The Donner Party Frankenstein Analysis

When were naïve children, we might have been fearful of the monsters in our closet, but in reality there were no monsters. Our fear of the unknown, coupled with our imagination, caused us to believe that there was actually a monster. Fear is an innate emotion that all humans have expressed. Monsters in movies and novels that we consume should be considered as tangible creature that encapsulates our fears. These stories make us imagine a world in which a fictional character defeats and conquers things that we ourselves might not venture to do. In essence, we let ourselves vicariously live through the life of these characters and we share the same fear of the fictional threat. In addition, Brooks makes argument on whether to fight their “monster”

or run away from it.
Zombies have become a part of the mainstream culture through movies, television shows, video games and various other forms entertainment. Originally, zombies were corpses that were revived through witchcraft in many regions of Africa. Likewise, we have embraced this monster and let it become epitome of our fears. We often see the hordes of zombies slowly approaching and transforming humans into mindless monsters. To some they are nothing more than the fear of mortality and the loss of one’s self-identity. Essentially, they signify physical real world threats that we cant really categorize or quantify in some regards. In addition, zombies are often portrayed as a constant and pervasive threat to humanity. As humans, we can imagine and observe these situations, which allow us to project and face our fears without any risk.
Therefore, to truly understand our fascination and horror of monsters we must define the basic underlying characteristic that define monster. In the article “Horror and Humor”, Noel Carrol defines a few of the qualities of the horror genre and the monster itself. Firstly, the existence of monsters is often denied by science. For example, it is genetically impossible to create a virus that causes zombification and since you would have to combine various viruses to create it. (Narisuddin). In addition, we know that no current disease that exists that signifies symptoms of a zombie. Another characteristic that the author argues about monsters is that they are impure and repugnant creatures that cause fear and disgust among the fictional characters in the story. For example in World War Z, a man in Rio shot a zombie with “bloody meat falling from [its] open mouth” started walking toward him (Brooks 25). The repugnant creature made him fear causing him to shoot the zombie. Thirdly, these horror fiction stories are often meant to “guide our emotional response” to the monster. Ideally, the fictional characters shape our emotional response when they first encounter this scary monster. The article also stated the monster has to be a “fearsome” creature that would cause physical harm to the character. For example, when Dr. Kwang described “Patient Zero” as cold, gray frail boy who’s “movements were violent” so that he had to call for help (Brooks 7). This young boy is described as a fearsome zombie which “truly scared” the doctor. This event highlights the sheer fear that the monster sparked in peoples' hearts. In addition, the juxtaposition of our world with an apocalyptic scenario where an inadequate government led to the death of millions of people makes the story more realistic and horrifying.
Although monsters represent our tangible fears, they also signify certain events. Monsters are often times things that “occur outside the course of nature” and they are “sign of some forthcoming misfortune” (Sheehan 7). For example, when the first small outbreak mentioned in in the village of China, symbolized a widespread pandemic that would follow. This makes us fear whether our own government would be effective in such a widespread pandemic. Therefore, our fear of infectious diseases can rationalize the plague of the zombie. In the book, the government told the public that Phalanx was the cure for the disease, but instead it was just a placebo. The government did not try to help the people, but instead keep them from fearing the death. Similarly in an interview with Arthur Sinclair, the head of “DeSTRes” talks about creating a safe zone. In addition, he mentions how the people have gone through “starvation, diseases, [and] homelessness in the millions because of zombies” (Brooks 137). Brooks tries to represent zombies as a symbol of a natural disaster that swept through America leaving behind pure carnage. Not only are the zombies portrayed as impure, repugnant creatures, but also associated with war, disease and destruction.
Similarly, Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes in American history, leaving behind billions in damages and killing about 1,836 people. The storm destroyed several thousand homes and buildings in several states(Staff) .This natural disaster is similar to the one mentioned in the book because thousand were homeless and many did not have any food or shelter. The government was blamed for not preparing the residents for evacuations and essentially causing such a high death toll. Likewise, Brooks maybe trying to draw parallels between our world and stories in the book. Zombies are similar to natural disaster in that they are both a constant threat the survival of humanity. Therefore, zombies could be a larger allegory to the similar threats we face in our world. In addition, there could be an argument made that people that do not prepare will not survive similar to the characters in the novel. The symbolizations of these unprepared people during the zombie apocalypse in the novel should be used as lesson to be better prepared for events such as natural disaster.
When humans are in desperate situations in which they need to fight to survive, they often bring out the worst within us. In a world in which it is only the survival of the fittest, often times the monsters are the humans. Nietzsche the philosopher stated, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you” (146). Sometimes the monster we need to fear is not the one we fight, but it is own inherent and selfish desire to survive. An interview reveals the story of a girl named Sharon who was taken to the church by her mother in order to keep her safe from the zombies. When the zombies broke in, the mom starts choking her to death instead of protecting her daughter from danger. The real monster in the story was not the zombies, but instead the mother who tried killing her own daughter in the panic of the moment. Another example is the mercenary who worked for a cruel boss who only wanted fame and power (Brooks 83-89). He allowed celebrities to stay in his safe house away from the zombies. When normal people tried to enter the house, he would order his men to shoot them down. This man was the real monster that people had to fear because his arrogance and his pure disregard for human life. Even in a crisis when people needed help, he decided to turn his back in order to have fame. Several encounters in the book show that people would kill others in order to ensure their survival and let fear blur their conscience.
For example, the Donner Party is an example in history where harsh circumstances of survival led to some horrible decisions.

In 1846, a group of immigrants led by George Donner went west and they decided to stop along the way to make repairs to their wagons (History.com). A harsh winter storm brought lot of snow and they began to slowly run out of food. Once they ran out food people resorted to other humans in order to survive. They resorted to cannibalism in order to ensure the survival of the group. The circumstances were so harsh that people were willing to let their own family members die in order to have food for the group. This was gruesome examples of people would do almost anything in order to ensure their survival. In addition, this ties back into the larger theme of primitivism of humans in World War Z. In addition, in an effort to stay alive humans will kill, steal, fight and run. In our lives we might consider the things that we might have done in order to

survive.
Consequently, the fight or flight response is a primitive and automatic response that prepares the body to either fight or run from a perceived threat to our survival (Neimark). Many of the characters in World War Z are facing this same type of dilemma when fighting for their survival. Brooks tries to highlight that most people choose flight rather than fight because of their fear. When Sharon decided to run away rather than fight, she survived but the rich man in the West Indies died trying to stand and fight. Although, if he had decided to not draw attention to himself he could have stayed alive (Brooks 83-89).In addition, people who blindly took Phalanx could be considered as running away from their problems by blindly believing that the vaccine was real. Brooks is not endorsing either a flight or fight response, but rather a circumstantial stance in which you would make the right choice based on situation at hand.
In conclusion, monsters allow us to project our fear and face them.

The zombies in book satisfy the characteristics that define a horrific monster. An event that is associated with a monster caused great misfortune. The zombies are fearsome beings that want to bring harm and are fear into the lives of the fictional characters. The existence of the monsters would be incongruous with reality, but we let out minds escape. Brooks tries to teach us that we need also be smart when we are put in “fight or flight” situations because our decisions will determine our survival. In addition, zombies are made an allegory to many of the bad things of the world and human are in constant battle with them. In addition, the zombies symbolize a natural disaster, a threat that is uncontrollable and perpetual in our world. Zombies have become an intrinsic part of the World War Z and people must adapt and learn to survive despite their fears. Humans are at an all-out war with zombies and they cannot lose or they risk the eradication of the human

race.