Shakespeare once wrote "the course of true love never did run smooth" (source). True then, true now, and doubly true once the undead being chomping their way across the globe. Love is a problematic theme in World War Z. On the one hand, love influences people to make decisions that have disastrous consequences, such as refugees spreading the plague to other countries in the hopes of saving their loved ones. On the other hand, love provides the impetus for many of the zombie war's heroes to do what they do. So while the love may have created the zombie war, it also helps bring it to an end.
Questions About Love
- What character do you think embodies love to the most positive effect? Who is it and why do you think this to be the case?
- What character embodies love most negatively? Who is it and why do you think this to be the case?
- The zombies can't feel love. Actually they can't feel much of anything. Do you think this distinction between the zombies and the humans proves to be important in the novel? Why or why not?