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Jasmine Moreno

8 April 2018

English 114 B

Professor Adame Neftali

Trauma in The Walking Dead (revised)

As Rick Grimes rides into the city on a horse he soon finds himself surrounded by hundreds

of flesh eating zombies. The zombies startle the horse and next thing you know he is on the

ground watching the animal in pain as they tear it apart the and eat it. He yells, “WHAT THE

HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”. His facial expressions portray terror, anger, sadness, and

confusion -- trauma of the horror he is witnessing right in front of his eyes. People have

experienced trauma due to war, natural disasters, plagues and more. It affects a person’s

emotions and even causes them to redirect whatever they feel towards others. Now at days this

issue can be seen in pop culture through the comic books of The Walking Dead by Robert

Kirkman and Tony Moore. The comic focuses on a deputy named Rick Grimes who is shot while

on duty and falls into a coma. When he finally wakes up he is alone in a hospital in a world

going through a zombie apocalypse. Once Rick finds his family he joins other survivors and now

struggles to survive. In multiple occasions, The Walking Dead shows an accurate depiction of

real life trauma through the problems characters face and the way they are emotionally, mentally,

and physically affected.

In the comic, all the panels are in a black and white color scheme making it dull and

depressing. This color scheme can be a representation of what the characters feel due to their

trauma. As if their world has lost excitement, happiness, and most importantly hope. Hope for

recovery of what they have lost. All that is left is nothing but the realistic horrors that are
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constantly replaying in their minds. All the art work in the comics look realistic making the

reader feel like this event actually occurred, hence producing fear. As for the dialogue, it is short

and clear, using profanity as a way to intensify what the character feels. When comparing The

Walking Dead comic book to the AMC Walking Dead show automatically you can see it is in

color. In my opinion, I believe using color better portrays trauma. For example, the zombies in

the show look very convincing and makes you want to look away . You can see the colors of

their decomposing bodies as well as the dark red blood after killing one. Due to the fact that

everything looks realistic it only intensifies the trauma. It makes the audience feel like the

zombie apocalypse has already occurred, is occurring at the moment, or could possibly occur.

According to Tara Brach, an American psychologist, “Trauma is when we have encountered

an out of control, frightening experience that has disconnected us from all sense of

resourcefulness or safety or coping or love”. In The Walking Dead comic book issue number

one, Rick Grimes’s has his first encounter with zombies, or as the comic refers to them as

“walkers”. He is confused, in panic, and afraid because of what he sees. There are people trying

to attack him and as much as he tells them to “get away” they just do not understand. This causes

Rick to develop trauma. He used to feel safe, loved, and especially in control considering he was

a deputy but now all that is gone. The world he knew has vanished and he has no idea how or

why.

Aside from the comic the AMC Walking Dead show also portrays a very accurate depiction

of realistic trauma. An example of this can be seen when Rick finds out that his wife, Lori, is

dead. She dies from giving birth to her daughter who is later named Judith. Carl, Rick and Lori’s

son, has the disturbing task of shooting her in the head to avoid her from turning into a zombie.

Carl knew it had to be done and at such a young age he was very brave. What he did was very
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traumatizing yet Rick is the one that was affected the most. When he finds out about Lori’s death

he begins to cry hysterically saying “oh no no no”. He cannot take the pain and collapses on the

floor continuing to cry. Everyone experiences trauma differently some are able to express

emotions and other are overwhelmed and just feel numb.

We can later see exactly how traumatizing Lori’s death was to Rick. He begins to hallucinate

Lori in a white dress and it drives him insane. Rick yells asking her to “GO AWAY” and

everyone else looks at him confused and afraid. He is so overwhelmed with emotions that he

goes on a rampage killing zombies. He also begins to redirect his emotions towards his friends

and even son. Later on, Rick begins to let go of Lori and develops a better attitude towards

others. Yet other symptoms of trauma develop on the way due to other traumatizing events that

occur to him. He develops emotions of guilt and feels numb. He also feels the world is

dangerous, has difficulty trusting people, and is constantly being on guard. According to

Psychology Today, Seth J, Gillihan Ph.D. a clinical assistant professor of psychology, these

changes in how you view the world and emotional reactions are all due to trauma.

