Josephus Lacan
April 2015
Grande Prairie Alberta
English 1220 A3
Anna Lapointe

A World led to Disintegration
Due to the plague as well as the destruction witnessed in “World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War”, America tends to be portrayed as a dystopia. A world in disarray, filled with horrifying creatures and supernatural elements certainly differs from the thought of a perfect world, or a utopia. Max Brooks has been able to narrate the story in a unique manner that is able to grasp the attention of the readers.
The first clear hint towards America being depicted as a dystopia is the “plague” (World War Z, Max Brooks, page 22) that takes place. Brooks serves as an interviewer as well as a historian throughout the novel. The first-person peripheral narration goes on to talk about the origin and effect that the plague had on the entire world. “Patient zero” (Brooks, page 7) is identified as the prime reason to the plague. This patient is a young child in China was the first outbreak that was recorded. Brooks further mentions how the villagers in China caution him. He mentions his encounter, by saying “they warned me not to touch him, that he was cursed” (Brooks, page 7). This line shows the gravity of the situation. The spread of this disease was rapid, and due to lack of information it gets viral. Utopia consists of perfect qualities, with highly appreciated features. The presence of a spreading plague certainly does not match the concept of a utopia. This worldwide epidemic catches all the governments all around the world off-guard, even the American government. The greed witnessed by political figures causes confusion and problems; features which are more relatable to a dystopia. A disease spreading worldwide causing nations to get unstable certainly contrasts a utopia.
A utopia consists of beings with no flaws, living in peaceful environments. The population of a utopia remains content with no hassles in life. They live and maintain cordial relations with fellow individuals. In this novel, the environment is filled with horror caused by zombies, horrifying creatures created due to the spreading disease. The number of the zombies tends to keep increasing, causing fear in citizens as well as the governments of the affected nations. The first factor contrasting the utopian outlook would be the horrifying creatures, attacking innocent citizens of the world. These creatures, called as “zombies” by Brooks, seem to attack in unison. This makes the force more effective and alarming for the military forces all over the world. They seem to be invincible, until a certain research concludes that destroying its brain can kill the zombies. The environment is altered after the spread of the epidemic, creating one that is full of terror and despair. However, strong relations that are generally seen in a utopia are witnessed in this novel. After being terrorized by the zombies, the various governments with support of the citizens decide to regroup. The previous failed attempt was the integrated martial technology used against the zombies, which had failed miserably. So, it was clear that without an effective plan, the entire human race was in danger. The assembling and effective decision-making caused them to gather a force, which was able to overcome the zombies. The determination to get through the crisis by the humans is seen when “they had a different kind of survival instinct, an instinct born in a time when they were slaves in their own country” (Brooks, page 30). Human instinct is the underlying reason to the creation of civilizations. America is seen in ruins, with bloodthirsty zombies causing chaos and destabilizing the government. That leads to disarray, which all seem to match the description of a dystopia.
Loyalty, equality and honesty are features possessed by all in a utopian society or community. These traits are certainly needed in order to maintain a perfect city with no problems whatsoever. However, the