Identity and the New Normal in Short Stories on COVID-19

Abstract

This study examines the narrative identity of COVID-19-inspired the short stories, focusing on the role they play in influencing changes in social behavior. Thirty-seven COVID-19 genre short stories were analyzed using content analysis. To examine the impact of the pandemic resulting from engagement with short stories particularly on society and behavioral change, the data were collected through a survey of literature and literary criticism students at Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University, as well as Thai language teachers in Nakhon Sawan Province.

The findings indicate that the narrative identity of COVID-19-inspired short stories were written by raising awareness of social realities during the pandemic. The power of discourse and the counter-discourse against the “new normal” significantly influenced the authors and played a crucial role in short stories. These stories can be categorized into three groups: (1) stories that employ the discourse of the new normal theme as their conceptual framework; (2) stories that reproduce the new normal discourse through the theme of safety culture; and (3) stories emphasizing social solidarity, showing the discourse that unity serves as a force to overcome the new normal crisis. The first two categories demonstrate positive behavioral changes toward the acceptance of the new normal, correspond to the views of participants, who expressed increased hope and encouragement after engaging the stories’ messages. If the “new normal” is portrayed as an abnormality that presents through the identity of despair characters, it constitutes a discursive act that generates negative sentiment toward the concept of the new normal. This corresponds to the participants’ perceptual responses, which shifted in a negative direction or reflected a sense of despair.