Walk-In-The-Shoes Questions
As you read, imagine you are the protagonist.

• What challenges are you facing?
• What fears or concerns might you have?
• What may prevent you from acting in the way you ought?

Observation Questions

• What role did Cotton Mather play in the advancement of modern medicine?
• How did this discovery benefit mankind?
• What responsibility does Cotton Mather feel toward his fellow citizens in Boston? How does this shape his purpose?

Discussion Questions
Discuss the following questions with your students.

• What is the historical context of the narrative?
• What historical circumstances presented a challenge to the protagonist?
• How and why did the individual exhibit a moral and/or civic virtue in facing and overcoming the challenge?
• How did the exercise of the virtue benefit civil society?
• How might exercise of the virtue benefit the protagonist?
• What might the exercise of the virtue cost the protagonist?
• Would you react the same under similar circumstances? Why or why not?
• How can you act similarly in your own life? What obstacles must you overcome in order to do so?

• Students will analyze Cotton Mather’s performance during the smallpox outbreak in Boston in the eighteenth century
• Students will understand how they can pursue their purpose in their own lives
• Students will apply this knowledge to pursue the purpose in their own lives.