The Wall of Human Spirit

Zombie, or as the Merriam Webster Dictionary defines it as the “Supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body.” The Word Zombie for many of us can spark a sudden sense of terror or fear. However, in the novel World War Z by Max Brooks the word zombie goes much further than the ordinary emotions of  fear and terror.

                      ****WARNING****SPOILER ALERT**** WATCH OUT****

Many questions arise in the resolution of the novel World War Z.  “Couldn’t just one restart the plague all over again? And what about those who prowled countries above the snowline? How long would we have to wait for them? Decades? Centuries? Would refugees from these countries ever have a chance of returning home (266)?” The living dead had brought more than just devastation and death to the world. They’d knocked down the wall of the human spirit. Would it ever be possible to rebuild that wall? That is only up to us. In the exposition and rising action of the novel many could only understand that the zombie was the equivalent to an inevitable death.  However, truly it was a battle of person vs. self. Would you let that wall of the human spirit crumble down into ruins and watch powerlessly as the world falls into a pit of fear? “We’d had to prove to ourselves that we could do it, and leave that proof as this war’s greatest monument, (267).” What did humans really need in order to keep together and fight? “Heroes, that’s what we were, that’s what our leaders wanted, that’s what our people needed,” (314). The human mind is the most powerful thing of all, and if you let it loose out of its borders you will bound to end up in ruins.

In the end of the novel World War Z,  I was very satisfied with the resolution. It left the reader hanging on a cliff not knowing what was in store for the future.  The Zombie Virus has slowly declined. The world has temporarily (Key word, temporarily) defeated the zombies, however there is a cost to the defeat. Many have been left with only memories of suffering from dawn to dusk not one day were they were able put their guard down. “I’d been afraid so long, fighting and killing, and waiting to die that I guess I just accepted it as normal for the rest of my life,” (342). The resolution of World War Z was to prove that the human spirit will always be able to get up on it feet after being knocked down. It is like a wall. It can be demolished, put into pieces, however, it we always build back up.  Always.

 

 

The Rising of Infected Power

This is a found poem I created  for the rising action of the novel World War Z by Max Brooks. The poem came from pages 198- 199.  This poem describes what many people who have not been yet infected by the plague are going through. Having lost their beloved families, treasures and their life, many don’t have the will to push on any further. “The living dead had taken more from us than land and loved ones. They’d robbed us from our confidence as the plant’s dominant life form. We were a shaken, broken species, driven to the edge of extinction and grateful only for a tomorrow with perhaps a little less suffering than today,” (267). With the world about to enter the verge of human extinction in the rising action many people have nothing to live for anymore. Survivors knew that the end was near and gave up all hope. However, were the zombies a wake up call for our species? Were they meant to bring us back to the life of to survive you most fight? “Maybe in the end, they had brought justice for the future,” (266).

 

Featured image found at this site

 

The Uprising of Fear and Reality

Zombie.  Ghouls. Zacks. G’s.The Living-Dead. No matter what the label or tag, this species are greatest threat to us humans besides our species itself. They are the walking plague; the disease and us humans are their host. The lucky ones get their flesh eaten until nothing remains(So lucky right?). The unluckier join the massive ranks of the G’s (A word for zombie used through the interviews) and are transformed into a predatory beast.  The “Skin was as cold and gray as the cement on which he lay. I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” His eye’s were wild, wide and sunken back in their sockets” (7).  Are Zombies invincible creatures? No. Do they have any weakness? Yes.  The power of the human will. There are always a few brave souls who put themselves straight into the fight even when the odds are equivalent to the impossible.  Max Brooks, the author of the novel World War Z, brings us to the firsthand accounts of the “Zombie Wars”.

In the prewar setting of the Zombie War “Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has” (32). Many did not know the seriousness and threat of the zombie uprising truly was. However, it wasn’t completely their fault that they lacked knowledge of these events.  Backs then, the living-dead were only known as “African Rabies”. Government’s and rulers around the world hushed the zombie cases in South Africa and China. They threw the facts it into a dark pit until it they could resurface again. The mood the world was addressing this threat (Especially the USA Government) took down many people’s guard. Instead, many world powers took the pre-war as a time to sell the fear of a zombie apocalypse and make people appear to be protected. “ ‘Turn on the T.V,’ he’d say. ‘What are you seeing? People selling their products? No. People selling fear of you having to live without their products. Fear of ageing, fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of failure. Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear Sells.” (55) At this turning point in the novel, many were not prepared for what happened next. No cheap product that “May prevent from some viral infections,” (57) could not prevent a full uprising of the living-dead. And that was what exactly happened.

The setting and exposition of the World War Z could be used as a symbol of how people underestimate problems until the last minute. Just like when many people leave to finish their project on the last day and realize that they don’t have enough time. People think in their mind that their ready, however, in reality they are not. And that is a bad thing to think about when you come face to face with a zombie.

Citations for featured image:

World-War-Z-The-Battle-of-Yonkers