Zombie Essay

I will be answering the third prompt for my final essay on zombies. First, I will attempt to define the “zombie” genre, although accomplishing this goal is difficult, because at the basis of the genre is a myth. This myth has changed throughout the 20^th and 21^st century, and zombie works differ considerably with the portrayal of zombies. Furthermore, I will address what makes the zombie genre so prevalent in society. I will bring up the use of zombies as a reaction to war and societal disasters such as 9/11, a reaction to consumerism, and a portrayal of the feelings of hopelessness that are present in society. I also find it interesting how humans have a very strong relationship to zombies, because they are us. We see characteristics of zombies in ourselves, and this increases the public’s interest in zombies even more.

The Walking Dead Comic

One of the pivotal scenes in “The Walking Dead” volume 1 comic was the scene where Amy was attacked by the zombies and the survivors of the camp buried her body. I found what Jim said to be very moving. His remark, “She was a pretty girl…smart too. She shoulda been going to college…living her life…being young….being happy. This should never have happened. She didn’t deserve his. Nobody deserves this.” This quote really stuck with me because it brings up the point that apocalypses don’t always favor certain people over others. Obviously, we have read about real-world crises where poor and vulnerable people are hit harder than others because they have less resources but overwhelmingly, apocalyptic events hit everyone with surprising equality. Apocalyptic events such as the one depicted in the comic target everyone equally, no matter if the character is young or old or had a promising life or a horrible life before the apocalypse. This, to me, provides an explanation for why apocalyptic events cause hopelessness. There is nothing the people can do to change the apocalypse because it is beyond their control. They know that they do not deserve the suffering they are experiencing, but cannot change it, and this causes them to give up trying to save themselves.  

2nd Flame Alphabet Selection

“Thinking is the first poison, said someone. One often fails to ask this of a crisis, but why was it not worse? Why was the person himself not gutted of thought? Who cares about the word made public, it’s the private word that does more lasting damage, person by person. The thinking should have stopped first. The thinking. Perhaps it is next in the long, creeping conquest of this toxicity, another basic human activity that will slowly be taken from us” (266).

This passage was one of the most thought-provoking in The Flame Alphabet for me. After pondering the statement, I wondered why the author did not bring up thought until this late in the novel. After all, thought is the basis of language. Without thought, language would not be possible or necessary. Thoughts come to us in the form of words and phrases. The influence that language has over our mental processes is amazing, and it is amazing how easy it is to forget about the importance of language on thought. On a deeper level, this passage brings up the idea of mental illness and depression. In this novel, speech and the written word caused an epidemic that affected the population physically. In real life, thought has already afflicted a great many people, but not in a physical way. It is an interesting point to realize that there are toxic characteristics to thought and language that affect people in a very real way, and it is not just the work of fiction writers.

The Flame Alphabet

“I’d put it in the refrigerator, is what I would do. The cake would be there for her when she was hungry. Perhaps when I was feeling better I would have a piece, too. Maybe Esther and I could sit quietly together over a piece of cake. I’d skin back my frosting for her, because she liked extra. There’d be no reason to speak. We could enjoy each other’s company in silence, in the kitchen, on her birthday. If I could find a candle, an old-fashioned one, we’d light it up. It’d be nice to sit together, listening to our forks click on the plates. We’d be sure to save a piece for her mother” (107).

This passage was one of the most moving in the first half of the book for me. I believe that this passage shows how Sam truly loves his daughter, and even though she is the cause of his ailment and treats her parents with acidity and rudeness, he still wants to be in her company. It also shows how futile his hope of living a normal life again is. Although he is speaking as if these events he is describing would occur, the reader knows he will never be able to down a piece of cake, and there would be no need whatsoever to save a piece for his wife in her worsening condition. Additionally, the rift in the family is so strong that it is clear that Esther would never take the time to enjoy a piece of cake in silence with her father. This quote shows how Sam and his family’s life have devolved in the short period of time that they have contracted the disease. However, it reveals a deeper meaning about human nature: that we all have inner fantasies about life that we entertain, but we know they will never be realized. 

Bounty

I found the short story “Bounty” to be very emotional. It was always hard for me to talk about slavery in school, because it seems unbelievable that a system so horrid ever existed in our country. This shorty story was hard to read because even though it was fictional, events like the ones in the story have already happened on a large scale in the history of our nation. The story included so much discrimination, but I found it interesting that there was a difference in the story and history. African Americans who were enslaved in the United States were human, and the only thing that separated them from the rest of society was the color of their skin, but the humans in the story were “flawed”. Of course, they had intellect and all other human aspects, but it makes an interesting debate about what makes someone human. Although the “flawed” members of society had physical deformities, they did not deserve the treatment they received. I also would find it interesting to learn background information on the story, like how the flawed people became flawed and how system of enslaving the flawed members of society was instituted. It was amazing that the main character could remain hopeful and continue his fight to find his sister when the overarching power of the system made life seem hopeless.

Blackhole

            

I found the comic Blackhole to be very interesting and also very thought-provoking. One of the harder pages to read was the scene when Chris visits her best friend from high school and Marci is telling Chris about what she has been doing and showing her recent pictures of their friends. This causes a rift in the two girls’ friendships because there is a disconnect between the two girls. Marci can’t comprehend what Chris has experienced because of her condition, and gets offended when Chris says that Kyle’s hair “looks kind of dumb”. However, in light of everything Chris experienced, it is only natural that she would find everyday life and typical high school “kind of dumb”. This shows that once someone has experienced an apocalyptic event and is living in an apocalyptic world, it is almost impossible for that person to relate to the people who have not been affected by the apocalypse. Although Chris and Marci love each other, they can’t seem to relate to one another as they once did. This is one sad outcome of apocalypses.