Earth Abides and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Critical Analysis

Abstract

There is literature and philosophy on viruses, plagues, epidemics, and pandemics. Earth Abides (1949) is a masterpiece of the science fiction-post-apocalyptic subgenre by an American writer George R. Stewart. Earth Abides approaches the wake of civilization’s extinction in a very rational, functional, logical manner. This paper examines the novel as apocalyptic during the COVID-19 epidemic by looking Stewart’s network of scientific inspirations. Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that may cause anything from a common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Extreme Acute Respiratory Syndrome. In 2019, a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) found in Wuhan, China. The COVID-19 pandemic rocked the global economy, causing severe economic destruction across the globe. COVID-19 has inflamed divisiveness and politics worldwide, with heated disputes erupting about who should blame and who should assisted first. One of the concerns is the establishment of no-entry enclaves, which would further restrict international trade. The story of Earth Abides, set among the few survivors of a planet-wide pandemic, provides a view into the status of an interdisciplinary human ecosystem at a critical juncture. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper examined the American novel Earth Abides and provided a plausible vision of the future. Ish (protagonist) conquered by science, attempting to exist in a world in which he may be the last human, and relates the story of how scientific goals contributed to the abolition of human civilization. The researcher highlights how the fiction portrays reality and how individuals are at fault for the deterioration of their environment.