Virginia Commonwealth University The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson Book Report
Description
The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson, gives a detailed narrative of the 1854 Cholera outbreak in Golden Square, centered on the Broad Street Pump. He provides a vivid description of an overcrowded, unsanitary city and fearful inhabitants unsure of the source of their illnesses and deaths. But he also investigates the way various social institutions shaped the outbreak of 1854 through the responses and proposed solutions to the epidemic. In 2 pages (600 words) evaluate the approaches that different social institutions took to the 1854 Cholera outbreak in Golden Square. For example, what role did the medical field play in the outbreak? Government? The Church? Compare and contrast their responses to this traumatic event in the lives of Golden Square’s and Soho’s residents. |