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Lynda Haas Writing 37 2 December 2013 World War Z: Novel Analysis The popular film World War Z was released on June 21, 2013, and did exceptionally well in the box office, earning a little over 540 million dollars worldwide. What many moviegoers might not know is that the successful film was based on the novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. The film, however, is not relatable to the novel version. The novel retells a worldwide zombie apocalypse in a unique way by providing different accounts told by a diverse group of individuals. In other words, it uses a technique that no other author has used before. Critic, Steven H. Silver states, "The transitions Brooks provides for the different interviews and characters create a seemingly different style used by many other authors and books". The book itself is categorized into several genre categories: war, science fiction, and even horror. These categorizations could be considered appropriate, but the most accurate would be zombie fiction. The author and zombie enthusiast, Max Brooks, would agree with this statement. In an interview published in the New York Times, Brooks declared, "I'm not a horror fan. I'm an anti-horror fan." Besides the fact that the story development relies on a zombie apocalypse, the numerous conventions spread throughout the novel confirm its placement in the category. The novel contains

Magliba 2 conventions such as societal breakdown, the walking dead, and survivalism. The most important though would be the convention of heroic and villainous characters. Most zombie stories follow a small group of survivors in which we normally see a hero and villain emerge. If not that, we see a human emerge who is more dangerous than the zombies themselves. For instance, in Danny Boyles 28 Days Later, the depicted hero is Jim and the villainous entities are the soldiers. Well, World War Z follows the same convention but on a much grander scale. Because the novel gives us a global perspective, we are provided with several different heroes and villains from various cultures. Every character responds in a different way, which ultimately leads to the distinction heroic and villainous characters. In Chapter 2 we are introduced to character, Kwang Jingshu. He is described as a medical doctor who, despite his advanced age and wartime injuries, still manages to make house calls to all his patients. His interview takes place in Greater Chongqing, The United Federation of China. Throughout Dr. Jingshus interview it is clear to see what type of character he is. From the beginning, it is conveyed that he served in the military because it mentions his wartime injuries. This depicts Jingshu in a positive light by personifying him as a courageous and honorable man. Additionally, Jingshu unintentionally describes himself as a caring man. During the interview he states, The younger doctors certainly werent going to go help some nongmin just for the sake of helping. I guess Im still an old revolutionary at heart. This proves his kindhearted nature. He later goes onto declare, Our duty is to hold ourselves responsible to the people. Those words still mean something to me. Unlike the younger doctors that he mentioned, he still remembers his true duties and holds

Magliba 3 himself responsible to them. In World War Z, Fernando Oliveira plays a complete opposite to Dr. Kwang Jingshu. We are introduced to Fernando Oliveira in Chapter 5. His interview takes place in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil. He is also a doctor except he is an illegal surgeon. Although he and Jingshu are both medics, they are from two completely different backgrounds; therefore, their responses and motivations differ. He is described as an emaciated, drug-addicted white man from the edge of the world. Just from this description alone, it can be concluded that he will be depicted in an antagonistic way. Throughout the interview, Oliveira maintains a casual, careless tone. Oliveira actually confesses to the nameless narrator that he used infected organs. He declares, Who knows how many infected corneas, infected pituitary glandsMother of God, who knows how many infected kidneys they pumped into the global market. And thats just the organs! This showcases his reckless nature. Not only was he committing immoral operations, but he was also contributing to the spread of the Walking Plague. Another way that Oliveira could be described would be dispassionate. He doesnt really care about his patients, he just uses them for his own gains. He states, Herr Muller needed a new heart and my beach house needed a new herbal Jacuzzi. Instead of worrying about his patient and his critical condition, he was more worried about materialistic things. It is accurate to say that Oliveira is an inconsiderate man. For the second half of Dr. Jingshus interview, he explains his first zombie encounter; he specifically tells the nameless narrator about Patient Zero. Patient Zero was a young, infected boy. Jingshu mentioned, At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was cursed. I shrugged

Magliba 4 them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The way he responded to Patient Zero was courageous. Although Jingshu did not know what was wrong with the boy, he still approached him. He was too concerned for the boys well being so he could not simply stay away. As he mentioned before, he believed that he had to fulfill his duties as a medic so Jingshu did not see the boy as a threat but rather a patient in need of medical attention. Fernando Oliveiras story of his first zombie encounter was in no way comparable to Jingshus. Unsurprisingly, his first encounter was the result an illegal heart transplant. After explaining that his patient had reanimated, Oliveira recalled, Muller turned to me, bits of bloody meat falling from his open mouthI raised my pistol, aiming at his new heart. Instead of helping his patients, Oliveira was dooming them. The story of his first encounter shows how much of a vile man he was. The narrator asks Oliveira if he ever tried to track down prior patients to warn them of the infected organs. To this he responded, No, I didnt. I was trying to recover from a scandal, rebuild my reputation, my client base, my bank account. He proves that he is a man without a conscious. After his first zombie encounter, he seemed to become even more careless. He continued to perform these dangerous surgeries and contribute to the spread of the disease. Ultimately, the structure of World War Z is what helps differentiate these heroic and villainous characters. Since the characters are from different parts of the world, we are able to see the contrasting actions committed by the various individuals. The fact that the book is structured this way also makes it unique to the zombie fiction genre. World War Z does not give a single main character to the story; however, it

Magliba 5 does give us views of multiple characters, which allows us to picture what the world would be like if such an occurrence would take place. In a similar real-life situation the opposing entities of heroes and villains would not fail to exist. This is what makes the novel so eerie. In a review by an entertainment website called, The A.V Club, Keith Phipps states, "Brooks commits to detail in a way that makes his nightmare world seem creepily plausible". Brooks makes us question ourselves on preparedness if a worldwide catastrophe were to occur. In another article, novel reviewer Christie Shaefer stated, "His message is clear: We are not prepared for disasters." It would be accurate to conclude that World War Z is Brooks critique of the real world. The categorization of the World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War into the zombie fiction genre is undisputable. It is clearly constituted of components that are recognizable to the genre even though it is set up in an unusual way. It is because of this unusual feature provided that the audience is given a unique view on the story told. Moreover, it raises a question on disaster readiness that can be applied to the todays world.

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WORKS CITED Brooks, Max. World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006. Print. Brodesser-Akner, Taffy. "Max Brooks Is Not Kidding About the Zombie Apocalypse." NY Times. 21 June 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Phipps, Keith. "Max Brooks: World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War." A.V. Club. 25 Oct. 2006. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. Schaefer, Christie. "World War Z: Monsters of this society's own making" World Socialist Website. International Committee of the Fourth International. 25 October 2007. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Silver, Steven H. "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" SF Site. 2006. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.