THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF THE HERO CONCEPT IN AMERICAN POST-APOCALYPTIC NOVELS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Abstract
This article examines the distinctive features of the hero concept in American post-apocalyptic novels through a comparative analysis of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Colson Whitehead’s Zone One, and Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven. Background: post-apocalyptic fiction is widely held to challenge the traditional, victory-oriented heroic model, yet this transformation has rarely been examined comparatively across a defined set of American texts. Purpose: the study identifies and compares the distinct forms heroism takes once the possibility of restoring the previous social order is foreclosed. Methods: a qualitative, comparative literary methodology was applied to a purposive corpus of three novels, using close reading guided by a three-part theoretical framework (social construction of heroism, the American monomyth and its post-apocalyptic rupture, and trauma theory). Results: the analysis identifies three major forms of post-apocalyptic heroism — moral protection, psychological survival, and cultural preservation — corresponding respectively to the three novels. Conclusion: the post-apocalyptic hero is not simply a victorious individual who restores a lost social order, but a vulnerable and complex figure who preserves humanity, meaning, and the possibility of a future under conditions of social collapse.
Keywords
heroism, post-apocalyptic fiction, American literature, survival, cultural preservation.How to Cite
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Copyright (c) 2026 Oybek Muhammadjonov
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