Pandemic and Resilience— An Analysis of Love in the time of Cholera and the Plague

Abstract

The article proposes to provide an insight into Pandemic Literature revealing the impact of pandemic on society as well as the remarkable human resilience. Human history has witnessed a number of pandemics like cholera, plague, and the current covid-19. The word ‘pandemic’ is derived from the Greek words ‘pan’ and ‘demos’. Pan means all and demos means people or crowd. Pandemic is an infectious disease widespread over a large part of the world. Resilience is the human ability to recover quickly from adverse circumstances. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a classic piece of pandemic literature. The author says that lovesickness is a literal illness. The story takes place in the backdrop of a cholera outbreak. The marked effect of cholera on people’s life and the remarkable human resilience are highlighted in the article. The protagonist’s outburst in the end of the novel shows the surge of resilience. The analysis of The Plague by Albert Camus, the noted French writer throws light on helpless human beings unable to change their destinies. The writer’s absurdist point of view is revealed. The novel begins with the onslaught of plague in the Algerian city of Oran. Besides the sufferings of people, the change of human attitudes and the trait of resilience are also depicted by the author.