Allen Vasilyev, Period 2, 5/19/2023

Literacy & Learning

Growing up an avid The Walking Dead fan, it is no surprise that our unit on Zombies,

particularly Max Brooks’ World War Z, quickly became my favorite part of our curriculum. One

thing that did surprise me, however, was how drastically different the book was from the

Hollywood movie version I watched as a younger child. As a matter of fact, I can’t even begin to

describe the “differences” between them because outside of having the same name, the movie

bears absolutely no resemblance to the book. If it were up to me, I would’ve given the movie a

completely different name to erase this confusion. Even though I had pretty high hopes for the

novel because of how much I enjoyed the movie version as a kid, Max Brooks’ storytelling

abilities continue to blow me away more than I could’ve possibly imagined.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most so far while reading World War Z is the

structure/format of the novel. Each chapter contains a multitude of smaller, individual accounts

from survivors of the apocalyptic era. These accounts follow a wide variety of people: those

from different backgrounds, different nations, different pre-Z war occupations, and so forth, all

while seemingly developing the events and timeline on a broader scale. Although we don’t get

the chance to learn every facet of the characters like in a novel with a central character, I think it

actually makes it more exciting in a sense. You get to infer and dictate how each individual story

got to where it is, and how it will continue as time moves on. We are given the chance to explore

contrasting beliefs, dire circumstances, and acts of humanity that all encompass one common

event: the war on zombies. It is incredible to me how each story is so different, yet as you binge-

read one after another it flows effortlessly and progresses time while connecting all these

foreign places under one atmosphere. As you read through the novel, you begin to understand

that in a zombie war, it is actually the humans that portray the most monstrous traits and commit

terrible atrocities. When one is forced to live in such an extreme period like a zombie

apocalypse, their moral and ethical codes seem to deteriorate to unthinkable levels. Much too

often we read about people killing other people, stealing from others, sexually abusing them, or

doing just about anything to guarantee their own survival and not their peers’.

Thus that brings me to another one of my favorite things about this book: the way it

persuades you to imagine each and every story it depicts and relate that to your own self.

Through our class discussions, through personal thoughts I’ve encountered in my days, this

book doesn’t cease to put me in tough situations where I’d have no idea what to do. As epicly

hard as it is to simulate a zombie apocalypse in the real world, this novel indefinitely challenges

you to step into the shoes of the interviewees and face situations that you may never even think

about in a lifetime. Not only do these mini-passages represent/apply to an apocalyptic world,

they also teach you things about our own world and society that we may not consider otherwise.

For instance, this novel in a way makes me endlessly grateful for what I currently have: a loving

*and living* family, a more-than-decent place to call home, and friends to pass time and

peacefully explore life with. I have access to food, water, and other essentials whenever I

please. And although I think the chances of a global-scale zombie apocalypse in our world are

very slim, we should never take our lives for granted, as one day/one event could shift our entire

future. I am more than excited to continue reading World War Z, and I’m blessed for the insights

that the book gives me about my own life and ways of action.