The rest of the world?

[WatchMeShine]

I may be mistaken, and it might mention it somewhere in the book, however I have come across a thought that I just can't seem to get rid of. That is, what happened to the rest of the world during the superflu? I don't remember reading anything about foreigners making their way to Boulder or Las Vegas. Were there only survivors in America?

What are your thoughts? And, if anyone knows the answer for sure, I'd appreciate it.

[wally wonder]

don't recall anything specific, shine. too wrapped up w/the locals, enough happening there. this is almost like the "who's going to hell?" question, hey? like what about all those fierce people down in the jungle beating each other on the chest with sticks, what about them, huh? what about that! mr. fung!

[mstay]

I think it talked about the military releasing the virus all around the world so we weren't the only ones hit. But the book didn't mention survivors elsewhere that I remember.

[K4driver]

said in one part "tenative cases in Chilie and Mexico" Flagg even thought there might be another like him in France. someone on Flagg's side mentioned they were leaving to Rio.

[jchanic]

Even if there were survivors in other parts of the world (which I think there would have been), the ones here in the US would not have been able to hear anything about them.

John

[aptpupil]

I reckon SK took a leaf out of Richard Matheson's book in dealing with this aspect of the story. In "I Am Legend", the mutation that caused 99% of mankind in the USA to become "darkseekers" had also affected the rest of the planet, but that simply wasn't particularly integral to the story.

We have to imagine that other countries had struggles and stories of their own going on simultaneously in both novels, but they made no difference to what was happening within the USA's borders. :cool2:

[michal]

It is mentioned in several cases. First is when the superflu is realised in the States it is said that agents carry it to Russia (if we're dumed, we'll take them with us kind of thing)and that it spreads throughout the world. In another I believe it's Stu, but maybe Glen (sounds like Glen anyway) says that he's guessing taht across the worlds there are new Boulders or Free Zones are created and that soon enough society will start rebuilding itself. As for the shift between Good and Evil... No mentioning that I couls recall.

[fleecymango]

Hi, My first post, so bare with me.
I think that other countries had the superflu, but the whole travelling to flagg and abagail, well we know Flagg travels between worlds - Dark tower, but what about Abagail?
It is Abigail isnt it? Only read it seven times, but my memory is rubbish!

[luckygehrig]

Also, doesn't Flagg (in the expanded version anyway) show up and find some tribesmen that apparently survived the flu? I know for sure that it was mentioned earlier in the book that agents who were operating around the world were going to be given vials and told to release them (though they weren't going to be told what was in them). I think it's safe to assume that the rest of the world was probably going through things similar to those in the US (though perhaps minus the Flagg/Mother Abigail saga).

[aeroplane]

If the flu was really that potent, I'd think it would have spread around the world eventually without the help of agents and their vials.

Fact is, all it took was one army reject, a police officer and traveling salesman to start a "chain letter" that managed to wipe out the US.

Just one or two people coming back to countries in the "rest of the world" (i.e. Russia) by sea or air, from the US or Mexico, would have eventually started a chain letter over in Europe and Asia.

[costanza]

Yeah, at the end, after the nuke blows, Flagg wakes up with jungle people worshipping him. There are other worlds than these.

[doowopgirl]

I may be mistaken, and it might mention it somewhere in the book, however I have come across a thought that I just can't seem to get rid of. That is, what happened to the rest of the world during the superflu? I don't remember reading anything about foreigners making their way to Boulder or Las Vegas. Were there only survivors in America?

What are your thoughts? And, if anyone knows the answer for sure, I'd appreciate it.
If you recall, at the end of the book, Randall Flagg is surrounded by a group of people and he is trying to figure out what language they speak, so I took it that the story was being moved up a notch that way. I never thought that survivors were only in the U.S., just that we had to start some where. Anyway that s my thoughts doowopgirl

[Checkman]

The Flu spreads across the world. At the beginning of Chapter 38 which I have entitled the "No Great Loss" chapter there is a second cut of FLu survivors due to suicide, misfortune, stupidity etc. It's stated that some 16% of the survivors in the U.S. and other technological societies fall to the Second Epidemic. But in Peru (South America) and Senegal (Africa) it only averages around 3%.

So yes the Flu goes around the world. Ultimately the novel is about Americans (Or United Statesians as my Colombian friend calls us) coping with the End of the World. Why does everyone have such trouble with that? "No BLade of Grass" was a about a British Family dealing with the collapse of civilization. "The Hour of the Wolf" was about a French mother and her children dealing with an unamed apocalypse in France and elsewhere and "V for Vendetta" also took place in England. "Children of Men" was in England and the Mad Max movies were in Australia. There are many post-apocalyptic stores that take place in other nations and they don't worry about providing great details about the United States.

Why does King have to write about the whole world? I'm not raging against you folks, but this issue seems to come up alot on the Internet whne discussing the "The Stand". I just wonder why?

[aeroplane]

So yes the Flu goes around the world. Ultimately the novel is about Americans (Or United Statesians as my Colombian friend calls us) coping with the End of the World. Why does everyone have such trouble with that? "No BLade of Grass" was a about a British Family dealing with the collapse of civilization. "The Hour of the Wolf" was about a French mother and her children dealing with an unamed apocalypse in France and elsewhere and "V for Vendetta" also took place in England. "Children of Men" was in England and the Mad Max movies were in Australia. There are many post-apocalyptic stores that take place in other nations and they don't worry about providing great details about the United States.

Same thing with George Romero's "Dead" movies. And the funny thing about those is that for the most part, they only focused on one particular city or state to a time. Romero's zombie movies didn't show things happening around the rest of the United States and they didn't suffer for it either.

