nZombies

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nA zombie refers to a corpse that regains back its life through mysterious ways. A corpse can become a zombie either through witchcraft or any other supernatural powers (Badley, 1996). Nonetheless, most cases of zombies are prevalent in Caribbean as well as in African regions. Various people have written stories of zombies depicting different themes. These stories are given different names depending on their qualities. In this respect, they may be referred to as the undead, living dead, soulless corpse, or walking corpse. Stories about zombies may illustrate different themes depending on the background of the writer (Badley, 1996). Therefore, this paper will analyze a number of stories on zombies and depict their themes on how zombies are deemed.

nJeffrey Ford has written a story on zombies. In his story that relates to a Malthusian Zombie, he narrates various encounters and events he has faced with the Malthusian zombie. Jeffrey had a hard time trying to figure out nationality of Malthusian (Ford, 2000). Malthusian used to speak with an accent that was said to be strange. He mumbled as well as stuttered each time he was speaking, thus, making it hard for anyone to comprehend his words. In addition, his face and body were wrinkled like that of an old (Ford, 2000). The hair on his head was fuller and grey; a condition that depicted that Malthusian was not young. His eyes were very large while his grin looked mischievous such that he looked exactly like a monster (Ford, 2000). Most of the times, Malthusian could give an eclectic smile whenever a person confronted him.

nEventually, Ford realizes that Malthusian was a Zombie due to his distinct characteristics from the other human beings. Malthusian features do not resemble a normal human being. For instance, he does not comment or respond to any question. Nevertheless, he is quick at responding to commands with a straight forward and a succinct answer (Ford, 2000). Nonetheless, after being commanded to give out his name, he quickly responds that his name is ‘Tom. Moreover, he is quick at pointing out that he was a former worker of the US government. Nonetheless, he was not quick at recalling exact type of job that he used to do. Zombies are capable of performing many of their duties just like human beings. They can walk, laugh, see, talk, and perform other basic activities (Ford, 2000). However, there are other activities that the zombies cannot perform perfectly like the normal human beings. For instance, Malthusian Zombie could not speak in a manner that was clear forcing one to listen keenly. In addition, even if the zombies can speak, they perform the activity on particular conditions (Ford, 2000). Therefore, zombies do not independently operate because some forces such as the supernatural powers might be in control.

nAdditionally, Norman Partridge has written a short fiction story concerning zombies. In his story, he describes his life as a neighbor of two cemeteries. He wondered what could happen if the dead in these graves arose again and visited them. He started narrating the encounter of a man that was known as Nathan, a man who had visited a deserted beach. Nathan had a pair of binoculars where he was able to see mounds. These mounds bordered a beach that was crescent-shaped (Partridge, 1994). Suddenly, they became morning glory. A blur that was green in color turned into a crazy mound that took distinct colors, as well as the charcoal one.

nLater on, Nathan continued scanning the shadow. He finally managed to locate some of its distinct characteristics such as the skin color of the shadow (Partridge, 1994). It was golden-bronze in color. The shadow depicted the figure of a female who was naked. The woman was leaning gently on the palm of a coconut tree. In addition, a strand of hair that was blonde in color was curled on the finger of the left hand. The woman released curl in form of spit from her mouth in order to fight breeze of the Caribbean beach. The spit was able defeat this breeze for only a short time before it died down.

nAt some point, Nathan recalled on the experience of a woman that was known as Kara. Nathan had met her at a mansion referred to as New Orleans. Kara had posed on a trimmed tree that resembled that one of Christmas. Nathan smiled as he recalled most of the events of that day (Partridge, 1994). For instance, several packages were wrapped elegantly and were placed under a tree. Most of the miserable buckets were almost immobile. However, to each and everyones surprise, they had all crawled and immerged from their respective graves.

nNo particular zombie was visible, a situation that prompted media to concentrate on bizarre things. The cemeteries were pitted with graves that remained open. At midnight, it was feasible for one to notice the shadow of armies in the form of glimpses. The army longed for flesh not from animals but the human race. Nathan wondered what the anchors network could make. The accident had occurred in an island that was known as Grimes (Partridge, 1994). The assumption of Nathan was that if there were any predator zombies, then the accident victims could have been consumed by these spiritual creatures.

nIn the Caribbean, a place that is commonly known for these creatures, there were stories of zombies that could eat people. They could not be seen using bear eyes despite there being evidence of open tombs indicating that the dead had arisen. However, no feasible evidence was found even thorough retrieval (Partridge, 1994). Search creatures were found not to have existed. Despite this fact, people feared that the resurrected bodies were in the spirit form and that they embarked on killing and eating locals. Partridge’s story depicts a situation whereby zombies can be frightening creatures that cannot be identified with bare eyes (Partridge, 1994). Evil spirit can possess bodies of the dead, turn them into invisible form, and then proceed to haunt live human beings. In this case, the zombies are portrayed as evil creatures that are foes to human beings since they feed on their flesh.

nDouglas Winter has done literature work on zombies. In his work, “Less than Zombie,” he notes that everyone becomes afraid of living in streets. He is quick to reiterate that all people are terrified. He is of the assumption that people who are alive are dying while the dying ones are still living (Winter, 1990). The sad reality is that individuals of different caliber live next to each other, and the situation become worse in the downtown.

nWinter gives a case whereby he is running down in Los Angeles Street before he lights a cigarette. He later gives it to a person that is known as Skip who later passes it to Jane. In another occasion, he meets people who are driving in a Ferrari that is silver in color (Winter, 1990). The two guys are wearing sunglasses. Looking at him, one of them rolls down the window of the car before Winter drives, hurriedly, back into Los Angeles. His encounters depict the fear of the unknown that many people in populous cities around the world lives in as they struggle in their daily lives (Badley, 1995). In the beginning, he is succinct in noting out that such environments could harbor both the living and the non-living (Badley, 1995).

nThe assumption begs the question of whether in the crowded cities; there could be populations of zombies. For instance, the two people that Winter met could be zombies due to the fact they wore sunglasses (Winter, 1990). They could be hiding their abnormal eyes. Moreover, Skip or even Jane could be zombies although they shared a cigarette with him. This story portrays a situation whereby zombies could be living among the human populations. Some could be friendly while others could be brutal to the living. This fact makes populations in big cities to live in fear at all times. Their next move is always unknown due to various dangers that are posed in different forms.

nZombie can be interpreted in various ways. Zombies can take different characteristics of the human beings. For instance, zombies can portray bizarre characters such as mumbling or having different colors from the normal human beings (Winter, 1990). Zombies can be harbored in their original bodies that they had initially before they died and can perform most of the human activities such as talking and laughing. However, others could resurrect in spirit form and end up haunting its own people by eating them (Winter, 1990). Zombies could also live among the crowded populations and have the same features as the living human beings.

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nReferences

nBadley, L. (1996). Writing horror and the body the fiction of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Anne Rice. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

nFord, J. (2000). Malthusians Zombie. Pennsylvania: Amazon.

nPartridge, N. (1994). In beauty like the night (6th ed.). Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co.

nBadley, L. (1995). Film, horror, and the body fantastic. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press.

nWinter, D., E. (1990). Less Than Zombies. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/punkgoddess/lessthanzombie.html