Question

From The Diary of Samuel Pepys: "30th. Myself and family in good health, consisting of myself and wife, Mercer, her woman, Mary, Alce, and Susan, our maids, and Tom, my boy. In a sickly time of the plague growing on. Having upon my hands the troublesome care of the Treasury of Tangier, with great sums drawn upon me, and nothing to pay them with; also the business of the office great. Considering of removing my wife to Woolwich; she lately busy in learning to paint, with great pleasure and success. All other things well; especially a new interest I am making, by a match in hand between the eldest son of Sir G. Carteret and my Lady Jemimah Montagu." From A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe: "I had two important things before; the one was the carrying on my business and shop; which was considerable, and in which was embarked all my effects in the world; and the other was the preservation of my life in so dismal a calamity, as I saw apparently was coming upon the whole city; and which however great it was, my fears perhaps as well as the other peoples, represented to be much greater than it could be." What statement below best compares these two accounts of life in London during the plague?

a) The worries of Daniel Defoe's fictional character closely resemble the real-life concerns about business and health that were recorded by Samuel Pepys in his diary.
b) Neither account adequately summarizes the internal conflicts faced by men of means during the plague, in part because of their lack of direct exposure to its effects upon the city.
c) Defoe's fictional narrator relates events from a first-person perspective, allowing the reader greater insight into his characters' thought and feelings than Pepys does in his diary.
d) While both characters face a crisis in these passages, only the real-life Samuel Pepys depicts the internal struggles related to business and health that characterized Londoners during the plague.

Answer 1

The best comparison between the accounts by Pepys and Defoe about life during the plague in London is that they both express concerns over business and health.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that best compares the two accounts of life in London during the plague is: (a) The worries of Daniel Defoe's fictional character closely resemble the real-life concerns about business and health that were recorded by Samuel Pepys in his diary.

Both texts provide a glimpse into the internal struggles faced by individuals during the plague, detailing their concerns with business continuity and the looming danger to their well-being.

While Pepys offers a direct, real-life account, Defoe presents a fictional narrative that still captures the pervasive fear and challenges experienced by Londoners during this dire period.