Imagining the End and Beyond: A Study of Post-apocalyptic Narratives

Nielsen, Louise Damholt ; Knudsen, Rikke Hove ; Laursen, Sarah

4. term

English, Master

2014

2014-05-30

169

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan nutidige amerikanske postapokalyptiske romaner forestiller sig verdens ende og tiden efter, og hvordan de afspejler samtidens frygt, etik og religiøse forestillinger. Med udgangspunkt i et skifte fra dystopisk advarsel til konfrontation argumenteres der for, at postapokalyptisk fiktion arver centrale træk fra klassisk dystopi, men i dag er præget af ikke‑statslige trusler som sygdom, genetik, terror og naturkatastrofer i stedet for totalitære regimer. Afhandlingen placerer disse fortællinger i en postmoderne ramme, hvor fragmenterede religiøse perspektiver og bibelske apokalypse‑motiver spiller en fremtrædende rolle, og sætter dem i relation til amerikanske erfaringer med 9/11, krig og forestillingen om nationalt forfald. Metodisk kombineres etisk kritik, postmodernisme, religions‑ og traume‑studier samt begreber som ontologisk sikkerhed for at belyse, hvordan teksterne iscenesætter moralske valg, genforhandling af mening og mulig gen‑sakralisering. Gennem nærlæsninger af værker som Margaret Atwoods Oryx and Crake, Jim Crace’s The Pesthouse, James Howard Kunstlers World Made by Hand og Cormac McCarthys The Road undersøges spørgsmål om etik (fx genteknologi), frelse og fællesskab. De overordnede mål er at vise, hvordan postapokalyptiske narrativer fungerer som samtidsdiagnoser og etiske afprøvningsrum; mere specifikke resultater og konklusioner uddybes i de senere kapitler og fremgår ikke fuldt ud af dette uddrag.

This thesis examines how contemporary American post‑apocalyptic novels imagine the end and what comes after, and how they register current fears, ethical dilemmas, and religious sensibilities. It outlines a shift from dystopian caution to confrontation, arguing that while post‑apocalyptic fiction inherits key dystopian features, it is now shaped by non‑state threats—disease, genetic engineering, terrorism, and natural disasters—rather than totalitarian states. Framed through postmodernism’s fragmented approaches to religion and the biblical resonance of apocalypse, the analysis situates these narratives within a post‑9/11 American context of trauma, insecurity, and perceived national decline. Methodologically, the study combines ethical criticism, postmodern theory, religious and trauma studies, and concepts such as ontological security to explore how the texts stage moral choices, meaning‑making, and potential re‑sacralization. Through close readings of works including Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, Jim Crace’s The Pesthouse, James Howard Kunstler’s World Made by Hand, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, it investigates questions of ethics (e.g., genetic engineering), salvation, and community. The overall aim is to show how post‑apocalyptic narratives operate as cultural diagnostics and ethical testing grounds; specific findings and conclusions are developed in later chapters and are not fully detailed in this excerpt.

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