A cursory first reading of this story often leaves students confused. John Wideman’s innovative style involves multiple voices, some of which are not even identified, and randomly traveling both backwards and forwards in time. The grim narrative is prefaced as a tribute to the people (mostly free African-Americans) who heroically nursed the sick and buried the dead during the Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The fever serves as a metaphor for the effects of the story’s main themes (prejudice and racism), which can potentially destroy both victims and perpetrators. Other themes: slavery, fear, suffering, death, despair. More…