Abstract

on

A Study on The Significance of Pandemic Literature

K.M. Kamalakkannan Assistant Professor of English Erode Arts and Science College.

Email Id: kamalakkannan71@gmail.com Mobile No: 8825700633

Several authors and writers are now on the expedition to discover the growing interest in so-

called pandemic literature-and more generally pandemic fiction, which we are witnessing

drastically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.This research paper sheds

light on the rebirth and significance of the so-called "Pandemic Literature and its Studies" which

includes several elements based on Mark Harrison's illustrations of various epidemics and

calamities.

The Covid-19 pandemic paved way for the rebirth of the Pandemic Literature, which is now in

the limelight with so many writers delving deep to introspect its influence upon readers. When

people come across an epidemic, disaster or a social issue like war, the Literature of that

contemporary age reflects all those transformations that had occurred. It was the Black Death

bubonic Plague (lasted from 1346-1353) that hit the world first. To know more about the

influence of epidemics and pandemics in literature, we need to undergo a thorough introspection

of the subject, of which the paper handles a major representation of the same. There are many of

books like A Journal of the Plague Year (1664) by Daniel Defoe. The Last Man (1826) and The

Scarlet Plague (1912) both by Mary Shelley where we get the references of Plague. Among

Indian writers the celebrated Malayalam author and the Sahitya Academic Awardee, U.R.
Ananthamurthy's Samskara contains references of plague as a pandemic, a disease that caused

stringent orthodox values.

Keywords: Pandemic , Epidemics, Calamities, Black Death, Bubonic Plague, Covid-19

 A Study on The Significance of Pandemic Literature

K.M. Kamalakkannan Assistant Professor of English Erode Arts and Science College.

Email Id: kamalakkannan71@gmail.com Mobile No: 8825700633

Introduction

Several authors and writers are now on the expedition to discover the growing interest in so-

called pandemic literature-and more generally pandemic fiction, which we are witnessing

drastically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.This research paper sheds

light on the rebirth and significance of the so-called "Pandemic Literature and its Studies" which

includes several elements based on Mark Harrison's illustrations of various epidemics and

calamities.

The Covid-19 pandemic paved way for the rebirth of the Pandemic Literature, which is now in

the limelight with so many writers delving deep to introspect its influence upon readers. When

people come across an epidemic, disaster or a social issue like war, the Literature of that

contemporary age reflects all those transformations that had occurred. It was the Black Death

bubonic Plague (lasted from 1346-1353) that hit the world first. To know more about the

influence of epidemics and pandemics in literature, we need to undergo a thorough introspection

of the subject, of which the paper handles a major representation of the same. There are many of

books like A Journal of the Plague Year (1664) by Daniel Defoe. The Last Man (1826) and The

Scarlet Plague (1912) both by Mary Shelley where we get the references of Plague. Among

Indian writers the celebrated Malayalam author and the Sahitya Academic Awardee, U.R.

Ananthamurthy's Samskara contains references of plague as a pandemic, a disease that caused

stringent orthodox values.

The entire world was affected with the outbreak of an abrupt pandemic in 2020 that affected the

well-being of mankind multiple phases like unemployment, online education, ill-health, violence,

confinement and many more. Pandemic is a term that talks about various rich epidemics and this

paper highlights the significance of such a specific genre describing the impact created mal

liver of the people and the different phases of life that we had been through hitherto. This paper

also introduces people towards the versatility of Pandemic Literature that upgrades the level of

consciousness of people by considering it as a social cause through literature.

Pandemic Literature and Studies

The most Initial traces of pandemic literature can be seen in Homer's Iliad in this work Homer

has depicted a plague which first attacks the mules and dogs of the Achaen Camp and later

spreads among human beings killing many of them. The plague comes from God Apollo in the

form of a divine punishment upon the Greeks for their misdeeds. According to Greek Mythology

after Agamemnon kidnapped the daughter of Chryses and refused to release her bewildered

Chryses proved to God Apollo and in order to preserve the honour of his deeply devoted priest

he sent a Plague to sweep through the Greek armed forces. Next Giovanni Boccaccio's

Decameron is also set in the backdrop of the Bubonic Plague of 1348 which is also called the

Black Death. It was a plague spread by flea ridden rats which peaked in Europe. It is the most

fatal pandemic recorded in human history killing millions of people. This work by Boccaccio is a

tale of recreation and renewal in defiance of devastating plague pandemic. This work opens with

the description of a Plague where Boccaccio says that the plague is caused by the influence of

heavenly bodies and is the anger of God over wicked deeds of men. Then after this brief

introduction the work shows the portrayal of a group of seven young women and three young
men who narrate the tale of Decameron and they are shown to have escaped plague ravaged

Florence in the countryside where they imagine life beyond the plague.