Frankly, I'm not that interested in reading how things turned out in the rest of the world we see in The Stand. If anything, I would have liked a greater focus on the downfall of society in the United States, since this breakdown or collapse is pretty much over by about page 240 or 250. At least I thought so.

Everything afterwards focuses on the surviving characters picking up the pieces, fixing up any loose ends in their old world and starting their journey to one group or the other.

And of course there are characters I would have liked to have seen an increased focus on. :biggrin2:

[Checkman]

I agree absolutely. As it is The Stand is a massive and epic novel. If SK had tried to take in other countries the book would have been at least 2,000 pages. Why do folks get all wound around the axle when and American writer writes a novel about Americans? Remember the fuss that was kicked up about the movie Saving Private Ryan? There were Brits who were upset that it only showed Americans on D-day. That was a stupid response. It was an American movie about the American experience in WW2. How many British movies about the British experience during WW1 looks at the U.S. Army in 1918? Ridiculous.

And to all our members not in the U.S.A. please don't get angry. This is something that seems to come up now and again on other forums. I am not flaming anybody here.

[aeroplane]

The only content in The Stand that I would have been interested in reading, when it concerns other countries, might have been a paragraph or two concerning foreign governments and whether they really did believe that Captain Trips was "made by the Americans."

And that is only because Starkey was so worried about Russia, China, etc. thinking that.

But again, it wouldn't have been necessary and one or two paragraphs from a location in Russia, China, etc. would have covered it more than enough.

[Benita]

I may be mistaken, and it might mention it somewhere in the book, however I have come across a thought that I just can't seem to get rid of. That is, what happened to the rest of the world during the superflu? I don't remember reading anything about foreigners making their way to Boulder or Las Vegas. Were there only survivors in America?

What are your thoughts? And, if anyone knows the answer for sure, I'd appreciate it.

Great question! I remember they said it wiped out the whole world. But as you say where were the survivors from the rest of the world? I think most American Movies and books think that the whole world just means America!

[Checkman]

Great question! I remember they said it wiped out the whole world. But as you say where were the survivors from the rest of the world? I think most American Movies and books think that the whole world just means America!



Well like I posted a few months ago the Mad Max movies don't address the United States. It's pretty clear that Max is in post apcalyptic Australia and not once does anysone say "gee how are the Americans doing?" And why would they? Those are Australian movies. Why does SK have to dedicate four or five chapters to other nations? No Blade of Grass takes place in England and all the characters are English. Nothing about the United States in that one either. No offense Benita, but some of the criticism that is aimed at the United States sometimes comes across as being hypocritical. People who live in glass houses and all that jazz.

[aeroplane]

Larger nations in the rest of the world had their own Stu Redman's, Tom Cullen's and the like. Simple as that.

[JohnDalglish]

Great question! I remember they said it wiped out the whole world. But as you say where were the survivors from the rest of the world? I think most American Movies and books think that the whole world just means America!

Hi,

Quotation from Ambrose Bierce and I pass it on with no comment -

'War was invented to teach Americans geography''

Ambrose Bierce

Long days and pleasant nights

[smunchkin]

The superflu would definately spread to the whole world which would also mean that they would be in the same technilogical disarray. I doubt they would be concerned about getting to the u.s. with or without dreams. Also it is fair to believe the rest of the world would assume it was the damn americans that brought this plague upon us, wanting nothing to do with us. Further more other nations probably dont have the same egotistical view of the u.s. as the average citizen would. I am not trying to offend anyone but every country probably believes they are the superior and would say to hell with the americans let them take care of there of thier own.

[randallFlaggfan1]

Seeing how the Superflu is an airborne illness, I think we have to assume that Captain Trips spread world-wide.

[aeroplane]

The flu would have spread around the whole world regardless, seeing that only half a dozen people in any country (including China) would need to get sick to bring that particular region to its knees.

However, what Starkey and Creighton did by agreeing to delibrately release the virus probably saved the US from getting nuked. Sooner or later someone in a reasonably developed European or Asian nation would have put two and two together. Given that they'd have a few more weeks of time to work with (based on how fast the flu would spread naturally), that'd allow a particular country extra time to suspect the US and organize some sort of offensive.

[Checkman]

The flu would have spread around the whole world regardless, seeing that only half a dozen people in any country (including China) would need to get sick to bring that particular region to its knees.

However, what Starkey and Creighton did by agreeing to delibrately release the virus probably saved the US from getting nuked. Sooner or later someone in a reasonably developed European or Asian nation would have put two and two together. Given that they'd have a few more weeks of time to work with (based on how fast the flu would spread naturally), that'd allow a particular country extra time to suspect the US and organize some sort of offensive.

Interesting idea. Something of a variation on the idea of saving the village by destroying it. Which isn't as stupid as it sounds to those who have served in the military (me, U.S. Army 1986-2000). The terrible math of combat. The barn door was open the cows are out. In order to ensure that the few survivors left aren't forced to survive in a nucelar wasteland Starkey acts to esnure that the Superflu moves even faster and hopefully will paralyze the system before somebody decides to push the button in some type of suicidal spasm. Very interesting. I would be willing to bet the Mr. Kind probably didn't consider that angle when he was writing the novel in the early seventies , but it is an interesting idea.

[Sarkisaur]

I like how the rest of the world was left a mystery. Obviously it was a global problem, which he made clear. All it'd take would be one infected person on an airplane.

Looking forward to The Stand: China Edition! :P