Stephen Kings Cell shares a common theme with many zombie narratives. Like others its set in a post apocalyptic world where the survivors are forced to survive by any means, and sometimes use the disaster to their advantage to loot or steal. Furthermore Cell has underlining messages like many other narratives of its type such as terrorism, and the war in Iraq, and over reliance on technology. King also showed his views on human nature and what humans are inherently capable of.
One main theme found in the Cell was terrorism and technological warfare. Throughout the book they mention or note that cell phones were some sort of terror attack that may have triggered the transformation of people into zombies. In one part of the book they even reference the attacks on the world trade. The way that the people govern themselves in the tale is reminiscent of the governmental structures in Iraq. The themes of terrorism and the Iraq war are utilized due to the timing of the events in proximity to the creation of the novel.
Technology and human nature were also prevalent themes. King wanted to show that the peoples over reliance on technology would be their downfall. Everyone who has a cell phone would be turned into a zombie because of the “pulse”, and because of the pulse the zombies would revert to “Kings” idea of brainless humans who want to hurt and kill others. Those who became a zombie could somehow be reset and turned back into a normal human. At the end he tries to reset his son, who had halfway turned into a zombie.
Like many zombie narratives Cell carries on the common themes, which make it a solid member of the genre. It has underlining themes such as terrorism, human nature, and reliance on technology. In addition, like many zombie narratives, Cell displays characteristics indicative of the current technological era. King’s blatant attempt to satirize these events was carried throughout Cell.
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