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.

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 21 st 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.

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

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 portraylal 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.

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

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 the Vaccine
Short Books

Poe, Edgar Allan. The Masque of the Red Death. Graham's Magazine, 1842
Rock, Philip. Nemesis. Ekdoseis Polis, 2011.

Shelley, Mary. The Last Man. Henry Colburn, 1826.

Wright, Lawrence. The End Of October. Penguin Books, 2020.