The Pandemic Narrative In A Journal Of The Plague Year And Pale Horse,Pale Rider

Pandemic is a vital literary motif in western literature as pandemic narrative can touch grand narrative of humanity,society,and history and the noble fields of aesthetics by transcending reality in the form of writing.Therefore,pandemic writing is quite popular among writers in different times.Of the works related to pandemic,Daniel Defoe’s The Journal of Plague Year and Katherine Anne Porter’s Pale Horse,Pale Rider stand out as two representative works.The former presents a meticulous description about the social scene under the 1665 great plague in London and in the light of a large number of historical materials,through which Defoe tells us a dark and horrible history.The latter was written based on Katherine Anne Porter’s personal experience.Although what Pale Horse,Pale Rider narrates is Miranda’s story,it reveals the social reality of America during 1918 influenza as well.The novel coronavirus pandemic broke out and rampaged around the world in2020 and the globe is once again stuck in the shadow of a pandemic.Under such social context,A Journal of The Plague Year and Pale Horse,Pale Rider,which are the representative pandemic works of western literature are chosen as the research object of this thesis.This thesis will focus on four major points,what kind of pandemic the two works narrate,how the pandemics are narrated,why the pandemics are narrated and what experiences and lessons can we learn from the pandemic narrative in the two works.Theoretically,this thesis applies some theories of narratology to analyze the narrative techniques in the two works and at the same time,the similarities and dissimilarities of the pandemic narrative in the two works will also be presented.The thesis consists of six chapters.The first chapter introduces Daniel·Defoe and A Journal of the Plague Year,Katherine Anne Porter and Pale Horse,Pale Rider.Then some relevant literature review both outside and inside China will be mentioned,followed by the introduction of some theories of narratology and lastly the significance and structure of the thesis will be illustrated.The second chapter gives a detailed description of what pandemics the two works narrate—the inner structure of the pandemic narrative.The course of the narration of the works conforms to the three stages of pandemics,with the beginning,climax and end of the works corresponding to the breakout,rampage and the containment of the pandemics.The third chapter discusses how the two works narrate the pandemics,namely analyzing what kind of narrative techniques are applied in the two works.Analysis will firstly be made on the narrative perspective of the two works,in which their difference in narrative perspective will be pointed out.Then how the two works conduct a traumatic narrative through narrative order,duration and frequency and thus reveal the individual’s trauma amid a pandemic will be analyzed.The fourth chapter focuses on why the pandemics are narrated,which is to analyze the narrative metaphors of the two works.Though superficially what the two works narrate is pandemic,they reveal the writers’ thought and criticism on some social issues metaphorically like religion,war and ethics.The fifth chapter summarizes some experiences and lessons which are useful for modern people to cope with pandemic,telling government and the individuals how to deal with a pandemic effectively when it appears once again.The sixth chapter is the conclusion,concluding that Defoe and Porter,living in different eras and employing their typical narrative techniques narrate pandemics and at the same time,they deliver their reflection and thought on religion,war and humanity through pandemic narrative.Besides,the pandemic narrative in the two works provides people in modern time who are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with some useful experiences and lessons,alarming us of the possible future global pandemic.