Matilda Bone Paragraph

Matilda Bone, by Karen Cushman is a historical fiction novel taking place in the medieval ages. This book demonstrates the lack of hygiene, basic medical knowledge, and religious influences on the people of Blood and Bone Alley. In Matilda Bone, the lack of hygiene really bothers Matilda in the beginning of this novel. She used to live in a clean manor where she was taken care of. Now she is abandoned in a Bone Setter's house, which was "one of the filthiest places Matilda had ever seen" according to Matilda's observations. In the medieval ages, because of the lack of hygiene, many people died early and got sick easily. This is clearly shown in the book. The basic medical knowledge of Red Peg are very different from the medical knowledge we have now. Her ideas are very strange compared to what we are used to. When a limb is broken she cracks it back into it's original position and tells her patient to rest. In the medieval times, religion was very important in people's lives. But not so much in Red Peg's life, because she didn't see the point in it. Matilda found this outrageous, being raised by a priest and being raised in a very religious place. When anything went wrong, Matilda would turn to the saints and god to seek for help. Over time Matilda realized that the saints and gods wouldn't help, she just needed to believe in her self and others, instead of praying all the time. This novel really displays the topics of hygiene, medical knowledge, and religious faith back in the medieval times.