A VIEW TO THE BACKGROUND

As we all know, 2020 was a deadly year for citizens due to the precarious pandemic that hit the

world in January 2020. COVID-19 Pandemic has not completely been banished, yet, there are no

public restrictions or prohibitions at present since 2022. Therefore, we can call it an ongoing

pandemic In fact, the global pandemic had caged mankind for more than 2 years with so many

protocols due to its harmful attacks that we witnessed so closely Human history has survived

many moments of crisis and Natural Calamity. Pandemics are not something new on the history

of mankind. Whatever happens around us has a huge influence in our writings and that’s how

pandemic literature was born. Pandemic Literature was discovered with the advent of pandemics

which had influenced so many ways. Changes happening in the socio-economic, cultural and

political systems play a pivotal role in creating a new stream of study in history, art and

literature as well. When Spanish Flu occupied the nationals a century back in 1915, there was a

vital influence in 20th century feature, which is now repeated with the Cavid-19 pandemic.

People locked inside their residences had no other alternative other than than learning new

subjects through reading books and surfing the internet .Much of the time would have been spent

by people by imbibing a new passion within themselves, which was mostly to art and literature.

For example, if you are a diary writer, you would surely have the tendency to pen down all that

happenings in your life, irrespective of time. Likewise, people started exploring the diversity of

the pandemic around and started researching the same by means of online as well as offline

modes. Pandemic Literature consists of several categories listed under a follows:

  Health Blogs and Messages

 Food Styler at Quarantine

 Hobbies to practice at home

 Job Opportunities and Employment

 Online Education and Certification

 Pandemic-related News Articles

Daniel Defoe has also contributed to the literature of this sort with his work called A Journal of

Plague year: Being observations or memorials of the most remarkable occurrences. As well as

public vs private which happened in London during the last great visitation in 1665. In short it

is commonly known as Journal of Plague year by Daniel Defoe. It was published in March 1772.

It basically talks about the experience of a man who survived the Great Plague of London in

1665. Moving ahead we come across Mary Shelley's work called The last Man it was Published

in January 1826. It is a famous dystopian science fiction which depicts the story of a mysterious

21st century plague pandemic that massively kills people across the globe and pushes mankind

towards its extinction. It is the story of Lionel Verney which he tells himself. He is shown as the

last man alive on earth after the horrific plague pandemic, disastrous climate change and

numerous armed conflicts at the end of the 21 century. In the end Lionel Verney saves himself

from a fInal shipwreck realizing that he is the only surviving man on earth then he vows to spend

the remaining years of his life roaming around the earth and writing this book called The Last

Man That is how this work ends.

After understanding the concept of all these above discussed works it can very well be said that

Pandemic Literature generally has dystopian undertones Gloom, negativity, Chaos and

destruction of mankind as its major theme. Another famous example in the same sequence is
Edgar Allan Poe's The mask of Red Death: A Fantasy. It was published in 1842. It is a short

story. Basically it is the tale of a famous Prince called Prince Prospero who fears death and

throughout the story his attempts to cold a dangerous plague called The Red Death by Hiding in

his abbey to escape his death are depicted but in the end everything goes in vain and he dies.

This work symbolises the inevitability of death and powerlessness of man in front of his fate.

This work is greatly influenced by the tuberculosis epidemic of the nineteenth century.

When the story was written Poe's wife Virginia herself was suffering from tuberculosis which is

said to be the inspiration for Poe to curate this tale of Prince Prospero. Next Albert Camus has

also contributed significantly to the body of pandemic literature primarily through his famous

work called The Plague. It is the story of a plague which spreads in the French Algerian city of

Oran and nearly sweeps off the entire population of the Oran city. This work is loosely based on

the cholera epidemic of 1849 that killed large number of Irish famine survivors as they were

already weakened by starvation and fever. Then there is Jack London's The Scarlet Plague it is

primarily inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy. It is also a

contribution to the same body of works it is a past apocalyptic fiction novel which depicts the

horrifying tale 60 years after a plague has devastated the planet earth and ended up reducing

humans to small bands of hunters and gatherers with limited intellect and Linguistic abilities.

