I find myself in a midst of a coincidence relating to the current COVID-19 crisis: in two of my courses at Bowdoin (World Science Fiction and English Literature and Social Power), pandemics have been important thematic topics. In my English course, we we read the book, A Journal of the Plague Year, by Daniel Defoe. Written in 1722, this novel is about the bubonic plague that killed tens-of-thousands of Londoners in the 1660’s. It is quite an interesting book, in terms of its genre; it is considered to be one of the first emerging novels. The author did not actually live through the plague himself, but writes as if he experienced it first-hand. The details he includes and realities he describes are not inaccurate however.

The similarities between the plague that Defoe writes about and the current out-break of virus are a bit disturbing. One of the most important similarities I have been thinking about is how this type of crisis disproportionately impacts the poor. During the London plague, those that were wealthy were able to shut themselves up in their homes, stock-pile food and supplies, or escape to ships and the country-side. Their wealth and advantage allowed them to isolate from others and focus on self-preservation. In contrast, the poor were forced to take jobs that put them in direct contact with the disease, they had to little access to food and supplies that were not contaminated, and without options to flee they consulted sham doctors who would charge them for fake medicine – plunging them further into poverty. The poor were forced to choose between money and the hope of survival and certain death. Today, the differing experience of the fortunate and the less-fortunate is quite similar. Those in entry-level or serviced-based jobs have been laid-off or are required to go to work and interact with potentially sick people, in contrast, those who can afford to work from home or be unemployed for a few months are able to enjoy time at home.

Viral outbreaks that disturb our normal way of life are explored extensively in science fiction. This week we read a story written by Octavia Butler, “Speech Sounds,” that details society that has been effected by a virus that takes away people’s ability to communicate. My own current experience of a pandemic combined with my reading of Defoe’s novel made me approach this story with more attention and consideration. I thought about the characters’ experiences more seriously and related to their uncertainty, feeling of loneliness, and fear. The stories final message of hope, kindness, and doing what is right (as demonstrated by the main character’s response to challenge) were quite welcome. I think often the setting and circumstances of SF stories are so primary and the point of focus as they are unfamiliar – however, in my reading, the circumstances were not quite as unfamiliar and thus I was able to focus more on the reactions, behavior, and psychology of the characters. I would like to continue to study SF depictions of pandemic – it would be interesting to track how characters respond to such crisis and compare it to how it is occurring in real-time today. Perhaps the responses of SF characters can be worthy models for us today…I will find out and continue to post on this subject in the coming week.