Aaron Escalante

Kati Lewis
English 2010
March 18, 2016
Zombie Art & Culture Analysis
Procrastination Side Effects Include Extinction
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is a novel featuring a teenage girl named
Mary living in a small village protected by chain-link fences under the control of a cult known as
the Sisterhood. The village doesnt last terribly long though, seeing how the Unconsecrated,
unholy and blasphemous people who were trying to cheat God. Trying to cheat death. Trying to
change His will. (Ryan 63) according to Sister Tabitha, ended up breaking down the wall and
destroying the village in what felt like half an hour, probably even
less. While at first, that may seem surprising, it really isnt
considering how the leaders of that village had set up their
society, and with an even closer look, it becomes obvious that
their culture, their way of life, had set them up to fail. Before one
analyzes the how though, one will have to know the why. Why
was the village overcome so quickly and seemingly out of
nowhere?
According to the story, there are three main groups within
this village society: the Sisterhood, the Guardians, and the general
public. Obviously, each group carries out the duties their society
gives them; the Sisterhood is the religious figure led by Sister
Tabitha, the Guardians serve as the police force working with the
Sisterhood to keep the Unconsecrated out led by Travis and
Harrys Father, and the general public which consists of those that carry out the daily duties and
chores. In case of break-in, a siren is activated that warns everyone to climb up trees using
ladders and then pull up said ladders if the Unconsecrated start getting close regardless of
whether everyone is up or not.
The problem in that structure lies not just in what it has, but in what it lacks, the primary
problem being that it does not have some sort of wall reinforcement/maintenance group. Think of
a fence as a bouncer at a party. The tougher and bigger it is, the less likely unwanted guests will
enter, especially if the unwanted guests are mindless zombies with no strength or ability past
their deteriorating muscles. The society Mary lived in was playing a defensive game without
making any noticeable effort to boost their defenses. One could argue that they didnt have the

means to build their own Great Wall of China,

but they certainly had the means to do better
than an old chain link fence where someone
could get grabbed by an Unconsecrated
because they were simply too close (Refer to
Marys Mother). Another argument could be
that Jed points out that The Guardians train to repair fences (Ryan 149) but to repair something
means that its been broken before and therefore there is even more reason to have a fourth group
specifically geared to not only build a better wall, but to maintain it so that the Guardians can
focus on guarding. One could also argue that they were preparing for the inevitable break-in
instead of wasting time building a wall, but its unlikely that that would be the Sisterhoods way
of thinking, especially considering their religious beliefs.
Simply put, the Sisterhood (especially Sister Tabitha) believed themselves to be protected
by the all-powerful saving grace of the most loving and understanding Heavenly Father who
would never let any harm befall on them because they were righteous and reverent and forget all
that because the Unconsecrated broke in anyway. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with
believing in a higher power, but as the Activist Post puts it, Your faith will not hydrate you with
sufficient drinking water, nor will your faith feed your starving body (Levy 1) and your faith
will certainly not protect you from a super zombie in red, something that Sister Tabitha, the
religious leader thought to be the most reverent of them all, learned from first-hand experience.
If one needs proof of The Sisterhoods drastic devotion to their religion, one need only
look at the text for examples such as when Mary points out that The first thing the Sisters do
when Jed walks me back to the cathedral is strip off my clothes and half-drown me in the sacred
well (Ryan 18), when Sister Tabitha tells Mary that I [Mary] am free to go and that I [Mary]
should thank God for the strength He has given me [Mary] to move forward with my [Marys]
life (Ryan 21), or when Mary points out
that with every building in our village
there is a line of Scripture there, carved
into the wood by the Sisterhood. It is our
habit and duty to press a hand against these
words every time we cross a threshold, to
remind us of God and His words (Ryan
21). That last one is especially notable as it
undeniably shows that religion goes past
rituals or the Sisters preaching, but to the
point where EVERY house has Scripture
on it.
With that thought process of heavenly protection, preparing for a break-in or boosting up
ones defenses would seem totally pointless as God Himself is on the watch 24/7. Therefore, the

