A Canticle for Leibowitz: Difference between revisions

 

Inspired by the author's participation in the Allied bombing of the monastery at Monte Cassino during [[World War II]], the novel is considered a masterpiece by literary critics. It has been compared favorably with the works of [[Evelyn Waugh]], [[Graham Greene]], and [[Walker Percy]], and its themes of religion, recurrence, and church versus state have generated a significant body of scholarly research. Miller's follow-up work, ''Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman'', was published posthumously in 1997.

* [[After the End]]: All the way up to {{spoiler|the second end.}}

* [[Age Without Youth]]: The recurring Jew appears to grow older but never dies, a fact which perplexes the other characters.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: With Latin and even a little Hebrew.

** Also the bits of German used in the intro of "Fiat Voluntas Tua".

* [[Call Back]]: When the abbot finds {{spoiler|Francis' skull}} at the very end of the book.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: The Green Star is very clearly the Red Cross.

* [[Fantastic Catholicism]]

* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: As noted, post-apocalyptic America is essentially medieval Europe, with a Dark Age, a Renaissance and modernity, and the appropriate conflicts between science and faith. By the end of the book, the two poles of the international system are loosely based on the [[Cold War]]. {{spoiler|And then the Flame Deluge repeats -- with one key difference}}.

** The entire purpose of the monks' work is to preserve the sum total of human knowledge for future generations who will be able to understand it better.

* [[Flying Dutchman]]: The Wandering Jew. Maybe.

* [[Hope Spot]]: The ''Quo Perigenitur'' spaceship.

* [[I Am Not Shazam]]: There are some tantalizing hints that the Old Jew may be {{spoiler|Leibowitz himself}} at first (note the Hebrew initials he scrawls on a rock - {{spoiler|L.Tz.}}) but later in the story he denies this and explains he's only a distant relative.

* [[I'm a Humanitarian]]: Some of the mutants practice cannibalism.

* [[In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves]]: Why humanity develops nuclear weapons and {{spoiler|destroys civilization a second time.}}

* [[Science Is Bad]]: One of the chief conflicts of the story is how to use the knowledge gained from civilization's renaissance properly.

** Though it's mentioned that science ''itself'' isn't evil. Rather, it's ''how'' people use it that's one of the key points of the novel.

* [[Standard Sci Fi History]]: Subverted. Although humanity does recover from World War III and rebuilds civilization, history ends up repeating itself. This differentiates the book from other works at the time, which tended to treat history as linear instead of cyclical.

* [[Tear Jerker|(Implied) Tearjerker]]: The fate of Emily/Emma Leibowitz and the trapped people in the shelter Francis finds.

* [[Translator Microbes]]: A large device in Abbot Zirchi's office. It kind-of works.

* [[Walking the Earth]]: The Old Jew takes to wandering at times.

 

{{reflist}}