Age is just a number, at least for Stephen Quinn. Stephen Quinn is 15 years old, but he doesn't let his age define who he is. Although Stephen was mature for his age when the plague began, he still had much to do. Throughout the novel The Eleventh Plague, Stephen is prematurely forced to make the journey into adulthood. Stephen had to mature enough mentally to allow himself to open up and trust people. Stephen had to toughen up and become a man and he had to be strong enough to have courage in the worst of times. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, he was struck by something that seemed unsurpassable. He must have suffered the loss of his father to the plague. At the beginning of this novel, we see Stephen acting very mature compared to his father, but he still had a lot of growing up to do. Stephen never thought he could trust anyone who wasn't family. In the first chapter of this book, “Decency is at an all-time low and there is no one to trust but yourself. » After the plague, Stephen lost all reason to trust anyone, the only person he trusted was his father. Stephen is a very strong child, but his dilemma of trusting people was holding him back. If they wanted to move on, Stephen was going to have to eventually trust someone, but he didn't understand the idea of ​​trusting someone else who wasn't his father. During their journey, they came across a small civilization called “Land of the Settlers”. “I haven’t seen another child since the plague started.” Stephen said in chapter 5. This was Stephen's bridge to trusting someone for the first time in a long time. He realized that there were other people who were like him and just wanted the best for their family. Stephen further transforms into ...... middle of paper ....... In chapter fourteen, Stephen says to himself "Daddy was lying in front of me, still as still." It showed that Stephen knew he had to move on as he put his father to rest and then buried him. Stephen was very sad, but whatever he did from that point on, it was for his father. Stephen Quinn was no longer the fifteen years he was when the plague began. Stephen was going through the plague with many problems and many decisions. Stephen has matured exponentially into an adult since the plague began. If Stephen were to continue on this path, he could be the smartest and strongest person in the face of the plague. After everything that happened to Stephen, there was no going back. Stephen became the man Dad wanted him to be too before he died. Stephen was a truly courageous adult. Works Cited Hirsch, Jeff. The eleventh plague. New York: Scholastic, 2011. Print.