earticle

영어

In his fifth novel, Zone One, Colson Whitehead describes the harmful effects of neoliberalism through the rebuilding project initiated by the temporary government of Buffalo, New York, in a post-apocalyptic world. At the same time, through the narrative of zombie sweeper Mark Spitz, zombies are portrayed as a metaphor for “others” from the perspectives of both class and race. Whitehead also criticizes post-racism using the unique narrative strategy of reversal. In this paper, New York, which has been hit by a zombie plague, is analyzed as a site that embodies the crisis caused by neoliberal policies, such as gentrification, statistics, and big data. Also, ideas of a post-race era and colorblindness are criticized, employing the argument of why zombies are linked to racism. Finally, this paper contends the impossibility of community building or solidarity among survivors in a neoliberal post-apocalypse through analysis of the protagonist’s observation of the implosion of community and relationships.