NULLA SALUS: SELF-MADE APOCALYPSE AND APOCALYPTIC BLINDNESS IN HELLO AMERICA AND IN THE COUNTRY OF LAST THINGS

Creative Commons License

Gürova E.

KÜLTÜR ARAŞTIRMALARI DERGİSİ, sa.26, ss.295-309, 2025 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

The notion of apocalypse has played a significant role in storytelling throughout history, appearing in mythology, religious texts, and folklore as a reflection of societal fears, ethical concerns, and hopes for renewal. Over time, its eschatological meaning has evolved from a theological construct into a secular framework, now embodying anxieties about nuclear conflict, environmental catastrophe, and technological upheaval. This study explores Hello America (1981) by J.G. Ballard and In the Country of Last Things (1987) by Paul Auster through the concept of “apocalyptic blindness,” a term that describes the unwillingness or inability to recognize signs of imminent collapse due to ideological rigidity, technological overconfidence, or historical amnesia. By first examining the core characteristics of apocalyptic literature, this analysis will then investigate these novels and examine their depictions of societal breakdown. It argues that both works ultimately reject the possibility of redemption or renewal, instead portraying collapse as either unavoidable or met with futile resistance. Through this perspective, Hello America and In the Country of Last Things present a vision of the apocalypse that focuses on disorder, despair, and the limitations of human agency in the face of systemic failure.