My History with the Apocalyptic Genre:
I first encountered apocalyptic fiction with The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was one of the first YA apocalypse novels I read and it followed a girl who survived the world with zombies and I remember being traumatized and entranced by it. I plan to return to it for a reread soon! I was a fan of The Walking Dead for a while and I was always interested in the genre. My all-time favorite apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic novel is The Stand by Stephen King. It's a giant tome split into three books that details the saga of a human modified flu strain that kills 99.9% of the population off. It follows two warring communities one lead by a black woman over 100 years who is a prophet and got a calling from the Lord to lead people to Denver (She's awesome) and the other lead by the notorious Randall Flagg, a man plaguing the dreams of the survivors who is a demon (claims to be Legion at one point, if you are familiar with Scripture). That book changed my life and greatly impacted the way that I looked at literature, but also literature that tackled the end times. It impacted me so much that I took a class on Post-Apocalyptic Literature in college my junior year! I was able to study the genre intensively and while we didn't cover everything possible we covered a wide variety and I will recommend all of those books at the end of this post. So, I don't know everything about the genre, but I know enough to say that impacted my way of thinking and interacting with literature. Here are five things that make apocalyptic literature so important.
1. The Horrors on Display
The biggest defining feature of any post-apocalyptic novel is the horror of humanity is on display. I am not in the camp of people who believe people are naturally good people because history does not align with that world view and apocalyptic literature allows us to look at different ways that humanity will manipulate and oppress people and situations to survive at all costs. Some popular tropes in this genre are cannibalism, sex trafficking and the rape of women and/or children, extreme violence and desensitization to killing, robbery or theft, and society structures of tyranny. The Lightest Object in the Universe displays human horrors through two major factors. The first factor is the T-Rize, a group of children who are struggling to survive and murder and pillage towns to take over and thrive for periods of time before having to move on. The second factor is a man named Jonathan Blue who has control of the radio AM frequencies and promises people an opportunity to be at peace and prosperity with the new technology while also promising ascension. This is a fascinating concept because while cults are usually mentioned or slightly mentioned, this book's driving factor is the presence of this cult leader and its implications on society. The level of the horrors of humanity of low compared to some books like The Road, but the essence that depravity must occur at some point to spur society onto a new hope is prevalent in this post-apocalyptic novel.
2. The Functionality of Humanity and Cultures
Post-apocalyptic novels strive to show some level of a new cultural norm. In some novels cultures are built in small communes (Parable of the Sower), some have no community outside of deprave acts, and some look to establish the functionality of society in hopes of returning to somewhat normal while attempting to address issues that could be eradicated from communal structures for a better society. The Lightest Object in the Universe takes on the third role. While one of the societies we follow is a small suburban community learning to thrive and come together, we also see a grander sense of reparation with the community of mail carriers on bikes showing a sense of the United States being connected even if it is in small community pockets. The functionality of humanity in this novel is based solely on a person's ability to adapt to the community way of living. Some people were lured away to the promise of what they once with technology and choose to leave the safety to travel to Blue's compound, but we see a scope of how this community functions and creates new laws and structures to enhance cooperation and group survival. At the core of every post-apocalyptic novel is the encounter of groups trying to surviving. This is the culture of humanity.
3. End Times
All post-apocalyptic novels touch on the subject of end times. The first piece of apocalyptic literature comes from the Bible with the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation is more well-known and often times referenced or alluded to. End times can happen in a variety of ways they can be from man made disasters (viruses, atomic bombs, AIs and sentient life) or they can come from the earth and decay of human life (natural disasters, widespread fertility issues, viruses that are not man made). End times can have two effects. The first effect leads to minimal life and society having to fight to survive and the second effect leads to a large population surviving, but slowly dying while trying to survive. The Lightest Object in the Universes hints at end times in this case being completely based off of man. Technology failed due to man, government structures collapsed due to man, poverty inflated due to man, public schools and services shut down due to man, and everything just doesn't work any more. Nature does not play a part in this novel of destroying the way of human living. This is traumatic for most of society and people struggle to adapt and lured into the trap of the promise of a cult leader. This shows that the author believes that humans will lead to the downfall of society, but not humanity's resilience. The author clearly paints a picture of being able to withstand and bounce back eventually.
4. Ethics and Hope (or Hopelessness)
The apocalypse brings a great change in society. I see a strong correlation with dystopian novels and the post-apocalyptic genre because the end of the world doesn't have to be a major event of destruction to the earth. It can be destruction of government and society. The Lightest Object in the Universe looks at the ethics of humanity before the power outage as well as how ethics need to be implemented in a community aspect. This was a very strong aspect of the novel since one of the main characters wrestles with the usage of guns to protect themselves from violence. The novel also tackles both how hope and hopelessness has great power over the construction and continuation of society. In the context of the aftermath of an event like a massive power outage, many survivors have no hope and look to an outside source who can give them the power (both literally and figuratively) that they need to feel like functioning members of society. Hope is the surviving factor in all post-apocalyptic novels. Even the bleakest of stories have a slim glimmer of hope. That is what drives and pushes people along towards rebuilding society.
5. More Truth in the End than in the Present
What appeals to readers and people in general when it comes to this genre is that societal truths and issues become easy to spot, discuss, and investigate. The truth that lurked in the corners is easier to grasp and navigate for the reader. The present climate of society at any given time is often confusing and full of secrets. The end of the world usually shines a light on problems that some may have seen, but now all can recognize.
Post-Apocalyptic Books I Recommend:
These are the books in the genre that I've read and recommend. Some are favorites and some are good. Some are okay, but all deserve to be read for their different takes on the concept of the end and the aftermath.
Are you a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre? Are you interested in picking up The Lightest Object in the Universe? Have you read it? Let me know down below in the comments!
Post-Apocalyptic Books I Recommend:
These are the books in the genre that I've read and recommend. Some are favorites and some are good. Some are okay, but all deserve to be read for their different takes on the concept of the end and the aftermath.
Are you a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre? Are you interested in picking up The Lightest Object in the Universe? Have you read it? Let me know down below in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment