Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days

This section of the novel epitomizes the authors’ deliberate decision to blend the conventions of multiple genres. Because Rayford is a fairly static character during this point in the novel, his actions are small and focused on his own thought processes. Thus, Rayford comes to represent the struggles of the individual within the broader need to find The Balance Between Skepticism and Faith. The authors use this section of the novel to portray their broader religious message as Rayford works through his internal conflict and seeks religious answers to his existential questions. Having learned that Chloe is on her way, Rayford’s primary actions involve his attempts to contact Irene’s church and his willingness to reflect on his marriage and reconsider his position on Christianity. These aspects of the novel therefore highlight a common trope of Christian fiction, for his contemplations are designed to foreshadow the inevitable conversion story that will soon ensue. To this end, even his skeptical moments are designed to indirectly acknowledge any objections or reservations that readers of the novel may still harbor toward Evangelical Christianity. For example, Rayford characterizes the concept of salvation as a “ten-dollar church word [and] that […] the closer he had gotten to the concept, the more he had been repelled” (125). In this passage, Rayford’s dislike of religion and lack of understanding about the concept of salvation are reflected in the implicitly contemptuous tone of his contemplations. This passage reflects the authors’ strategy of including detailed discussions of doubt in order to facilitate a skeptical reader’s interest in their broader narrative, for the series itself is an experiment in evangelism. The authors’ ultimate intention is to inspire readers to overcome their own lingering doubts and accept the answers that Rayford receives about Christianity.

The placement of Rayford’s internal conflict in the novel is designed to highlight his spiritual flaws, and even in the very first chapters, his unresolved issues are showcased in his desire to engage in an extramarital affair with Hattie. However, after the disappearances shake the world, he gains a clear motivation to learn what has happened and understand why he has been left behind. Significantly, although he has not yet undergone the conversion to Christianity that is clearly his fate to experience, the authors take care to craft a respectful characterization of Rayford by depicting him as a competent individual who reacts well in a crisis and its aftermath. The authors therefore enhance the relatability of Rayford’s internal conflict by creating a sympathetic portrayal. Furthermore, the various details about his intellect set Rayford up as a reliable, trustworthy character.

The relative inaction in Rayford’s narrative throughout this section stands in stark contrast to Buck’s progress. Despite Rayford’s internally focused narrative, the authors maintain the novel’s brisk pacing by ensuring that Buck makes significant movements through the world and within the realm of global politics and intrigue. This section of Buck’s narrative therefore includes elements of the thriller genre. First, he makes several significant movements in geographical space by traveling to New York and London. The authors describe the difficulty of these movements in light of the post-crisis world, including the need to charter a plane and travel to his office via a borrowed bicycle. Additionally, Buck’s chapters foreshadow the dire nature of imminent global events and the broader movements of world politics. For example, Buck learns about the machinations of financial power players Stonagal and Todd-Cothran, and he becomes increasingly interested in Carpathia’s unprecedented rise to power. Most significantly, Buck’s narrative begins to include a looming presence of death and intangible danger. When Buck learns that his contact and friend Dirk has died, the authors employ a thriller trope by depicting Dirk’s death as an apparent suicide that is really a murder. In London, Buck narrowly escapes the explosion that kills his friend at Scotland Yard, and this event catapults the novel into the realm of a suspense thriller. The authors’ intention is to blend the trappings of various popular genres in order to reach a wider audience and mimic the tension and pacing of many best-selling novels, thereby appropriating the conventions of secular literature and employing them to advance a religious message.