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:
samuelpblogger 