'A journal of the plague year' by Daniel Defoe is a book that presents the plague that had afflicted London in 1655. Even though it is a fictional book, it has a plethora of official documents and letters from that time, therefore making it more appealing for all of the readers and more realistic.

It is a narrative told by the protagonist H.F., an unmarried saddler whose name is only revealed by his signature at the end of the work. The novel stars with H.F. who is relating rumours that the plague had come from Holland. The protagonist squanders some time in London thinking whether he should remain there or he should leave the city. After some food for thought, he remains saying that God wants him to remain.

He sees that there is the usual discrepancy in the population. The majority of the wealthy people leave the city, leaving all the poor ones being strongly affected. Furthermore, he relates how they rush at doctors, astrologers and fortune tellers, because of their anxiety and panic for the imminent plague.

At some point, city officials have a swift solution of closing people in their houses but H.F. says that it will be in vain, given the fact that Londoners always find a way to trick the authorities.

H.F. also presents the changing paradigm in human behaviour. For instance, people became more brutal; looting any house they saw, people who have become mad because of the ubiquitous plague, some who are trying to leave the city and find a safe place. Regardless, the protagonist tries to show that they are still normal humans, relating many stories of mercy, charity and redemption.

Throughout the novel he returns to his ideas of how people can survive this plague. He also presents how the number of cases are increasing and decreasing over the course of time. Furthermore, he presents how trades have gone downhill because of the on-going plague.

He ends by saying that a plethora of people didn't learn anything from this plague and that they are returning to their old lives while others are grateful and try to live differently and that H.F. is grateful for being alive.

This book presents how much a virus changes our behaviour, let alone our lives and the others around us. We may see that a virus changes the way some people look at life and that others return to their normal lives like nothing had happened.