World War Z by Max Brooks

Throughout World War Z by Max Brooks, readers can see how the apocalypse begins. Some of these mistakes can be considered individual human error, but overall can be seen as the government failing to serve its purpose. For example, early in the book, China first discovered that there was a newfound disease starting to spread. Instead of taking the responsibility for this disease, they shrugged it off and redirected other countries attentions. This caused the disease to start as a small outbreak and eventually multiplied. This failure in government can be seen as somewhat of a selfish act in order to preserve the country’s secrecy. Because they did not take the initiative to tell anyone else about the disease, people were unable to take caution and prevent themselves from contracting the plague. Similar to the book Blindness, nobody understood that the disease was amongst them at first. People were suddenly beginning to go blind with many unanswered questions. However, there was never any real truth to be revealed to the citizens in Blindness as there was in World War Z.
On top of the failure of the government, we also see the failure to act correctly in humans as well. For example, in World War Z, there were illegal organ trafficking actions being taken in China. These actions were carried out by Fernando Oliveira, a heart surgeon in China. Although his actions were selfish and unjust, one could trace the problem back to the government for not warning the public about the beginning of a plague. Dr. Oliveira saw no true harm in the human trafficking business as it was such a profit. This lead to the demise of the population when the disease was transported through the heart of an infected man. Once the doctors completed the heart t...

... middle of paper ...

...ows the reader to branch out and decipher another meaning. Not only is the book focused on explaining the present disease, but it allows the reader to get the bigger picture. Because everything in this book is completely historically accurate, it gives readers the freedom to formulate their own beliefs on the matter at hand. However, Brooks focuses on more than just the government and country’s citizens. He brings about the idea that it is a country’s fault as a whole when this disease takes effect because of naive actions such as isolating themselves away from the problem. In a more concise view, one could compare the world to the human body. We all live in it. The body can live without a hand or a foot. Preservation and improving the individual parts will ultimately lead to a better quality of life for us all, thus aiding Brooks in the battle against isolationism.