Read Maria's responses to popular apocalyptic literature. |
Omar El Akkad presents a compelling and unique story in his novel American War. As the title reveals, this book is about war, unlike the disease and panic driven novels we have explored thus far. It seems near impossible to write about the apocalypse without a pandemic involved, and this book is no exception. However, rather than the dénouement, the world-shattering pathogen becomes a conclusion. A final act of revenge. The most intriguing of themes in El Akkad’s novel is the timelessness of American war characteristics. No matter the conflict in US history, certain qualities of wartime stand out, and the book includes obvious references to the true American Civil War in 1861-1865. There many similarities between the “first” and “second” American Civil Wars we can discover. The fictional Second American Civil War amplifies the political ideology divisions that tend to adhere themselves to regions of the nation. For example, conservatives in the South and liberals in the North. American war is fought over rights from the Revolutionary rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the Vietnam war rights to ownership and control of one’s life that were attacked by the spread of communism. The central conflict of the Second American Civil War was whether or not citizens should have the right to use fossil fuel. Southern states seceded after the use of fossil fuels were banned and they felt their rights were intolerably infringed upon. This directly parallels the “first” American Civil War concerning the issue of slavery. In each circumstance, the federal government tried to control something the South thought they should not be able to, and so the South chose to remove itself from the Union. Yousef, from the Bouazizi empire, highlights another timeless characteristic when he tells Sarat, “Everyone fights in an American war.” Foreign nations interfered with both wars. In the first war, foreign involvement took the form of other nations providing supplies as well as soldiers. About 1/3 of all troops in the Civil War were foreign born immigrants. I encourage you to read Andy Waskie’s article on foreign enlistment to learn more. The Bouazizi Empire takes the stage of foreign interference in the novel’s futuristic war. They also provide supplies, but claim much greater influence when Yousef orchestrates a devastating pandemic to prolong America’s state of weakness. I found a few more similarities of notabilia. The “first” and the “second” Civil Wars spill copious innocent blood. This wrenches our hearts when Dana is murdered by a random bomber drone. The fighting on American soil destroys the land and structures in both cases. In addition, I learned from Britannica that South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. This explains why the state was targeted and quarantined at the start of the Second American War to quell the hot spot of rebellion. Did you notice any of these similarities as you read American War? What other characteristics are shared across the different wars in American history?
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