Although Rick Grimes is the main focus in the comic book, there are many other characters

that experience trauma. For example, Carol, a woman in Rick’s group, has a missing daughter

named Sophia. Sadly, in the end she finds out she has turned into a zombie. Carol has an urge to

run to her daughter but is held from doing so due to the fact that she must be put down. In an

article by The New York Times, Anne McBrearty Giotta talks about the pain of losing a child. At

age 87 her son passed away due to a heart attack at age 51. The loss of a child before a parent is

going against life’s “natural order” no matter what age. Giotta states, “You lose a part of

yourself”. Marsha Mailick, a social scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies
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bereavement says, “This is a trauma that doesn’t go away”. It is traumatizing enough to know

your daughter is dead but even more horrifying to know she is a walking flesh eating corpse.

Another character who also experienced trauma is a woman named Michonne. Both her

boyfriend Mike and Friend Terry died and turned into zombies. She then chopped off their arms

and jaws and chained them up so she can keep them. She is attached to them and does not want

to let them go. Later on, she finally does but she the trauma she has been through changes her.

For example, when she finally meets Rick and the rest of his friends at the prison she has trouble

trusting them. Due to her trust issues, she always carries around a sword ready to defend herself

from anything. It takes a lot of time due to her traumatizing past but she eventually does learn to

trust.

In a recent traumatizing event in Syria, numerous people have been killed including many

children. According to The New York Times, on April 4 of 2018, northern Syria went under a

chemical strike with evidence leading to believe that it was Syria’s government that did it. There

are videos that show children and older people struggling to breathe, having reduced pupils,

foaming from the mouth, lying motionless and more. This is a horrible image to see or even

imagine. As I watched the news with my parents I noticed my mother shed some tears. She

wondered how someone could possibly do this to their own people and especially to innocent

children. She said “I cannot imagine what pain those people are going through right now”. These

people must feel terrified, angry, sad, and helpless. This is a tragic event that they can never

forget and will haunt them forever. Personally, I even feel a bit traumatized from the videos I

saw. It is horrifying to know that someone would do that to their own people and that gas can kill

and affect so many people so quickly.

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In conclusion, trauma is a social issue that is still very present today and is being represented

in pop culture through The Walking Dead comic books and show. It portrays realistic trauma

through the characters emotions and behaviors. The Walking Dead while filling our need for

horror also shines a light on reality. As George Hagman, a psychoanalyst and clinical social

worker says, “In a strange way The Walking Dead is a type of therapy for our trauma phobia

society”. We as a society our not traumatized but more afraid of trauma. If someone who was

traumatized were to watch this show they definitely would not be able to finish an episode.

Overall, this demonstrates how comics and social issues connect.

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Works Cited

Barnard, Anne, Yara Bishara, Andrew Rossback, Hwaida Saad, and Megan Specia. "Evidence

From Victims Points to Nerve Gas in Syria Attack." The New York Times. The New York

Times, 04 Apr. 2017. Web. 14 Apr. 2018.

<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/04/world/middleeast/syria-gas-

attack.html>.

“Definition of Trauma.” Trauma Recovery, trauma-recovery.ca/introduction/definition-of-trauma/.

Hagman, George. "Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse: Trauma and Transformation in AMC's "The

Walking Dead"." Psychoanalytic Inquiry. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2018.

<http://www.academia.edu/13349655/Surviving_the_Zombie_Apocalypse_Trauma_and_Transf

ormation_in_AMCs_The_Walking_Dead_>.

Kirkman, Robert, Tony Moore, and Cliff Rathburn. The Walking Dead. Berkeley, CA:

Skybound/Image Comics, 2015. Print.

Span, Paula. "A Child's Death Brings 'Trauma That Doesn't Go Away'." The New York Times. The New

York Times, 29 Sept. 2017. Web. 14 Apr. 2018.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/health/children-death-elderly-grief.html>.

"Syria War: At Least 70 Killed in Suspected Chemical Attack in Douma." BBC News. BBC, 08 Apr.

2018. Web. 14 Apr. 2018. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43686157>.

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"21 Common Reactions to Trauma." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2018.

<https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201609/21-common-reactions-

trauma>.