Tuberculosis as a Metaphor of War in the Novel by Levon Zaven Syurmelyan’s “98.6°” Novel

The article represents the discussion about the English novel “98.6°” written by the Armenian-American writer Levon Zaven Syurmelyan. The novel depicts the life of an Irish person by the name of Daniel Moor who was treated from pneumonia in one of the American hospitals. For the first time in the literary studies the author considers pneumonia as a metaphor of war which parallelly develops in accordance of the actions going on the backstage of the novel. Thus it opens a door to analyze the novel in the context of existentialism. Either war or pneumonia with their extensive presence makes a man to face existential questions, put forth to express his own personality, manifestation of temperament or discernment and self-cognition. The article reveals the way how Syurmelyan’s hero eventually makes his choice between the ruinous human instincts and the high spirituality, the nature and the civilization, the hope and the desperation. In the long run he finds the self-cognition as a way to salvation. Syurmelyan believes that salvation of the man is hidden in the hope, the spirituality and nature that conditions the “miracle” of the cure of the hero. The hospital of the poor in which he appears after wasting his vital energy among prostitutes remind us about the hell of corrupt social life. The hero succeeds to “be resurrects” from living death after finding Christ in his life.