Class distinctions in a journal of the plague yearSay no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Defoe repeatedly returns to how different classes experienced the plague of the 1660s in his pseudo-journalistic account, A Journal of the Plague Year. Defoe contrasts the experience of the poor and “middle class” with that of the rich. His account answers a number of important questions. Rich people were more immune to the plague. Was a class more responsible for its distribution? How did different classes react to the plague? Given Defoe's politics and personal circumstances (he was rumored to have died while hiding from his creditors), his emphasis on social class is hardly surprising. His ruthless journalistic pen attacks both the rich and the poor and reveals much about class distinctions in 17th century England. Defoe compares how different classes are involved in the spread of disease. He begins by noting that “the plague mainly affected the poor.” (68) Much of the spread of disease resulted from the activities of the poor because they were "the most adventurous and the most intrepid, and they carried out their work with a kind of brutal courage." (68) By “going about their business,” the poor provided the few services available because merchandising, construction and repair, shipping, and many other activities were completely stopped. Available jobs often involved caring for the sick – either through body removal, babysitting, or nursing – which further spread the contagion. Defoe is very precise on this point; he emphatically emphasizes, “without the number of poor people who wanted jobs,” the authorities “would never have found people to hire. And then the bodies of the dead would have remained on the surface of the ground.” (78) However, the rich were not entirely spared as they were often exposed to diseases by their servants. Defoe notes that “infection generally entered the homes of citizens through their servants whom they [the rich] were obliged to send into the streets to purchase necessaries; that is to say, for food or medicine, to bakeries, breweries, stores etc”. (56) Defoe speaks of the inevitability of contamination between classes because servants encountered "discontented people, who transmitted to them the fatal breath and carried it back to the families to which they belonged." (56) Different classes also responded differently to the threat of infection. The rich fled the cities to presumably safer countryside 14). Once safely settled, they gave generously to charities that helped the poor. Defoe's repeatedly credits them with such charity – which carried out important functions such as evacuation of the dead and other activities that minimized infection or benefited those who remained behind. Oddly enough, escape was only an option for those who could secure their homes. Defoe notes that those who fled “generally found one or other of their neighbors or relatives to look after these houses … which were entirely locked” (66). The middle classes and those without friends faced a different dilemma as they risked the loss of their livelihoods if they fled. Defoe's narrator was himself in this situation; the reader sees him struggle.