Plague as Art: Over the Centuries, Many Kinds of Stories
2020-04-04
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1Lauren Beukes is a writer who likes to tells stories about power between men and women.
2Her new book "Afterland," will tell the story of a disease that kills almost the entire male population.
3"I wanted to explore what a world without men would look like and how it wouldn't necessarily be a better place," says Beukes.
4She began her book years before the coronavirus outbreak.
5Lawrence Wright is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer.
6He says he got the idea for his new book from the filmmaker Ridley Scott.
7Scott asked him years ago after reading Cormac McCarthy's dystopian "The Road":
8"How could social order break down so much after a disaster?" His upcoming novel, "The End of October," describes an international outbreak that begins in Asia.
9He says people have become so worried about terrorism that they have forgotten the power of natural disasters.
10Plagues have been with us for at least as long as people have been able to write about them.
11But among artists and writers, their meaning has changed a lot based on the writer and the period.
12Once an outbreak was believed to be a punishment from God.
13People were punished for sinning in some way.
14However, outbreaks also allow us to see that there is good and bad in all humans.
15For the Greek historian Thucydides, the plague that nearly destroyed Athens proved to him that praying made little difference, and men could easily break the law or become violent during a crisis.
16Edgar Allan Poe showed the arrogance of trying to defy disease in "The Masque of the Red Death."
17Stephen Soderbergh made the movie "Contagion" about ten years ago to show how easily society can come apart.
18Many artists found a voice painting the Black Plague of the Middle Ages.
19They showed frightening deaths as well as images of Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch whose presences were meant to comfort the families of the dead.
20"Saint Sebastian had survived being shot with arrows, and Saint Roch was believed to have survived...the plague, so you often see them appearing in art," says C. Griffith Mann.
21He is head of the Department of Medieval Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
22Also during the Middle Ages, the writer Bocaccio wrote "The Decameron," that describes how young women and young men flee from the plague.
23Alone in a great house, they tell each other stories to pass the time.
24Boccaccio knew "what we would/could do in the time of the plague: We need to escape from our 'real' world," says Wayne A. Rebhorn.
25He is the head of the English department at the University of Texas at Austin.
26"If the plague shows just how desperate and fragile human life can be, stories offer a way to cope with that desperation," he says.
27Plague books can be a way of looking at the way societies change.
28The 1665 plague in London was the subject for Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year."
29It was published many years after the plague struck.
30Auburn University professor Paula Backscheider says Defoe's book came out at a time when the Renaissance was changing the way people looked at religion.
31They asked the question: Why do human beings suffer?
32Defoe was trying to decide if the plague came from God, or if it came from science, Backscheider explained.
33He wanted to know, if it came from science, how could people protect themselves, she added.
34In the 20th century, Albert Camus' "The Plague" was widely seen as a parable for the Nazi occupation of France and as a statement about the uncertainty of life.
35I'm Jill Robbins.
1Lauren Beukes is a writer who likes to tells stories about power between men and women. Her new book "Afterland," will tell the story of a disease that kills almost the entire male population. 2"I wanted to explore what a world without men would look like and how it wouldn't necessarily be a better place," says Beukes. She began her book years before the coronavirus outbreak. 3Lawrence Wright is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer. He says he got the idea for his new book from the filmmaker Ridley Scott. Scott asked him years ago after reading Cormac McCarthy's dystopian "The Road": "How could social order break down so much after a disaster?" His upcoming novel, "The End of October," describes an international outbreak that begins in Asia. 4He says people have become so worried about terrorism that they have forgotten the power of natural disasters. 5Plagues have been with us for at least as long as people have been able to write about them. But among artists and writers, their meaning has changed a lot based on the writer and the period. 6Once an outbreak was believed to be a punishment from God. People were punished for sinning in some way. However, outbreaks also allow us to see that there is good and bad in all humans. 7For the Greek historian Thucydides, the plague that nearly destroyed Athens proved to him that praying made little difference, and men could easily break the law or become violent during a crisis. 8Edgar Allan Poe showed the arrogance of trying to defy disease in "The Masque of the Red Death." 9Stephen Soderbergh made the movie "Contagion" about ten years ago to show how easily society can come apart. 10Many artists found a voice painting the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. They showed frightening deaths as well as images of Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch whose presences were meant to comfort the families of the dead. 11"Saint Sebastian had survived being shot with arrows, and Saint Roch was believed to have survived...the plague, so you often see them appearing in art," says C. Griffith Mann. He is head of the Department of Medieval Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 12Also during the Middle Ages, the writer Bocaccio wrote "The Decameron," that describes how young women and young men flee from the plague. Alone in a great house, they tell each other stories to pass the time. 13Boccaccio knew "what we would/could do in the time of the plague: We need to escape from our 'real' world," says Wayne A. Rebhorn. He is the head of the English department at the University of Texas at Austin. 14"If the plague shows just how desperate and fragile human life can be, stories offer a way to cope with that desperation," he says. 15Plague books can be a way of looking at the way societies change. The 1665 plague in London was the subject for Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year." It was published many years after the plague struck. Auburn University professor Paula Backscheider says Defoe's book came out at a time when the Renaissance was changing the way people looked at religion. They asked the question: Why do human beings suffer? 16Defoe was trying to decide if the plague came from God, or if it came from science, Backscheider explained. He wanted to know, if it came from science, how could people protect themselves, she added. 17In the 20th century, Albert Camus' "The Plague" was widely seen as a parable for the Nazi occupation of France and as a statement about the uncertainty of life. 18I'm Jill Robbins. 19The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22dystopian - adj. a world in which society is repressive 23plague - n. a disease that affects many people at one time 24arrogance - n. the belief that one person is better than another 25sin - n. an evil act 26medieval - adj. the time period between the dark ages and the renaissance 27fragile - adj. easily breakable 28cope - v. to be able to deal with something 29Renaissance - n. a time of rebirth, specifically in Europe 30parable - n. a simple story used to illustrate a spiritual lesson.