Chuck Klosterman My Zombies Myself Summary

In the article, "My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead," by Chuck Klosterman, he explains to us how zombies have become popularized and why we're so appealed to them. He said, "Mainstream interest in zombies has steadily risen over the past 40 years," (Klosterman 423) and "Roughly 5.3 million people watched the first episode of The Walking Dead on AMC," (Klosterman 422). Klosterman also said, "When we think critically about monsters, we tend to classify them as personifications of what we fear," (Klosterman 423). Basically, he states that monsters have served to express our fears and zombies are used metaphorically. For example, we have a fear of being consumed (Klosterman 425). He compared zombies to the world but instead of being consumed by actual zombies, it's the world that's consuming us. He implies that dealing with life feels like dealing with zombies. 

In the article Klosterman says, "A lot of modern life is exactly like slaughtering zombies," (Klosterman 423). Since our daily routines are repetitive, the author feels it resembles the way zombies are killed. He compares the way zombies die to the same tasks people complete day after day. Zombies are like the mindless,

never-ending tasks we face every day because they require no thought, are easy to kill, and never really go away. As Klosterman puts it, even if a person kills some there's still going to be a big group of them left just like trying to delete 400 work e-mails (Klosterman 424).  
By comparing human traits to zombies, Klosterman shows us how the world is starting to resemble a zombie apocalypse. He shows us this by comparing the way people who are consumed by the internet and social media walk around aimlessly like zombies. Just like we constantly enter the same apps or watch the same shows, zombies walk around hunting and killing people without any real purpose. We are able to be consumed by the internet and media just as much as zombies could consume us if they were real. Another way he shows us how humanity is starting to resemble zombies is by comparing them to the people or the world around us. He explains how people look like zombies as they go to work or go through their daily tasks and routines. An example of this is how people go through the same routines everyday whereas zombies go through the same motions. Some other examples might include how people resemble zombies when they're tired because they drag on, or when they're slow at completing their tasks while zombies are just slow in general. 
Klosterman said, "The principal downside to any zombie attack is that the zombies will never stop coming; the principal downside to life is that you will be never be finished with whatever it is you do," (Klosterman 424).

Even though he tells us, "Do not assume the war is over, because it never is," (Klosterman 426), he also tells us that, "As long we keep deleting whatever’s directly in front of us, we survive," (Klosterman 425). The way Klosterman sees it is that we live to eliminate the zombies of tomorrow, (Klosterman 425). As Klosterman comes to a close he says that, "The zombies you kill today will merely be replaced by the zombies of tomorrow," (Klosterman 426). He concludes his article by saying, "This is the zombies’ world, and we just live in it," (Klosterman

426). 
Overall, it was a really well-written article. Not only did Klosterman keep me interested when reading it, but I also agree with what he said. I thought he was successful by accomplishing his purpose because what he's saying is true and relatable. What he says is true because people are so consumed by their phones these days that they walk around looking down at them instead of paying attention to their surroundings just like zombies walk around without thought. What he says is relatable because I'm just as consumed by my cell phone throughout the day as everyone else in this generation. People really do resemble zombies, and the world really does resemble a zombie apocalypse.