Our Team

Earth Abides and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

There is a literature and philosophy of viruses, plagues, epidemics, and pandemics. Earth Abides (1949) is a masterpiece of science fiction-post-apocalyptic subgenre by an American writer George R. Stewart, which asks, “What will happen if the earth and life as we know it no longer existed?” This could happen in a variety of forms, including nuclear war, alien takeover, pandemic, plague, or, as in Earth Abides, a virus pandemic that wiped out the overwhelming majority of humans in just the first two pages of the novel. Earth Abides approaches the wake of civilizations extinction in a very rational, functional, logical manner. It’s an experiment about humanity’s shifting position on the planet, reflecting the change from a deterministic model of ecological succession to one stressing contingency and human effect. By analysing Stewart’s network of scientific influences, this article seeks to analyse the novel as apocalyptic at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coronaviruses are a wide family of viruses that can induce anything from a mild cold to more serious illnesses like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Extreme Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). In Wuhan, China, a new coronavirus (COVID-19) was discovered in 2019. This is a brand-new coronavirus that has never been seen in humans before. Fever, cough, shortness of breath, and pneumonia are some of the most frequent symptoms of COVID-19. It has the potential to cause serious problems in people with immunodeficiency, the elderly, and others who have underlying conditions like cancer, diabetes, or lung disease. The COVID-19 pandemic rocked the global economy, causing particularly serious economic destruction across the globe. COVID-19 has stoked partisanship and polarization around the world, as bitter debates erupt about who should be blamed and who should be helped first. The formation of no-entry enclaves and further obstruction of foreign commerce are among the dangers. Among the few survivors of planet-wide plague is, the novel in this context creates a window into the state of multidisciplinary human ecology at a moment of defining transition.

Keywords: Apocalyptic novel, scientific novel, COVID-19 pandemic, wilderness, environmental crisis, reel versus real.