World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Which characters do you most sympathize with? Which do you find yourself criticizing? As you reflect, consider these and other points:

• Should we have any sympathy for the zombies?
• How should those that developed and ordered the Redeker Plan be judged?
• What connections exist between characters that elicit a sympathetic response?
• Which section built the most sympathy? Which built the least sympathy?
• What were the best and worst decisions?

Teaching Suggestion: This discussion focus can highlight the themes of The Triumph of Humanity, The Power of Knowledge and the Cost of Ignorance, and American Exceptionalism. Humans do survive, knowledge helps and ignorance harms, and woven through it all is a reckoning over the American way of life. The sub-questions might be extremely important due to the nature of the novel. Characters are heard from infrequently with large gaps between their interviews and gulfs between all the characters. One way to approach reflection for this discussion could be to reread the chapters in the final section and review previous interviews with those characters. That could provide a foothold for students. Another idea would be to reflect on each chapter or each section during the initial read with a focus on moments of sympathy or criticism. Students could review these journals or notes after reading to prepare to discuss.