"Speech Sounds" vs Corona

Connect any of the stories we’ve read this semester to the current global crisis. How does the story help us understand our time? How do current events affect how we understand the story?

Currently, we are in a quarantine of indeterminant length. The economy is falling due to a lack of wages and work being done. A pessimist might say that we are spiraling towards an apocalypse like the one seen in "Speech Sounds." In "Speech Sounds," the government has broken down, taking all organizations with it, something that many believe Coronavirus will bring upon us. I don't believe this pandemic will go as far as breaking down humanity, especially since in "Speech Sounds" the sickness affects greatly communication and the ability to organize through that.

A message we can take away, however, is to never lose hope. I believe that "Speech Sounds" is about a woman who regains her hope for humanity despite the dire situation around her. Rye pushes through her isolation, meeting Obsidian and the kids, and through that she is, in a word, saved. Rye serves as a message to keep going, even in these trying times, because if without hope, what do we have?