Department or Program
Environmental Studies
Second Department or Program
English
Abstract
An examination of six novels spanning one century of American post-apocalyptic anxiety-- The Scarlet Plague, by Jack London; Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart; Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank; The Postman by David Brin; and the World Made By Hand series, by James Howard Kunstler. Through close readings, the author establishes the thesis that post-apocalyptic American literature is ultimately a genre of hope. The themes of food, manly agency, and symbolism are explored, and the trope of simplification as renewal and salvation is identified.
Level of Access
Restricted: Embargoed [Bates Community After Expiration]
First Advisor
Carolyn Dekker
Date of Graduation
Spring 5-2015
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Sangree, Elizabeth Frieda, "Apocalyptic Simplification as Human Renewal: Examining the Tropes of Hope found in Post-Apocalyptic American Literature of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries" (2015). Standard Theses. 69.
https://scarab.bates.edu/envr_studies_theses/69
Number of Pages
161