Investigating Isolation Mortality and Societal Changes in Character Development and Narrative Structures of Contemporary Pandemic Fiction

Abstract

The system of isolation, fear of death, and dissolution of society are discussed to define the character psychology and the narrative in contemporary pandemic fiction, as discussed in this paper. It looks into the role of the emotional withdrawal, fear of death, and broken social structures, as the agents of transformation within, and is perceived to mediate decisions and associations. The nonlinear and multi-perspective style of narration in the form of disorientation of the characters psychologically and the unsteadiness of pandemic settings is also addressed. Taken together, these factors indicate an excellent correlation between external crisis and internal change and that pandemic fiction is an indication of the vagueness of the real world yet is able to provide some insight into how people will survive, how they are fragile, and how they make meaning out of such immense upheaval.