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(2017
premidterm assignment) Model Student Pre-midterm answers 2017 (Index) Essay 2: Propose topic for research and reading essay on personal / professional topic of your choice |
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Sarah Nava
Disease at World’s End
I am enamored by the effects of illness and injury in future narratives.
I think it is a very widely addressed and serious concern, no matter which way
it is approached. In most future narratives illness or injury leads to the
removal of that character.
In
novels such as The Giver by Lois
Lowry where the community has been “perfected” it is discovered that smaller,
weaker infants are “released” along with the old. Illness is unheard of and
injuries just don’t seem to happen. The truth is eventually revealed to Jonas
that being released is really being put to death and pain is a very real and
excruciating thing. So, while the community is living pain free, they are also
missing out on personal connections, feelings and love. Jonas and The Giver have
ultimately decided that the pain is worth the pleasure.
On the other hand, in stories like
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, illness or injury can be a death
sentence or a target for becoming a victim. Survival depends on appearing to be
strong, healthy and poor. Broken limbs, bleeding or obvious illness make you a
weak victim for someone else looking to survive with whatever you have. Some
will even take your life just for their own enjoyment.
In another apocalyptic narrative,
The Walking Dead, illness begins the whole apocalypse. A virus causes humans
to die except for a part of their brain that allows them to walk around and eat
and infect other humans. Avoiding the spread of the virus is an important part
of survival, but becoming injured also causes struggles of survival as it is
difficult to run or fight off zombies with a limp or an un-useable arm.
Works
Cited
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Butler, Octavia E. ([2000], ©1993) Parable of the Sower. New York :
Warner Books
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Kirkman, R., Adlard, C., Moore, T., Luse, T., Darabont, F., MacLaren, M.,
Eglee, C. H., ... Anchor Bay Entertainment, Inc. (2010). The Walking
Dead: The Complete First Season.
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Lowry, Lois (1993). The Giver.
Boston, Massachusetts : Houghton Mifflin
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