After London · Question
How does After London develop the theme of Collapse of Civilization?
Answer
After London by Richard Jefferies develops Collapse of Civilization across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book depicts a post-apocalyptic England where advanced technology and society have fallen, leaving a barbaric world of scattered settlements, lost knowledge, and a poisoned, overgrown landscape.
The chapter explicitly details the breakdown of societal structures and the descent into barbarism.
The entire chapter is a detailed account of the physical and ecological consequences of civilization's end, as fields, roads, and buildings are reclaimed by nature.
The chapter details how domestic animals reverted to wild states after the ancients departed, illustrating the collapse of human control over nature.
Evidence in the book
- Part I: The Relapse Into Barbarism
The chapter explicitly details the breakdown of societal structures and the descent into barbarism.
- The Great Forest
The entire chapter is a detailed account of the physical and ecological consequences of civilization's end, as fields, roads, and buildings are reclaimed by nature.
- Wild Animals
The chapter details how domestic animals reverted to wild states after the ancients departed, illustrating the collapse of human control over nature.
- Men of the Woods
The chapter details the fall of the ancient world, the destruction of records, and the descent into barbarism after the departure of the educated classes.
- IV: The Invaders
The chapter details the gradual re-emergence of social order from chaos, but also the corruption, injustice, and loss of knowledge that characterize the new world.
- The Lake
The chapter describes the ruins of ancient London and other cities, now uninhabitable swamps filled with pestilence and superstition, illustrating the fall of the old world.
- Part II: Wild England
The wild England setting underscores the complete breakdown of human society and infrastructure, forcing characters to adapt to a primitive existence.
- I: Sir Felix
The world has regressed to a primitive state where glass windows are a luxury, ancient books are decaying, and gold is hoarded by the prince.
