Carla Houghton
The Zombie Survival Guide: Literary Analysis
“Zombies are the greatest threat to humanity other than humanity itself.” (Brooks xiii) In Max Brooks’ book, The Zombie Survival Guide, he teaches the common man how to survive a zombie apocalypse. This book is not intended for entertainment alone; it is an awakening allegory for the collapse of society. It is becoming more and more apparent that modern society is crumbling. Society has become less connected due to overuse of technology, less knowledgeable due to apathy. Humanity must wake up and have a revolution of the soul and mind. The soul and coherent mind is what separates us from the walking dead. We must learn the lessons presented metaphorically in zombie literature if humanity is to prevent its own demise.
Modern society has become very disconnected due to an overuse of technology. We communicate more through our phones and computers these days than with face to face meetings. In the case of a zombie apocalypse, this overdependence on technology could be humanity’s downfall. Brooks writes, “many other skills – wilderness survival, leadership, even basic first aid – will be necessary in any encounter with the living dead.” (xiv) If we live in a world dependent on technology we may not have the real world experience to act in a situation where the dead rise. Furthermore, this may be an allegory for humanity losing all skills necessary to stop our downfall. Later in the book, Brooks also states, “Our way of life, particularly as members of the richest industrialized nation on earth requires a delicate network of transportation and communication… remove that network and we are reduced to a standard of living reminiscent of medieval Europe.” (65) This is yet another way that we have become too dependent on our technology and not on each other. Overuse of technology has become a weakness and could spell the end of society.
Society has also become less knowledgeable as a result of our apathy. Many things have caused this apathy including consumerism, the previously mentioned overuse of technology, and an acceptance of mediocrity. The famous French philosopher, Rene Descartes, once said, “I think therefore I am.” (Descartes) He wrote this idea in 1637, as a comment on how important the mind is to our existence. It is a true travesty that humanity is losing its ability to think and gain knowledge. Brooks writes, “Ignorance is the undead’s strongest ally, knowledge their deadliest enemy.” (xiii) He is saying that humanity is weakening due to a diminishing knowledge base. We must hear this cry, because as a society more worried about ourselves and not the global community, we will certainly be doomed.
A disconnected and less knowledgeable society cannot stand. There is still hope for humanity if we have a revolution of the soul and mind. Ignorance and apathy can spread like a zombie plague. In Max Brooks’ book The Zombie Survival Guide, he has a chapter called “Recorded Attacks”, in which he catalogues examples of the undead in history. (182) In this chapter there is an example of a French mental institution where a zombie-like patient is brought in and infects all of the other patients. The zombie-like patient was, “placed… in a communal cell with more than fifty other men and women. What followed days later was an orgy of violence. Guards and doctors, too frightened by the screams emanating from the cell, refused to enter.” (202-203) This historical example could be a metaphor for how frightening a disconnected and apathetically unknowledgeable society can be. The plague can spread quickly and terribly. But a plague of caring and knowledge could spread equally fast. There is a hopeful message in all of this. It is not too late to change course. Humanity must have a revolution of the soul and mind. Brooks suggestively asks his reader, “What will you do – end your existence in passive acceptance, or stand up and shout, ‘I will not be their victim! I will survive!’” (xiv) The future is in our hands. We can and will survive.
Max Brooks is an amazing author. His book The Zombie Survival Guide is, at first glance, a kind of joke or entertaining fantasy about the supernatural topic of zombies. We as a society have become very fixated on zombies because it is not only an entertaining type of literature it is an allegory for our collective fear of a failing society. We have certainly become less connected as a humanity due to our overuse of technology. We have also been infected with mediocrity and apathy which is leading to an overall lack of knowledgeable citizens. If we can come together to change this and revolt against this virus, we can prevent the downfall of our society. This is why zombie literature is important. It is a reflection of our collective fears.
