Analysis Of The Loss Thereof: Humanity And Identity In The Walking Dead

Ellie Schmidt Ms. Miller Graphic Narrative 25 April 2024.

Humanity or the Loss Thereof: Morality and Identity in The Walking Dead?

Marked by extensive gore and bloodlust, media featuring zombies has often featured violence as its centerpiece. The trope, popularized in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, often focuses on the horrors of zombies themselves, and their gruesome nature (Eaton 670-72). In The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman continues this concept and expands upon it. Following Rick Grimes, a former police officer led by his morals, The Walking Dead explores not only the terrors of the zombie outbreak in the post-apocalyptic world, but also their effects on Rick’s family and the group of survivors they find themselves among.

2). As the fight continues, Kirkman transitions from Rick’s determined gaze to a bullet hitting Dexter’s head, and back to Rick holding a gun (Fig. 2). Kirkman forces readers to create their own assumptions about the sequence of events, using closure. Rick’s gaze seems to follow the bullet to the next page, watching as it reaches its target. Smoke creeps out of Rick’s gun, and although he could have just shot a zombie, another group member stares at Rick in shock. Amidst the chaos and fear, readers can assume that Rick shot Dexter, despite Rick’s previous pledge to never kill. Previously, Rick harshly punished those who had committed murder, and vowed to eradicate the act from his group. Pushed by the peril that surrounds him, Rick loses sight of his own promises and his former self. Fig. 2 -. Page from Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. In the fifth panel, Kirkman uses amplification through simplification to highlight how Rick’s transformation applies not only to Rick, but to anyone in his situation (Fig. 2). As the inmates surround Dexter’s body, Rick walks toward him, his face completely covered in shadow. He lacks facial features, and would not be recognizable if not for his law enforcement apparel. Kirkman chooses to obscure Rick’s face to emphasize the universality of his actions (Fig. 2). Rick’s choice to act solely in self-interest and disregard his previous morals would be the same choice any other human would make. Kirkman underscores the idea that under extreme circumstances, individual human identity becomes secondary to survival instincts and selfish desires. Ultimately, through Rick’s transformation from a moral police officer to seasoned survivor, Kirkman invites readers to grapple with the complexities of human nature and the harsh realities of survival in a post-apocalyptic world. The Walking Dead serves