조지 R. 스튜어트의 생태학적 비전: 종말 소설 『땅은 영원하다』를 중심으로

Abstract

This study aims to analyze George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides from an ecological point of view, examining the process in which a small number of pandemic survivors adapt to the environment after the fall and build a new civilization in it. For this purpose, it explores Stewart’s distinctive ecological vision and outlines his ecological works, including nonfiction and novels. His early works, Ordeal by Hunger, Storm, and Fire materialize his belief in the powers of nature. The environment, such as landscape, weather, storm, and fire, acts as a major protagonist in all of these works. At the same time, the human elements are demoted to secondary and functional roles to emphasize how nature manages itself. In Earth Abides, however, nature and human characters are poised in parallel lines, each contributing to changing the face of the earth devastated by a deadly virus. Although it is categorized as a post-apocalyptic novel in general, Earth Abides is also an ecological report on a post-pandemic world, which is observed through the eyes of Stewart’s persona named Ish. As a geographer and ecologist, he delves into the relationship between nature and man as well as humanity’s impact on the planet. Stewart recognizes humans as part of the global ecosystem and elaborates the way humans relate to its events in Earth Abides.