Zombie

            In her article titled, The New Founding Fathers: The Lore and Lure of the Serial Killer in Contemporary Culture, Jane Caputi describes the legendary fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger as an .
             "unrepressed individual, a revolutionary figure who disregards and destroys traditional mores and values". I feel that Q_P_, the main character in Joyce Carol Oates" Zombie also fits the description of Krueger given by Caputi in her article. There are several instances of behavior and attitude displayed by Q_P_ in Zombie that I feel put him in the same category as the serial killer described by Caputi. He does not have the same morals and values as those shared by most others in society, but instead he displays a total neglect for traditional morals and values for those of his own. Not only is the lifestyle that he chooses to live against the morals of society but the choices he makes to in order sustain his lifestyle are against the morals typical of the society in which he lives.
             Q_P_'s basic lifestyle, homosexuality, is something that is not generally accepted under the normal values of society. This is displayed throughout the entire novel by Q_P_'s desire to hide the fact that he is homosexual. It began as a small child when his father found body builder magazines and a naked Ken doll hidden in the garage. Q_P_'s father explained to him that this was "sick, disgusting, and that he never wanted to see anything like this again in his life." (pg. 39) Now for his whole life Q_P_ has been trying to hide his homosexuality from society and mostly from his father. I feel that this is in direct relation to the reaction his father had when he was younger. Q_P_ is always scared of someone realizing that he is gay; he always makes an effort to avoid eye contact with others saying that "Eye contact has been my downfall". Throughout the entire book he is telling himself to "avoid eyes" (43) "don't make eye contact" (45).