World War Z
question
Some questions about the plot
Max
Jun 24, 2013 10:26AM
Can someone clear some confusing points of the story for me? (I didn't finish the book; some plot points come from friends' reiterations).
--Where are the big armies coming from? If the pandemic wiped out a large portion of the population (as a pandemic like this should), how can countries sustain proper militaries and not half-trained, ragtag groups of people?
--How would anyone manufacture weapons, bullets, etc for the armies to fight off zombie hordes? I mean, when there are zombie hordes everywhere, how would you even mine necessary metals and transport them?
--How would zombies rise from the ocean floor? I mean, what about the water pressure and temperature?
--Wouldn't some people be immune? Wouldn't a vaccine be possible?
--Wouldn't the virus mutate and come back?
--Why isn't everyone autocratic after the War? I mean, in a paranoid, survival situations, autocratism is known as the most effective form of leadership.
--Why wouldn't people, as an initial long-term plan, seek refuge in the least populated areas of the world, like islands? Or at least need to seriously isolate themselves from former populated areas because zombies keep coming back?
--The book has been known to portray the delayed response to the virus as a cause for making it worse (a critic even called it "a post-Katrina zombie book")But, in today's world is it really possible that necessary quarantine procedures won't be immediately effective for any virus? Remember 2009 H1N1 virus, health advisories were quickly issued and people took measures to contain it. Later, some even criticized media-supported paranoia. So when people these days are particularly concerned about things like this, how would a highly contagious zombie virus go unmentioned due to political incompetence? (Even if people don't believe it's a zombie virus,they should get the seriousness of a highly contagious virus. Also, how could this be similar to mismanagement following the aftermath of a disaster when it's ongoing?)
I guess this book is betting big that guns would be able to overcome a pandemic. I mean, you can shoot a zombie, but can you really shoot off a highly contagious virus? Ultimately, can people overcome nature?
--Where are the big armies coming from? If the pandemic wiped out a large portion of the population (as a pandemic like this should), how can countries sustain proper militaries and not half-trained, ragtag groups of people?
--How would anyone manufacture weapons, bullets, etc for the armies to fight off zombie hordes? I mean, when there are zombie hordes everywhere, how would you even mine necessary metals and transport them?
--How would zombies rise from the ocean floor? I mean, what about the water pressure and temperature?
--Wouldn't some people be immune? Wouldn't a vaccine be possible?
--Wouldn't the virus mutate and come back?
--Why isn't everyone autocratic after the War? I mean, in a paranoid, survival situations, autocratism is known as the most effective form of leadership.
--Why wouldn't people, as an initial long-term plan, seek refuge in the least populated areas of the world, like islands? Or at least need to seriously isolate themselves from former populated areas because zombies keep coming back?
--The book has been known to portray the delayed response to the virus as a cause for making it worse (a critic even called it "a post-Katrina zombie book")But, in today's world is it really possible that necessary quarantine procedures won't be immediately effective for any virus? Remember 2009 H1N1 virus, health advisories were quickly issued and people took measures to contain it. Later, some even criticized media-supported paranoia. So when people these days are particularly concerned about things like this, how would a highly contagious zombie virus go unmentioned due to political incompetence? (Even if people don't believe it's a zombie virus,they should get the seriousness of a highly contagious virus. Also, how could this be similar to mismanagement following the aftermath of a disaster when it's ongoing?)
I guess this book is betting big that guns would be able to overcome a pandemic. I mean, you can shoot a zombie, but can you really shoot off a highly contagious virus? Ultimately, can people overcome nature?
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Almost every one of those questions is either directly answered or at least touched upon in the book. I think I'd be willing to answer your questions if you had finished the book and just not noticed the answers but since you haven't I suggest just reading the book.
The thing I actually found fascinating was the uselessness of all of the white collar folk. What is valued in today's society may be useless in the next. I believe we have too many college educated people in the good ole' USA, not to mention too many pointless degrees that don't translate into real jobs, there's grade inflation, & much more. To be blue collar in the aftermath/reconstruction meant you had power.
So I guess as I read this book, sometimes I enjoyed it as a zombie thriller, but others I enjoyed the sociology & human response behind it all.
So I guess as I read this book, sometimes I enjoyed it as a zombie thriller, but others I enjoyed the sociology & human response behind it all.
I agree this is somewhat too extensive of a list of questions since you didn't even finish the book but--Why wouldn't people, as an initial long-term plan, seek refuge in the least populated areas of the world, like islands? Or at least need to seriously isolate themselves from former populated areas because zombies keep coming back?
(SPOILER)-They actually did this time and time again in the books. People headed to islands, Canada, etc. However, you don't just canoe out to an island out in the middle of the ocean. You get on a boat, with other people, some who have been infected yet are not symptomatic, and then you just end up with a completely infected island, boat, etc. Sometimes it worked. The book discusses several situations where people were able to make it somewhere. The next issue is food. Typically small islands are not self sustaining...(sorry if this came off snarky, not meant to, but sounded so as I reread!)
(SPOILER)-They actually did this time and time again in the books. People headed to islands, Canada, etc. However, you don't just canoe out to an island out in the middle of the ocean. You get on a boat, with other people, some who have been infected yet are not symptomatic, and then you just end up with a completely infected island, boat, etc. Sometimes it worked. The book discusses several situations where people were able to make it somewhere. The next issue is food. Typically small islands are not self sustaining...(sorry if this came off snarky, not meant to, but sounded so as I reread!)
--Where are the big armies coming from? If the pandemic wiped out a large portion of the population (as a pandemic like this should), how can countries sustain proper militaries and not half-trained, ragtag groups of people?
-The part I found interesting/quirky. I agree, not sure how a ragtag militia would hold up, but then again in the book, we're not talking super strength/speed zombies. (SPOILER) Large portions of the military were dominated; however, the crux of the Redeker Plan from the book was to essentially use some of the pockets of civilization that made a stand as bait while the military regrouped. Basically, the second wave army consisted of average civilians albeit civilians who had some sort of skill to make it that far! The one interviewee discusses that his relief was a 52 year old nun, but one who had kept her Sunday school class alive for 9 days....
-The part I found interesting/quirky. I agree, not sure how a ragtag militia would hold up, but then again in the book, we're not talking super strength/speed zombies. (SPOILER) Large portions of the military were dominated; however, the crux of the Redeker Plan from the book was to essentially use some of the pockets of civilization that made a stand as bait while the military regrouped. Basically, the second wave army consisted of average civilians albeit civilians who had some sort of skill to make it that far! The one interviewee discusses that his relief was a 52 year old nun, but one who had kept her Sunday school class alive for 9 days....
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