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Anna Śliwa

Mgr Sarah Flamminio

Written English BA1

10 April 2021

Zombies – Scratching the Surface

The word zombie brings to mind the image of a brainless dead creature that feasts on

humans (often their brains, supposedly as means to try and regain their intellect) and infects

others, quickly spreading the contagion across the globe. The name originates from the

Kikongo language, and the idea comes from Haitian folklore, where a shaman

named bokor resurrected people. In Asian folklore, Jiang Shi, created by “improper burial,

supernatural arts [or] spirit possession of a dead body” (Bevard et al. 50), feeds on life

energy. Europe is home to vampires and they were the creatures that inspired George A.

Romero’s famous movie Night of the Living Dead, the groundwork we base zombies off of

nowadays. In Arabic folklore, ghouls are creatures who feed on corpses and are often

categorized as zombies, but in reality, they are demons. All over the world, they tell us

zombies are horrifying monsters in horror tales, however there's so much more to them than

just that.

Often we can see how people throughout generations manage in such post-apocalyptic

scenarios, quickly adapting to the circumstances. In The Walking Dead, a TV show created

by Robert Kirkman et. al., we follow a group of survivors from almost the very beginning of

the zombie apocalypse. At first, the group consists of no more than a dozen members. Soon it

grows bigger with more survivors, each one of them with unique abilities – a veterinarian, an

engineer, a priest. Quite stereotypically, the engineer of the group, Eugene, is an introvert. He

prefers being on his own, dislikes talking to and interacting with people whom he usually
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considers less intelligent. The community tolerates him and welcomes his innovations that

make life in the zombie world easier. He does not need to interact with anyone, as long as he

contributes to society. The elders are always treated as oracles – moral compasses to their

leaders, who try to make sure that the “walkers” remain the only thing the survivors kill. The

group always seems directionless after they die and their loss is always mourned. A

settlement led by a character in his 50s is more peaceful and organized than those led by

people in their 30s. Another group worth mentioning are children, who still exist in this post-

apocalyptic world and seem to be the priority, a hope for the future. They mostly live in

settlements that are portrayed as good. At first, they are sheltered from the danger, but it

quickly turns out that they need to be taught how to fight and kill the “muertos”, or else they

will not survive.

It is different when it comes to how the group in The Walking Dead (ibid.) is

structured. In the beginning, everything is dictated by one person, Rick, but he realizes that

he is not omnipotent after one of their settlements is overrun by zombies. A council is

formed, consisting of the group members with the biggest experience, led by a wise man in

his 70s, the moral compass of the group. And from that moment on, every autocratic group is

led by a villain, clearly showing this system as the worse option, led by a tyrant who often

forces good people to do bad things. Eventually, this group of survivors settles in a

neighborhood called Alexandria and the community grows into dozens if not hundreds of

members. They garden, gather supplies, defend their home, and trade with other outposts.

There is no currency, only goods for goods. People help each other, often taking care of the

soldiers’ children as they go to fight the hordes or look for supplies. The priest gives sermons

in the church, former teachers teach in makeshift schools. Everything for free. One might

even say, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” (Marx.)
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Communistic ideology seems to need a world-ending catastrophe to actually work, since it is

the dominating system in post post-apocalyptic worlds.

It may seem that the survivors forget about the walkers lurking outside the gates, but

they have simply just learned how to live with them. When your obvious enemies are

zombies, it is easy to forget that humans are still a threat. The muertos are merely a segue into

more complex topics that post-apocalyptic fiction uses to show human nature. We have

people who are inherently moral, who would never do anything wrong. An example of that is

Dale, the first elder to be recognized in Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. He annoys many fans

with his “overly” righteous behavior – he is one of the few characters who never killed

another human being, even it meant letting criminals go. In a contrast to this stance, there are

people who lack any moral compass whatsoever – they will kill, steal, rape, even eat other

humans and call it survival of the fittest. And there are the morally flexible ones – most are

like this, just like in real world. They have their own moral code, but some of the actions that

follow it seem questionable to others, for example, killing someone they consider to be evil

(this is often presented as a good choice). Like in life in zombie fiction people change, but

here the changes are more drastic, just like the circumstances. Carol is a good example of

such a character. She begins as an abused wife and then turns into a stone-cold killer as she

burns people alive to prevent an epidemic. She is banished for that and turns into a perfect

assassin, needing to learn how to survive and later having no trouble killing many zombies on

her own. Then she meets Ezekiel, who shows her there is a path of redemption for her and

she initially takes it, but soon abandons it again. A real rollercoaster of changes in the

morality of just a single character.

Due to all the reasons I have listed (and many more!), zombies emerge to be more

than just scary monsters without any real depth. They are means to talk about human nature,
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something we can all relate to on some level – a sense of belonging we all long for, a dream

of a better, united society, internal moral struggles and a mirror we can see ourselves through.

That is why so many people, myself included, are fascinated with them. Throughout this text,

I merely scratch the surface of this broad topic. I focus mostly on one source that

encompasses all of the core points I wanted to make, and I would like to finish with a quote

from this show that I often hear in my head in important moments. These words were spoken

by my favorite character, King Ezekiel: “You be respectful, be responsible, be kind, be safe.”

(Teng and Guzelian Who Are You Now).

Works cited

Bevard, Robert J., et al. Zombie Recognition Guide. Edited by Johen Weltjens, 1st ed., vol. 1,

Antarctic Press, 2011.

Guzelian, Eddie. “Who Are You Now .” The Walking Dead, season 09, episode 06, AMC, 11

Nov. 2018.

Kirkman, Robert, et al. The Walking Dead, AMC Networks, 2010.

Marx, Karl. “Critique of the Gotha Programme”, Die Neue Zeit, Bd. 1, No. 18, 1890-91, part

I. Marxists.org, https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch01.htm.