Max Brooks explores a variety of themes in his “World War Z” novel. One of this book’s most prominent and fleshed-out themes is humanity’s overarching drive to survive. This drive lies at the very heart of what it means to be human.
“World War Z” represents humanity’s struggle for survival against an unstoppable, unfeeling, and untiring enemy. It also examines several aspects of human behavior and their motivation. From bravery to fear, greed, and self-preservation, “World War Z” lays bare the deep instincts of humanity in the face of disaster.
The Overwhelming Cost of War
“World War Z” narrates the story from the perspective of the survivors of the war between humans and zombies, so we can see the horror and despair they experienced through their eyes. Often in the real world, even the victors in war find themselves paying a price too high that their victory would taste like ashes in their mouths. The war against the zombies was crucial and necessary for the survival of the human race, but it resulted in such large-scale destruction, and a staggering amount of people died in the process, with the populations of entire countries and regions decimated.
For this reason, the novel places importance on telling the stories of the survivors to understand the true cost of the war. The damage to the human population was only one dimension of the losses of the war. The ecological damage was also extensive, and would take a long time for nature to recover. The astronaut Terry Knox who had stayed in the International Space Station for a duration during the war, reported looking down on the world and seeing an alien planet, with extensive fires raging in several regions, and the atmosphere covered with ash.
Fear and Uncertainty
During the long and drawn-out war waged by humans against the zombies, the most overwhelming emotion experienced by people across the world was fear. This is perhaps a natural emotion to feel when faced with an enemy whose numbers continue to grow even as the number of the living rapidly diminishes. This fear made living humans vulnerable, opening them to the possibility of being exploited. Fear also increases the chances of erratic behavior and making unwise decisions which decreases the chances of survival.
There is no shortage of people who would take advantage of humanity’s fear for their gain, even in the face of the unfolding tragedy. People like Breckenridge Scott saw only an opportunity to make a quick buck from the fear and desperation of others, so he repackaged the rabies vaccine and marketed it as Phalanx, a vaccine against the rapidly spreading virus, and made millions of dollars before his fraud was discovered. Another aspect of fear is the abandonment of hope and the mounting desperation that spread. Suicides were rampant, with parents also killing their children to save them from the horror of being hunted down by zombies or becoming one of them.
Many people experience psychological disorders, the most serious of them manifesting as the quisling phenomenon where the sufferers insist they are zombies and shamble about moaning like them and trying to bite people or eat them.
Empathy and Survival
As the zombies spread across the world, carrying the plague and death with them, humanity was faced with difficult choices. Should they stand and fight for a chance at survival, or should they run for the hills to hide in the world’s secret places? One of the weapons that aided in the survival of the human race was empathy and the willingness to face danger for the survival of other people. These acts of heroism were at the center of the struggle for the survival of humanity.
“World War Z” portrayed empathy and self-sacrifice as the most important part of humanity, and those who allowed themselves to be guided by those principles were hailed as heroes in the book. There are many instances of individuals sacrificing their lives or security to save many people. The English queen opened her castle in Windsor to the refugees during the zombie attacks since it offered the best protection. Another example was the sacrifice made by General Raj-Singh of the Indian Army when he volunteered to trigger a failed bomb manually to destroy a bridge and prevent the horde of zombies from storming across a bridge.
His sacrifice made it possible for the Indian government to get the respite they needed to set up and fortify their safe zones.
“World War Z” Key Moments
- The novel starts with the initial outbreak of the zombie virus, first reported in a remote province in China and quickly spreading worldwide due to a crackdown by the Chinese Government. Many early missteps by governments, intelligence agencies, and health organizations exacerbate the crisis.
- The first mass zombie attacks occur in Cape Town and Durban. Panics began to spread as news footage of the attacks began to circulate the world. It was erroneously called a rabies outbreak due to the frenzied attacks of the zombies. This inspired an unscrupulous entrepreneur named Breckenridge Scott to repackage a rabies shot named Phalanx. He marketed it as a vaccine against the virus causing the outbreak.
- It soon became clear that Phalanx was ineffective and this led to The Great Panic as zombie attacks worsened into mobs of zombies roaming the streets and countryside attacking victims.
- As the virus spreads and the zombie grows in number, panic ensues globally. Countries attempt to quarantine affected areas, but the zombies, referred to as “Zeds,” breach borders and overwhelm defenses.
- The Battle of Yonkers was one of the significant turning points where the U.S. military’s initial response to the zombie threat failed disastrously. The military’s advanced technology and tactics prove ineffective against the sheer numbers and resilience of the zombies. The disastrous defeat suffered in Yonkers broke the morale of the armies of the West.
- Amid the chaos of the outbreak, Pakistan and Iran mutually destroy each other over an incident at their border, and the Russian army decimates its soldiers to induce fear and eliminate dissent.
- The Redeker Plan, a strategy devised by Paul Redeker, an apartheid-era South African intelligence officer, which involves abandoning large population areas and building safe zones behind which the world can thrive, was adopted in South Africa with great success. other nations soon adopted some versions of the plan.
- At the UN meeting in Honolulu, the world leaders agree to coordinate their forces to push back the zombies. They also decide to invent new strategies to combat the enemy and to prepare for the aftermath of the war.
- The world’s militaries co-ordinate in a worldwide effort to reclaim territory from the zombies and destroy them in a final push. The “Zombie War” is ultimately turned in favor of humanity through a combination of strategy, adaptation, and persistence.
- Efforts at rebuilding what was lost began as the zombies were driven into the colder regions of the world where cold winters would help keep them contained for most of the year.
- The book concludes with an examination of the post-war world, reflecting on the changes brought about by the zombie apocalypse and the lessons learned for future preparedness.
