Colson Whitehead has written a remarkably compelling post-apocalyptic science fiction novel centered on the zombie archetype. In Zone One, he cleverly uses the zombie model to create a mediocracy, a population of dependent thinkers who accept, without question, a system of existence that is not favorable to them. In doing so, Whitehead turns the undead into symbolism to critique the classism of capitalism and the mentalities that contribute to the failure to live up to potential. Whitehead writes Mark Spitz as a character who embodies the irony of using mediocrity as a refuge from the burden of pursuing success to illustrate that to be mediocre is to affirm mediocracy; moreover, mediocracy itself stifles ambition and hinders success, and herein lies the crux of Whitehead's irony and the cornerstone of his critique of capitalist society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The text ultimately defines success as a more or less unsuccessful burden imposed on the multitude. It is strongly reminiscent of the Marxist concept of false consciousness, which is the sociological result of capitalism culturally conditioning people's minds to accept a system that disadvantages them. To accept this system without questioning it or protesting is to “accept it as the logical way things must be” for the sole reason that such is the capitalist ideology into which people have been consulted (Dobie 94). This concept of false consciousness is an integral part of interpellation, which Louis Althusser, a defining figure of Marxism in the twentieth century, defined simply as the manipulation of the working class “to accept the ideology of the ruling class” (Dobie 88). This is what Whitehead uses to symbolize the skeleton horde. Whitehead recounts a scene at the end of "Sunday", the first part of the novel, where Central Park in Manhattan is overrun by those infected with the plague. This is Spitz's first opportunity to see Central Park from such an aerial perspective, and he is horrified to study how the undead move. The way Whitehead chooses to describe this scene is loaded with meaning: they did not stop to appreciate the scenery, these dead visitors; they wandered across the grass and sidewalks without purpose or sense, moving first in this direction and then strolling in another direction until, distracted by nothing in particular, they readjusted their idiotic course. (Whitehead 91) This description points to the mindless proletariat (as opposed to the ruling bourgeoisie) who search aimlessly without knowing what they are looking for because success is so subjectively defined that no one knows how to pursue it, let alone achieve it. Mediocrity presents itself in the novel, at least in Spitz's eyes, as a virtue. There are many situations in which the protagonist thinks or talks about mediocrity as a means of protecting a comfort zone. The text explains that Mark Spitz's life purpose or, as he calls it, “the business of existence” is simply to suffer as little as possible, as opposed to the much more idealistic goal of enjoying as much as possible (Whitehead 106). He believes it is absolutely necessary to minimize consequences in life, nothing more, and believes that the plague is a simple challenge to this endgame for which he has trained his entire life. In other words, he has considerable practice and familiarity with mediocrity. This establishes Spitz's perspective of success as one in which being successful simply means keeping life quiet. One of the most pervasive themes in history is that of the mean, the idea of ​​being completely..