Character Analysis Of After The Plague By T. C. Boyle

Every day of a human life is faced with one goal: surviving. After the Plague by T.C. Boyle is a story of just that. In the eyes of human race destruction with a disease so unbearable, a group of humans works together, and sometimes against each other to survive. A common theme in this short story is the ability to survive. When they all gather in a surviving city together, they learn what it means to deal with different relationships, as well as the rotting corpses on every street corner. Main character, Francis, has varying relationships with few people. Leaving his old world behind he does what it takes to survive, eventually finding a companion whom he finds comfort in. After the Plague is a short story focusing on humanity’s ability …show more content…
In After the Plague, the reader is faced with a strong comparison. The reader is first introduced to the main character: Jed. Jed is a writer living in California. He decides to get away and stay in a cabin in the mountains to be able to better express his words and let his creativity flow. Jed’s aim in this action was getting away from the rest of human kind, the “rat race” as he calls it. After a couple of days have passed, he gets waves of broadcasts through the radio speaking about the outbreak and how it has swept through most of the human race. Jed is surprised when he hears Sarai rudely banging on his door. Sarai is harsh, stubborn, and rude as she demands Jed grant her entrance to his cabin. As Sarai and Jed begin to know each other, they realize that the two of them are not meant to coexist together. As time passes, they move together to the new surviving town, home to all those who made it past the plague. There, Jed meets a woman named Felicia. Felicia was not traditionally perfect, but she was beautiful, kind, caring, and genuine. Jed and Felicia belonged together and they both realized this. Understanding the key actions of the characters helps the reader develop an appreciation for each character and their symbolic hidden …show more content…
Darren King of the Guardian book reviews believes that T.C. Boyle’s After the Plague is a short story that will never be as successful as his novels consisting of all stories combined. However, he does believe that Boyle’s writing is an entire adventure for the reader. King states, “If these are adventure stories, they are adventures of the mind and heart” (King). Boyle’s stories were all addicting stories that ended in either love, death, or both combined. Boyle wrote about reality; he wrote about his own view on life and it ended up inspiring many readers and many other writers. He went against the norm with his writing, putting out stories about things other writers would not typically write