uber religious culture of Marys society has defeated itself. As a writer for OODEGR states,
Themasses become licentious, reckless and careless. When mixed with the poorly
understoodtools at their disposal, careless civilians or scientists too weak to withstand the
influences of the reckless culture about them, disaster is inevitable (Unknown 1). The idea of
God saving/protecting the righteous ones is not something unique to Marys culture however.
There are many Americans in our own Western culture that share that belief, using it to justify
their lack of preparedness for any disaster, not just the zombie apocalypse. Therefore, the theory
of preparation for the inevitable instead of attempting to stop it is disproven because that
wouldnt be the thought process of a religion dependent culture.
To summarize thus far, the culture of Marys society is one of religious dependence, a
culture that dismisses preparedness and defensive procedures necessary for long-term survival in
favor of worship and prayer to a higher being that will protect them. This cultural ideology
explains why there is an absence of a more detailed and effective in-case-of-zombies plan and
a fourth group within the village dedicated to defense building/maintenance, something a society
absolutely needs if they are going to go on the defense with a fence. This reflects western culture
a lot, which is surprising
Next, the problems with Marys societys culture that exists due to what is already in it.
Looking first at the in-case-of-zombies plan set up, there is one prominent problem. For
arguments sake, the Unconsecrated break in and kill everyone they can get their hands on. The
religious leader, Sister Tabitha is killed and the
Sisterhood fortifies within the Cathedral, leaving
whatever survivors up in the trees. That situation is not
hypothetical, it really does happen, and the big
question hovering overhead is: now what? Sit there
until the Unconsecrated get bored and leave? Pray for
God to bring down his wrath upon the Unconsecrated?
Get into a staring contest with an Unconsecrated
whose eyelids are missing? The plan is so vague and
doesnt seem to include anything for the long run.
Even if there are supplies up in the trees, how long
will they last and how many people were the supplies planned for? The Unconsecrated obviously
dont plan on leaving, something apparent in the other village Mary and friends come across
where they simply stand and stare as if waiting for the survivors to slip up. If a disaster
preparedness plan only plans as far as the initial disaster and not for the fallout as well, one may
as well already be dead.
Another problem lies in how the knowledge and power is spread out. This topic is not
solely a disaster preparedness problem, but also a problem with media and sharing of
information. See, the Sisterhood possesses all knowledge and memories from the past; something
that Sister Tabitha acknowledges was done on purpose when she says The Sisterhood carries a

sacred burden. We carry it so that the villagers do not. So

that we can forget what came before, can heal, become
reborn without the weight of our sins before the Return.
(Ryan 67). This is a problem for media because the
general public doesnt know anything, and its also a
problem for disaster preparedness because if the
Sisterhood has any knowledge of these super zombies
like Gabrielle, then they should tell the Guardians and
general public so that they can be better prepared. The
problem is that the Sisterhood doesnt tell everyone else,
and whether thats because they themselves didnt know or not, the Guardians werent prepared
for Gabrielle and the village fell because of it. In a way, one could consider Gabrielle as a
metaphor for government secrets because once they come out and are exposed, it hits hard and a
lot of people arent prepared to see what the ones in power have been doing behind their back.
Now that the analysis has gone full circle, the time has come to answer the original
question: Why was the village overcome so quickly and seemingly out of nowhere? The quick
and literal answer would be, as Jed said it, The one with the strange red clothing. She was too
much. She came too quickly, killed too many. Then the dead turned and even though they were
slow, they were too many. It was too much for the Guardians. For all of us. (Ryan 149). The full
and zombie issue related answer would be that due to multiple failures of the society to prepare
for the Unconsecrated due to its culture of religious dependence that can be demonstrated via a
lack of a detailed in-case-of-zombie plan, a lack of a fourth group dedicated to wall
building/maintenance, withholding of vital knowledge by those in charge to the rest of the
village, and the simple belief that God would protect them had set them up to be knocked down
by the bowling ball known as the Unconsecrated.
However, what does this all say about our western
culture? Surprisingly, a lot especially when considering how
most Americans are when it comes to disaster preparedness.
As one of the articles weve read from the past from the
Permuted Press states, If I told you [about a] a horde of
zombies over a thousand strong and growingwhat would
you do? I am sure youre running through all the
preparedness activities you and your co-workers or friends
have discussed over a beer should the zombie apocalypse
really begin. All the things you would buy, steal and hoard
and all the actions you would undertake upon learning of an undead army amassing (Cohen 1).
That is probably one of the most defining traits of Americans: waiting until the last second and
then freaking out like its the end of the world when that time comes. Americans dont even
admit it either. Referring once again to Levys 7 Reasons People Refuse To Prepare For

Disaster (Levy 1), each one of the 7 reasons ultimately comes down to this: Because of (input
excuse), I dont have to/should not do anything to prepare for disaster. Interestingly enough,
religion was one of those excuses.
It may seem harmless if put into the context of writing an essay for class or getting a gift
for someones birthday, but that procrastination, no matter the form it takes, can have serious
consequences down the road. As a writer in The Atlantic states, Not having won a war since
1945, staggering from one failed enterprise after another, the fabled American war machine has
nevertheless continued boasting through the decades. [Max] Brooks takes on the mindset
responsible for this tortuous state of denialthrough the vehicle of zombieswhen the U.S.
military tries to stop the undead onslaughtthe result is the extravagant debaclewhere the
American Way of War is crushed in open battle (Vlahos 1). If one is in denial about their lack of
disaster preparation just like a certain little village was in denial about its lack of defenses, then
when the disaster strikes, all one can really do is try to survive on what little they have
immediately available. As a wise English professor once said, The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a
great example of what not to do in the way of disaster preparation.

Works Cited
Cohen, Neil. "Zombies and Terrorists." Permuted Press. Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Levy, Gaye. "7 Reasons People Refuse To Prepare For Disaster." Activist Post. 5 Jan. 2012.
Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Ryan, Carrie. The Forest of Hands and Teeth. New York City: Random House, 2009. Print.
Unknown. "What Does the Zombie Genre Say about the Modern West?" Orthodox Outlet for
Dogmatic Enquiries. 2 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.
Vlahos, Michael. "The Civilizational Significance of Zombies." The Atlantic. 18 June 2013.
Web. 20 Mar. 2016.