The Struggle to Stay Alive: A Comparative Study of the Survival Strategies in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven

Survival is a prominent theme in the genre of post-apocalyptic literature. Such narrative unravels in the aftermath of a catastrophic event, where civilization has crumbled, leaving behind a desolate world. Its central theme revolves around survival - the instinctual drive of characters to stay alive amidst chaos, scarcity, and danger. These narratives explore the resilience of humanity, the loss of societal norms, and the pursuit of hope in dire circumstances. The strategy of survival is different for each survivor of every story - ranging from combating the outbreak of a deadly virus to coping with a world ending natural disaster. The novels of Cormac McCarthy, a prominent figure in modern American Fiction, tell the tale of a struggle for human survival. The novels of Emily St John Mandel also depict realistic scenarios where survival of humans is threatened. This paper intends to analyse the various survival strategies adopted by the characters of the selected post-apocalyptic fiction by the above mentioned authors in order to tackle the life threatening circumstances they are presented with.