The Dead Charlie Higson Analysis

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In “The Dead” by Charlie Higson, the protagonist is Ed, originally a private school boy with no initiative to make a life for himself in the new world, and he develops into a leader with intentions to help as many people as he can survive. The story is based around the outbreak of an unknown disease, which causes everyone over 16 years old to deteriorate mentally and physically and attack anyone still living. The young people are left to fight and fend for themselves. Though you learn about Ed slowly, he’s a round character, and always has another surprise in store for readers. Ed’s most noticeable conflict in the story is that for much of it Ed is unable to fight the “strangers”, believing hitting someone is wrong though the others try their …show more content…

In the story, readers follow multiple characters in the same group of survivors, as well as a few outside. These effects are created perfectly during times where an important event occurs, and the reader's’ point of view switches to a different character, which causes the readers to be on edge, wondering then the fallout of the event will play a role in the story again. This technique is used well at times such as when Bam fires a shotgun shot into the darkness, “Like a camera flash going off. But it lasted just long enough for Bam to see a body falling back, arms thrown wide, the white face with red down one side, eyes wide in terror and surprise. Jack’s face” (Higson 316). After the attack, the point of view switches to Jack, a few minutes before these events. The effect of this technique is felt by the reader as it leaves them feeling on edge, unsure of when the plots will intertwine and the events the readers just experienced before will occur. This also affected the outcome of the story. As the characters apart of a different plot made different decisions, they often affected the other groups. This included characters needing to change their routes through town, where they would hole up for a few nights, what the outcome of a battle was, etc. In conclusion, Higson uses the technique of Parallel Plots to create the affects of mystery

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