John And Martha

Title reminds me of the old voiceover comedy routine of John and Marsha.  Through speaking, they convey a variety of emotion such as love, doubt, fear, happiness.  Look for it.  It's worth a laugh.

John is John Dorie and Martha is known as 'the filthy woman' on Fear the Walking Dead, a spinoff of the popular The Walking Dead tv show.

I'm not going to critique the show.  If you like, watch it for yourselves.  But the two characters interest me.

John Dorie happened to be a cop.  He had already withdrawn to a remote cabin before the apocalypse.  He was dealing with guilt concerning someone he killed in the line of duty. 

I don't think he was prepared for it, even though it was a perp.  Certainly it placed him where he was at the start.

John is very self sufficient.  He is used to camping, hunting, fishing etc.  He has access to water and a generator.  Except for the occasional undead visitor, it's a quiet life.  He can defend himself.

He also has a heart.  He is willing to help others and nurses a woman back to health

Martha was an English teacher.  She and her husband attempted to flee a city at the start.  A panicking driver causes them to collide and impales him, totaling the car.  They are stuck on the road with him slowly dying.

Both are quite intelligent and devoted to each other.  They are academic and have little survival skill.

She repeatedly tries to flag down other evacuees to no avail.  Martha is left to watch her hubby die and turn.  Then she repeatedly mutters that someone will stop and help.

Somehow she gets the body out after dispatching him and buries it.  She cries and stays at the grave, sleeping.  The filthy comes from the fact that she never bathed after this. 

Her mind snaps and she gets revenge for no one helping by killing folks and thus zombifying them.

She blames them for her lack of self help and is particularly antagonistic to those who help others.

Now, their professions might not have a thing to do with who they are.  I know good hearted self sufficient teachers and cops who are just the opposite as well as the counter opposite to that.

Different contents of character.

In one, faith is lived.  In the other it's more like a salve or bandaid. 

When crisis occurs, one survives and the other dies.

Taking care of yourself thus being able to take care of others.

Up to you.