Dread Nation

For a while now our culture has been soaking up zombie-related media as much as it can. And while I haven’t been one of those many people, there’s no denying how popular zombies related things have become. For example, one of TV’s most popular TV shows ever is The Walking Dead which started in 2010 and really helped grow the post-apocalyptic genre that is so popular in today’s culture. Many shows or movies that have been centered around this are popular because they allow us to examine mankind and hypothetically see what decisions are made. An apocalypse reveals people’s true colors and allows for the fictional society to start over. Allow for our society today to accept and be captured by these experiences. Our society has chewed up this type of storytelling as of late, and so people will—for better or worse—prefer something zombie related than something based around US history. However, author Justina Ireland combines the two in an interesting way in her novel Dread Nation. She blends the setting of the American Civil War and zombies (or in this case “shamblers”) and makes it incredibly engaging (to my surprise). After the dead start to rise from the earth the Civil War ends with slaves having to train to fight these shamblers. The story centers around Jane McKeene who goes to Miss Preston’s, a prestigious school that trains African Americans. Ireland’s story does have aspects that are unique, but a lot of its themes are prevalent in today’s culture or are relatable for today’s society.

Jane desperately wants to have those around her to value her all while she is saving people around her from Shamblers. She is consistently trying to find a balance between her sense of duty and her conflicting relationship with her mother. And as an African American, she also struggles with the racism surrounding her, while she is protecting those around her. These struggles make the main character relatable for people in today’s culture as racism is still unfortunately prevalent. Along with her difficult relationship with her mom, that may be relatable for some. Helping drag the novel away from its “boring” setting to some and give it multiple layers to grab the reader. Not mention the struggles that she and her best friend Katherine go through for being biracial. Prompting me to consider something I had never really thought of with how biracial people struggle to be accepted into society. As some may now be shunned by two races and how hard that must be.

Ireland’s novel combines a greatly engaging pop culture topic with something that may be mundane to some. The irony of an African American fighting the zombies of those that died over equality is something interesting to think about. Hinting towards both the living and the dead being “diseased”. Dread Nation’s relatable and relevant themes make this historical set novel extremely interesting and engaging despite some’s judgment over its setting.