Part 1: Chapter 8 Summary

The following day there are notices in the newspaper and posters put up around town asking heads of households to report any cases of fever. They also announce that there will be a systematic extermination of the rat population and careful observation of the water supply. The number of cases continues to rise, and special wards are designated in the hospital for the care of the victims of the disease. Some people make it to the hospital; others die before they can get there. A shipment of serum arrives, but it is inadequate to meet the needs. At last, the Prefect becomes alarmed and issues the proclamation that there is a state of plague and orders the town closed.

Part 1: Chapter 8 Analysis

The action begins to pick up in this story. The plague, the town's powerful adversary, is coming into its...