Zombies In A Moral Dilemma

Yanick Rodrigue
Horror and Ethics
603-102-MQ

Zombies in a Moral Dilemma

Lately, zombies have been really popular for people entertainment. The media
make them look scary, and sometimes funny. However, we have a connection with
these mythical creatures because somehow they are between life and death. This
essay, will discuss the role of moral dilemma in horror by giving some examplesof
characters that face the situation of what is the right thing to do when making their
decisions, based on horror stories and T.V series regarding zombies. More specifically,
the essay will discuss the aspect of what is the right thing to do, and why do people
make these decisions. For example, when someone is about to make a decision but he
or she is not sure about doing it becausehe or she does not know if it is the right thing
to do, or if it is going to be better or worse in a moral aspect. What will also be
discussed is how the decisions one make can be followed by guilt.
When dealing with zombies, one can find a lot of examples that relate with the
theme of moral dilemma. Everyone knows that zombies are monsters and their purpose
is to kill humans and sucktheir blood, infecting them until the world has become just
zombies. Normally, people are supposed to defend themselves in order to survive.
However, sometimes and for some people it might be difficult to kill a zombie, maybe
because they had a relation with that person in the past and it becomes difficult to just
get rid of them. For example, in the first episode of the T.V series The WalkingDead by
Frank Darabont, Morgan, a father that was fighting to survive and trying to protect his
son from a bunch of zombies, finds himself in a situation where he does not know what
to do. His wife was a zombie and while pointing at her with a rifle he was facing the
moral dilemma of what was the best thing to do. Morgan recognizes that his wife would
never come back to normal and thatit could be dangerous for him and his son to let her
live, but still he cannot let go of the past and his feelings towards her, and for that
moment he refuses to kill her. This is a moral dilemma because he is facing a moment
where he does not know what to do in order to do the right thing and what is best for
him, his son, and even people that surround them. However, guilt will probablyfollow
Morgan, not killing his wife was not necessarily the best thing to do. No human
deserves to be a zombie and it might be morally better for them to be killed.
It is not evident to let someone die when we believe there is still something that
can be done. Just like Morgan, there are other similar stories that relate to this situation.
Some of them show us how far people can go inorder to keep their loved ones alive.
While watching T.V series or reading stories about zombies, we may think that the
characters must kill the beasts and save themselves by getting out of there, even if they
had feelings towards the person that was there before becoming a zombie. In the story
“Consumption” by Steve Eller, we have an example that goes even further than the
limits of the oneof The Walking Dead. Here, Luther is keeping alive his zombie-
daughter in the back of his RV by feeding her with humans. He refuses to let her die
and even says that there is another way of doing things, “I couldn’t let her go, I couldn’t
let her die like that when there was another way.” He says that to Amber right before
hitting her and feeding her to his daughter. This goes obviouslyway too far. And how
would we know if Luther was doing the right thing? Why is keeping his daughter alive
better than killing innocent people? Well, this is exactly where moral dilemma is
involved. There is no right or wrong way to do things. There are just better options or
choices that may be taken.
What would happen if one is living a situation like this? How does someone can
get...