Jesika Hendricks Character Analysis in World War Z

Hendricks was part of the American population that wasn’t in the safe zone. She was a young teenager at the time of the outbreak, and her family decided to head north, to the snowy regions of Canada, because they knew that zombies would freeze in the snow. However, her family and many like them weren’t prepared to spend months in the freezing cold with hardly any food. Many died, including her parents, and Hendricks implies that the others resorted to cannibalism to survive since there was absolutely no other food for them there. Hendricks says that she understands that the government couldn’t take everyone to the safe zone, but that they could have done more to give them information that would help them survive. At the conclusion of the novel, she admits in a second interview that she will always be bitter about the fact that her parents died while others who don’t deserve to be alive survived the war. Hendricks’ interview highlights the inefficacy of government policy during those early years of the crisis, as well as the traumatic cost of the war.

Jesika Hendricks Character Timeline in World War Z

The timeline below shows where the character Jesika Hendricks appears in World War Z. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Sand Lakes Provincial Wilderness Park, Manitoba, Canada. Jesika Hendricks is part of the Wilderness Restoration Project and has volunteered in this sub-arctic region every... (full context)

The Fragility of Privilege and Modern Life Theme Icon

...weeks after Yonkers, three days after the government retreated west, six zombies were spotted in Hendricks’ neighborhood. Her father decided they would leave and “go north” since the living dead would... (full context)

...a lake, close to friendly people, and it initially felt like a party. Back then, Hendricks says, there were still trees. Later, after the second and third waves started showing up,... (full context)

Hendricks had been a heavy kid when they arrived at the lake in August, and by... (full context)

Hendricks says that 11 million refugees died that winter, just in North America. By mid-July, the... (full context)

Sand Lakes Provincial Wilderness Park, Manitoba, Canada. Jesika Hendricks says that she met an ex-Iranian pilot who told her that “Americans are the only... (full context)