The Scarlet plague is shown to have nearly depopulated the planet. Only a man called James

Smith is shown as a survivor who recounts the story of his life before the plague. In this work

Jack London highlighted the deeper aspects of human behaviour in times of crisis. Another

example is the Work called Fever by Deon Meyer this work talks about a highly contagious virus

that kills 95% of the population. These are few examples of how writers have portrayed

pandemics and their consequences on mankind in their works, Next is a work by Michael
Crichton called The Andromeda Strain. This work portrays the story of a team of scientists

investigating the spread of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in New Mexico. Then there is

another work having similar theme called Nemesis by Philip Roth. It is based on the polio

epidemic of in Newark where Roth grew up. It shows the effects of a polio epidemic on a close

knit community of Newark and its children. It tells the story of a twenty three year old Javelin

thrower and weightlifter Bucky Cantor from Newark, New Jersey. It shows how polio begins to

ravage his playground and the everyday realities that he faces due to that polio epidemic. In this

work through the portrayal of Bucky Cantor's character the writer has tried to provide a intimate

sketch of how a physical disease can push a person towards his or her emotional breakdown

therefore magnifying the suffering further.

PANDEMIC AND LITERATURE IN 21ST CENTURY

Many contemporary writers are focusing on the threats faced by the womanhood by being in

confinement who were victims of domestic harassments and sexual abuses from their own life

partners due to the shutdown of beverage and drug stores that prompted down to create ruckus at

home Unable to tolerate the violence, women started enrolling themselves in any sort of

employment to run their livelihood, especially for the sake of their children. Online Education

and its challenges equally occupy its place, a mode of study for all When online services were

getting established in every nook and corner of the world, people had their lives with the mere

support of online, in which education grabs a pivotal role". To develop its application and

methodology in daily life was initially a herculean task, which gradually developed fame and

comfort for the one side of World’s Population. Globally 1.2 million student users in 186

countries are reported to be out of the classroom atmosphere as result of the lockdown of

educational institutions
Online mode of life has therefore created a revolution in world's history. The distinctive rise of

the E-learning drastically changed the lives of students due to the inefficiency and unavailability

of requisite gadgets for hassle-free learning when teaching was undertaken remotely by means of

digitized learning online education has shown a significant increase in the retention of

information for future generations School closures impacted students, teachers, and families with

far-reaching economic and social consequences. These factors have been a great factor for

scholars to come up with new ideas and solutions in this area of literature. The pandemic and

responses to it damaged the global economy. The outbreak was blamed for panic buying,

emptying groceries of essentials such as food, toilet paper, and bottled water. Panic buying

stemmed from perceived threat, perceived scarcity, fear of the unknown, coping behaviour and

social psychological factors. Supply shortages were due to disruption to factory and logistic

operations, shortages were worsened by supply chain disruptions from factory and part

shutdowns, and labour shortages.

A UNESCO report estimated ten million job losses worldwide in the culture and creative

industries. Some services continued to digital platforms, such a live streaming concerts and web-

based arts festivals. Political systems were also affecd p suspensions of legislative activities,

isolations or deaths of politicians, and rescheduled elections The number of journalists

imprisoned or detained increased worldwide, with some related to the pandemic The pandemic

disrupted food system worldwide, hitting at a time when undernourishment was rising (an

estimated 690 million people lacked food security in 2019). Food access fell as a result of falling

incomes, lost remittances, and disruptions to food production, culminating in the rise in food

price. They shed light on social and economic issues, including student debt, digital learning,
food insecurity, and homelessness, as well as access to childcare, health care, housing, internet,

and disability services. The impact was more severe for disadvantaged children.

A 2021 study noted that the COVID-19 pandemic had increased interest in epidemics and

infectious diseases among both historians and the general public Prior to the pandemic, these

topics were usually overlooked by "general" history and only received attention in the History of

Medicine, but now literature has taken its place.

Now moving on to the most recent setback which took a great toll on mankind sparing no one

irrespective of their status, age, gender and Nationality etc it is the Corona virus Pandemic

which is also known as Covid 19 Pandemic Many people lost their lives because of Corana virus

pandemic also those who survived in most cases lost their loved ones and others who might have

somehow managed not to come in contact with this virus came in the grasp of mental illness as it

is reported worldwide throughout the course of the pandemic that the graph of people suffering

from Insomnia, Anxiety, depression saw a drastically upward trend in almost all countries of the

world. In many cases people even committed suicide due to fear, isolation, pessimistic news

reports, financial crisis so on and so forth. In short it can be said that almost every human got

affected due to Corona virus Pandemic in one way or the other.

