Readers,
This past week, like many weeks before it, I read an enticing apocalyptic novel called Zone One by Colson Whitehead. One major theme in terms of writing style for this book is the common place of death and the fight for survival. The first major thing that I noticed about this book was its raw depiction and emotions surrounding death. It was super interesting to see how Whitehead used the survivors’ vast experience of death to push them to believe that they were the authorities over their own future. This is especially true for the main character, Mark Spitz, who fully believed that “the future was the clay in their hands” (81). Even when things started to erupt near the end of the novel, he still pushed for the idea that “we make the future…That’s why we’re here” (283). Yet, Mark does not have this mentality on his own; it was forged in his experiences with fighting for survival and watching many beings die. Mark accounts that he “was accustomed to the silence now, understood it as a part of himself, weightless gear stowed in his pack next to the gauze and anticiprant” (162). In Zone One, the “dead were predictable. People were not” (137). The people that Mark was trying to survive with were more difficult to deal with than the death that constantly surrounded them. Death is made as one of the only constant factors for the survivalists, allowing it to become more of a comfort compared to today’s modern society. Death is not something that today is usually taken so lightly, especially with the current COVID-19 pandemic. There have been so many deaths from COVID-19, not just in the United States, but also across the globe. This link is from John Hopkins Research Hospital and depicts a global map with current data surrounding the deaths, number of tests, and current cases from all across the world: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html. The map is constantly being updated with real-time data, giving you a realistic look what is and has been happening in our world today. Hopefully, unlike in Zone One, we can work to keep death as something to motivate us to stop the spread of coronavirus and to protect ourselves and others. Reference for Photo: https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/03/who-is-getting-sick-and-how-sick-a-breakdown-of-coronavirus-risk-by-demographic-factors/
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My Dear Readers,
This week I read American War by Omar El Akkad and I am simply moved by the characters and story. Out of all the books read so far for this blog, this book is definitely one of my favorites. The story follows the life of Sarat Chestnut and her family through an apocalyptic disease-ran civil war. Sarat becomes a domestic terrorist herself as she is slowly groomed as a young girl surviving the war. One of the major themes of this book is the human drive for violence, personal disparities, and revenge. Sarat allows violence to consume her innocent childhood and for her “the calculus was simple: the enemy had violated her people, and for that she would violate the enemy. There could be no other way, she knew it. Blood can never be unspilled” (250). This is the mentality that continues to eat away at Sarat for the remainder of her life, even after she finds hope in her nephew, Benjamin. She continues to fight and kill, not for the benefit of the South, but for her own personal gain. It turned from a fight against the Blue, to a fight against those who tortured her for years and took away all that she had in life; “soon the surrounding world evaporated and with it the screaming that filled the room. Only her wrath remained, her unquenchable want. She wanted the blood inside him” (341). Yet, it is not only Sarat’s own doing that is the reason for her revenge state of mind. The fragile, split government in the United States also had malicious tactics and did not put the greater good of all above anything else. Instead of focusing on ending the war, the government was more concerned with creating a sense of “normalcy” and trying to force the past behind. This strategy only added fuel to the revenge fire and left the people feeling like they had to take things into their own hands. In an interview with a government member, they state “I’m sure all the members of this committee echo my desire that we reach that normalcy as quickly as possible” (278). Politics and government have a large impact on the mentality and health of a community. When the leaders are weak, you can only imagine the strength of the people, for the whole community is on their shoulders. The committee’s standing only added fuel to Sarat’s fire as she believed “it was, all of it, a lie—and the worst kind of lie: a charade of normality at a time of war” (260). Politics can shape a country and morph it into something completely unrecognizable. Hatred and revenge is a major human killer. These are some of the messages from American War and Omar El Akkad’s wish for more people to pay attention to the signs of a crippling society. Even today, the United States of America is extremely fragile after the most recent election and other large social movements that occurred. Different generations are fighting on social media, a global pandemic is changing normalcy, and large groups of people become divided based on personal opinions about politics or science. Americans are scared of what will become of themselves. Here’s a link to a resource that talks all about the issues occurring in America today: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/05/01/destroying-trust-in-the-media-science-and-government-has-left-america-vulnerable-to-disaster/. As an American, I wish for peace in a modern world. I look to the hope that America will continue to grow, learn, and change for the better—for all who live here. Here’s to a better world—a better America. Source for photo: https://www.ucf.edu/news/7-influential-protests-in-american-history |
AuthorJosephine Graft is a passionate student who believes in the power of the human mind. Anything is achievable when you put your mind to it! Archives
April 2021
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