catastrophe
Colson Whitehead’s Zone differs from most survival narratives in the story takes a much more realistic (and often brutal) look at contemporary catastrophe and our bleak odds at survival: according to the story’s protagonist, Mark Spitz, there will be no triumphant return to normalcy: humans will not win in the end, no matter how they come together as a community (and no matter how positive their outlooks on life) to fight the zombie apocalypse.
As a result of this argument, Zone one is diametrically opposed to how most survival narratives play out: in more naïve argument, human often face incredible odds, but because they are human (or may be because they are simply American!), they always seem to come out unscathed in the end. Take, for example, the film adaptation of the science fiction dystopia I am Legend: after a supposed cure for cancer begins turning humans into undead zombie like creature, the very last human on earth, who also happen to be a virologist immune to the disease, discovers a cure to save humanity only moment before dying (and then, implausibly, discover another human just in time to hand off the antidote!). These narratives reinforce how Americans face catastrophe with totally unrealistic expectation, hoping to deal with very real global crises” just in the nick of time” with our supposed technological ingenuity( the very ingenuity that is also killing us!).
In his article “The Long Emergency”, James Kunstler calls this form of blind optimism “Jiminy Cricket syndrome.” He writes, “The wonders of steady technological progress […] have lulled us into a kind of Jiminy Cricket syndrome, leading many Americans to believe that anything we wish for hard enough will come true” (Kunstler 2-3). In other words, according to Kunstler, no matter the nature of the catastrophe, Americans believe that we can “innovate” our way out of any problem: if we simply put our minds to –and wish for it hard enough-we can successfully survive impending doom to live another day.
For you essay, I would like you to study the plot and character development in Zone one to develop an alternative point of view to Kunstler’s “Jiminy Cricket syndrome.” According to the events in the novel, how should humans approach global catastrophe, and how can this viewpoint by applied to better understand the very real environmental catastrophes that we are currently facing in the 21st century.
In order to apply Whitehead’s argument to the environmental problem we face today, I would like you to research what’s being referred to as the “sixth extinction event” in order to speak intelligently and critically about our current environmental challenges. Please include at least 6 outside sources to support your argument. These sources can include James Kunstler’s article “The Long Emergency” and additional research about the “sixth extinction event” from a combination of popular and scientific journal. However, these source may not include additional fictional retellings of environmental catastrophe from literature or film: your primary text for this essay is, and should remain, Colson Whitehead’s zone one.
Please make sure a clear a thesis at the last sentence of the introduction paragraph. the upfollowing body paragraph mus follow CIA: Claim/topic sentence, Information/ quote that support the topic sentence, Analysis of the informaton and how it relates to my topic sentence and the thesis, it requires clear and enough explaination for the analysis.
Plagiarize will get an F, I perfer 4 whole pages and 1 page work cited.