brain biochemically, etc% - 7u&t >ue&tion if sometimes thing& could go back to death more than )e reali2e or )ant to reali2e, including )ith mental illne&&% -t could be &cary to admit if thi& )ere true% But &uppo&edly, that*& not ho) it )ork&, and p&ychologi&t& claim to be able to tell the difference% And a& for pla&tic &urgery, maybe for &ome it i& &imply 'anity, but - belie'e &ome )ant to appear young fore'er becau&e looking in the mirror each day and &eeing our )rinkle& and age &pot& remind& u& that )e*re getting older and clo&er to death% And al&o, eliminating the&e age mark& can gi'e one a &en&e of control, too% Or could terror management theory apply in thi& ca&e? ;ould it be that, according to &ociety, a face lift make& one more attracti'e, and )hen one i& more attracti'e, their le'el of &elf4e&teem i& rai&ed, cau&ing them to feel like more 'aluable member& of &ociety, )hich gi'e& them a &en&e of meaning in the )orld, therefore reducing their death4an0iety? All in all, people are 'ery di'er&e, and their reaction& to death are 7u&t a& di'er&e, a& can be &een in time& of di&a&ter, like the bubonic plague% And - belie'e that in e'ery4day life )ithout direct confrontation )ith death and di&a&ter, our reaction& to death are &till 'ery di'er&e% - belie'e that if )e e0perienced plague here today thing& )ouldn*t be all that different than they )ere during the Black Death, e0cept maybe more chaotic a& the population i& &o outrageou& no)% But e'en if you do e&cape a deadly plague, you can*t e&cape death% E'entually it )ill get you% At &ome point, death )ill not &pare you o'er till another year%