Are zombies alive or dead? What does it mean to be alive or to be dead? At first glance, dead and alive appear to have clear definitions and appear to be binary. The definition can be biological (no heartbeat), ethical, and even practical. But is it possible that there is a spectrum between what it means to be alive and to be dead? Indistinction is similar to the concept of disintegration of self and other in the abject. Abject is “the human reaction (horror, vomiting) to a threatened rupture of meaning caused by the loss of the distinction between subject and object or between self and other.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The idea of ​​the Abject is a state of being between subject and object that each time mirrors the state of being between being alive and dead . This is also consistent with Colson Whitehead's novel Zone One, which is about the skels, the stragglers who are the walking dead, and survivors like Mark Spitz in the apocalyptic world of New York City due to the plague, and their lives there, especially Zone. one, which is a small area of ​​Manhattan, with living rooms. Whitehead questions what it means to be dead because there are always exceptions, such as the living dead (zombies), and illustrates that there is no real set of definitive standards for telling whether one is alive or dead. The novel represents life in a sense that being alive and dead are the same thing, not different. Even though death might be considered a final and negative event, Whitehead's characters, "the latecomers", suggest that there might be a way to survive in the apocalyptic world with hope, and suggest that there is always a reason to keep going, even in a space between life and death. Through the novel Zone One, Whitehead uses latecomers to demonstrate that life and death are not binary and it is possible to occupy a space between the two. Two types of zombies, unlike the traditional definition of zombies, were introduced by Whitehead and serve to realize the lack of distinction between life and death with the latecomers, and shows that the latecomers themselves show how people are in between life and life. death even if they appear dead. The book Zone One introduces the reader to two types of zombies. First there are the skeletons and these are the ones that meet the traditional definition of a zombie hungry for human flesh and very mobile. The second type, however, is markedly different from the type of undead traditionally presented in zombie novels. They are called stragglers and are less violent than skels, essentially harmless and undertake repetitive action. Whitehead calls these undead "latecomers" and notes that "he was the first living human being that the dead had seen since the beginning...". Laggards are introduced as a new type of "first living dead human" through the book and are shown to be stragglers. in the gray area of ​​life and death, which implies that the very idea of ​​latecomers shows how life and death are not so distinct. The existence of the stragglers shows that there is hope, which is important because hope is a way to survive in the apocalyptic world and says that there is a reason to be alive, which means that it is worth being alive. Not only the existence of the latecomers but also the fact that they are a symbol of hope throughout the novel represents positivity in death. In general, many people think that death is the end of hope or where there is no hope; However, there is some positivity in death unlike people's usual thoughts. The stragglers appear dead, which was originally considered final, but are actually alive and capableto move, therefore they live. He says that death may not be the final step and it is like living by moving forward without stopping at a certain point. However, people could still choose to be dead rather than be laggards, but by being laggards you could find and be a hope in the overwhelming apocalyptic world. The latecomers' pasts are mentioned in the novel: "The latecomers posed for a photo and never moved again, trapped in a snapshot of their lives." They are connected to key moments in their lives and have stayed or walked in places that remind them or those moments. In addition to this, "Mark Spitz had noted on numerous occasions that while regular skels were called that, latecomers were assigned male and female pronouns...". Skels are called "it" which is a hopeless pronoun, but latecomers are called with female or male pronouns, meaning latecomers are more considered human beings. It reveals that those who appear dead are considered living, human, and means that there is no difference between the dead and the living. Unlike the violent behavior of the skels, the behaviors of the latecomers were less violent and harmless. Not only their behavior, but also their character as spirits was so close to the human spirit. Laggards also remain in one of the places that are significant to them, which feels as if they are holding on to something, be it the past or a moment in the past. Skels seems to have a hope in the back of his mind and this hope is considered positivity rather than negativity. According to the novel, Mark constantly reveals how the stragglers are an important part in the apocalyptic world by showing hope and their hope that is within the stragglers is positive. Despite the positive effect of hope, different aspects of hope are displayed between humans and latecomers, and Colson compares humans and latecomers to show that beings who can live in the space between life and death are more hopeful than humans, who they know they are alive and are just waiting to die without a bit of hope. Human beings are afraid of being dead and have no hope regarding death; however, latecomers have more hope than humans. Human beings always try to move forward into the future, they just move forward without looking back, but due to the behavior of latecomers, they are stuck in one of the places where it was meaningful to them with their deep soul. Early in the novel, Mark Spitz, Gary, and Kaitlyn often take part in a game they call Solve the Straggler. The game in the world of the novel is an attempt to understand what the stragglers' previous life might have been based on where he is or what he is doing. According to the novel, “Solve the straggler and you will have taken a bite out of the pure chaos the world had become.” The idea of ​​trying to figure out what to do with the drifter's past seems to be the key to surviving in reality. of the present. As the game suggests, the reason why the stragglers' past could be the solution to survive in the chaos is that they have hope in the back of their mind by remembering the past, unlike humans who are called "survivors". Using the past with the hope that laggards can understand the future of the world or even create better environments in those situations highlights how laggards are more optimistic than humans. Also, the lieutenant said this is why I like latecomers. They know what they are doing, verve and sense of purpose. What do we have? Fear and danger. The memories of all those you have lost. Normal skeletons are all messed up. But your laggards, your straggler, have none of that. He always lives his own?