Lessing, Doris: 1919 - 2013
Mara and Dann, 1999 - Thematic Parallels: Environmental Catastrophe
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Lessing, Doris: Mara and Dann, 1999, ~300pp
The topic of the novel is the struggle for survival and identity in a future world transformed by environmental catastrophe and social upheaval. - The following books are thematically simliar. These texts lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
Burnside, John: The Devil’s Footprints, 2007, ~210pp
This novel integrates themes of environmental collapse and the psychological impact of living in precarious, ruined landscapes.
- While "Mara and Dann" is epic and speculative, and "The Devil’s Footprints" is intimate and realist, both share a concern with survival in hostile landscapes, the corrosive power of memory, and the loneliness of being cut off from community in collapsing worlds.- Hemingway, Ernest: The Old Man and the Sea, 1952, ~50pp
This novella deals directly with nature and man’s relationship with it but not necessarily catastrophe.
- Both works depict humans struggling with nature, survival, and isolation, and both elevate these struggles into reflections on resilience, dignity, and the meaning of endurance. - Proulx, Annie: The Shipping News, 1993, ~330pp
This novel deals with environment and community in a coastal setting.
- Both novels are about characters uprooted by crisis who must adapt to harsh environments, navigate trauma, and rebuild identity through kinship and knowledge. - Wyndham, John: The Day of the Triffids, 1951, ~270pp
This is a post-apocalyptic novel involving a worldwide natural catastrophe and its aftermath.
- Both novels depict survival in a post-apocalyptic world where humans face hostile environments, must journey through ruined landscapes, and are forced to reckon with fragile social structures and the loss of knowledge.
- List of general discussion questions on Environmental Catastrophe (pdf)
- List of essay prompts on Environmental Catastrophe (pdf)