식물 팬데믹과 재난의 보편성: 존 크리스토퍼의 『풀의 죽음』에 나타난 영국 예외주의의 붕괴

Plant Pandemic and the Universality of Disaster: The Collapse of British Exceptionalism in John Christopher’s The Death of Grass

This paper analyzes John Christopher’s The Death of Grass as a floral apocalypse narrative that critiques the fragility of British exceptionalism. The novel envisions a plant pandemic, triggered by the Chung-Li virus, which devastates crucial crops such as rice, wheat, and grass, progressively bringing the ecological crisis from distant Asia to the heart of Britain. This transformation exposes how food insecurity swiftly destabilizes national order, governmental authority, and moral confidence. Initially, British characters respond through Orientalist perspectives, clinging to beliefs in their cultural superiority; however, as the virus spreads and the state fails its citizens, this confidence collapses. The government’s concealment of information and plans for mass population reduction reveal the violence lurking beneath civilized discourse, while individual characters abandon ‘Englishness’ in favor of looting, murder, and survivalism. Ultimately, The Death of Grass uses the framework of plant pandemic fiction to interrogate the myth of British moral superiority and illuminate the universal vulnerabilities of modern civilization.