This horrific influence of Corona virus can also be seen in the literary works published during

the course of this pandemic. For example, The end of October by Lawrence Wright. It was

published in April 2020 at the peak of Corona virus Pandemic. It is known aS the pandemic

disaster novel because it talks about a global pandemic which causes great economic meltdown,

conspiracy theories and death in large numbers. Another work that came into being during the

pandemic is called The Pandemic Century: A History of Global Contagion from the Spanish flu
to Covid 19. It was published in July 2020. This work is written by Mark Honigsbaum a medical

historian and journalist. In this work Pandemic Century he sheds light on a period of 100 years

through the depiction of ten different outbreaks which took place through the course of 100 years

of history in detail.

Then a work called The Pull of the stars by Emma Donoghue also got published when Covid 19

was at its peak in 2020. It is set 1918 during the Influenza Pandemic of Dublin Ireland ravaged

by war and disease. It is the story of Julia Power. She is a nurse at a hospital having massive

shortage of staff where many pregnant ladies infected by a unfamiliar flu are quarantined

together for three days in a small ward and they are shown influencing each others life in many

unexpected ways. It is a moving story of pain compassion and love in the face of a terrible

pandemic.

Another work called Covid-19: What you need to know about the Corona virus and the race for

vaccine by Dr. Michael Manley was published during the peak time of Corona virus It is called

a fascinating overview of the corona pandemic by Daily Mail. In this work Dr Mosley has

provided thought provoking and detailed understanding of Corona virus. How it spreads, how it

affects human body and how human immune system tries to fight it back

CONCLUSION

In conclusion we can say that the pandemic literature is a body of literature which is produced

either in the middle of a pandemic set during the time of a pandemic spread depicting the
petrifying effects of fatal diseases on humanity with tales of both destruction and survival. This

type of literature takes us away from data statistics and records of deaths and casualties for a

time being in place of that it provides us narratives showcasing so as how the pandemics have

affected individual lives. And sometimes provides strength to get out of mental trauma and fear

with tales of patience, bravery, togetherness and compassion during the testing of the spread of

these fatal diseases. It also teaches human beings to learn to accept life as it comes and shows

how life is beyond control in many ways. This sort of Literature gives the reader an intimate

view of survival stories by providing moving portrayal of the emotional struggles that come up

with physical discomfort and pain caused by these fatal spreads. Most of all at teaches virtue of

perseverance in the face of difficult and spirit breaking situation.

To sum up, pandemic literature has taken its shape more than 2000 years back according to Mark

Harrison's observation. This stream of literature contains abundant information about the past,

present and future of the world's health by illustrating every meticulous aspect of social

revolution. Therefore one can realize that there is no deadline for this genre to exist, which is

evergreen till the world exists. History teaches us what life was and how it was led, and this

broad comparison consumes years for the common man to understand the differentiation of the

lifestyle we lead today and that of the past. If at all there's no such pandemic Covid- 19 that is

going to hit the world, history still plays a vital role in teaching man the importance of health,

hygiene and social well being which today's world truly lacks. The reasons may be ample, but

they remain as a blackhole in our life until man changes his mind set to set forward a healthy and

harmonious society ahead!

References

Boccaccia, Giovanni. The Decameron, Heritage Press, 1968.

Camus. Albert ,The Plague. Hamish. Hamilton, 1948,

Crichton, Michael. The Andromeda Strain. Vintage Books, 2017. Defoe, Daniel. Journal of

Plague Year. E.Nutt J. Roberts A. Dodd J. Graves, 1722

Donoghue, Emma. The Pull of the Stars. Ulverscroft, Charnwood, 2022

Harrison Mark "Disease and The Modern World- 1500 to The Present World" 2004.

Homer. The Iliad Spark Pub, 2014.

Honigsbaum, Mark. The Pandemic Century: One Hundred Years of Panic, Hysteria, and Hubris,

W. W. Norton & Company,2020

London, Jack. The Scarlet Plague. Westermann, 1961.

Meyer, Deon. Fever. Hodder, 2018.

Mosley, Michael Covid-19: What You Need to Know about the Coronavinus and the Race for

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Poe, Edgar Allan. The Masque of the Red Death. Graham's Magazine, 1842

Rock, Philip. Nemesis. Ekdoseis Polis, 2011.

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