In both the stories we read this week we see characters struggling in a post-apocalyptic world barely surviving and reflecting on how they deal with their new situation. Both stories are closely linked to the idea of humanity and family. Kendrick and Joe are blood relatives and the narrator of Twenty-Three Snapshots of San Francisco meets various people in the city. Both stories show the difficult choices that arise when society is completely broken and humans are only trying to survive. It seems reminiscent of the Dark Ages when societies were lacking information, had little food or clean water, and were in constant danger from the elements and fellow humans. It is odd to think that we are all about 5 meals away from society breaking down to something unrecognizable.  Society is resilient to certain stressors but in many ways it is extremely fragile, not unlike human life.

In zombie stories we read the characters try to cling to this notion of society, but it has a seemingly inexorable march to complete destruction. It is interesting to see how humans revert back to family or close-relative tribes when uncommon danger arises. And even then how far does human loyalty go? At what point do you call something lost or not worth saving and do you lose something when you reach this point too?  The typical situation reminds me of the season finale of MASH (a TV show that revolves around medical personnel during the Korean War) where Hawkeye, the protagonist of the show, suffers a mental breakdown for telling a woman to keep her crying baby quiet so that a bus full of civilians is not found by enemy forces. The group is not found, but it is later revealed the woman ended up smothering her child. Worlds like these or those filled with the walking dead are full of wicked problems and when you have to deal these choices all the time many people wonder what is the point of living?