Themes: Denial

Denial is a recurring theme in The Walking Dead. It is the the action of declaring something to be untrue. It is a common theme in The Walking Dead, seen after the loss of a family member or close friend, or when a character chooses not to believe a horrific event has occurred.

Occurrences

Comic Series

• Rick Grimes attempts to reason with Shane, who still believes military assistance was coming. _{(Issue 4, Issue 6)}
• Hershel Greene believes that those who are infected will one day be cured, and stores them in his barn. _{(Issue 11)}
• Rick denies the fact that his wife Lori slept with Shane for a long time before accepting it. _{(Comic Series)}
• Michonne denies the fact that she is talking to an imaginary person when Andrea and Rick questioned her. _{(Issue 53)}

TV Series

• Shane Walsh continues making advances towards Lori Grimes after her husband Rick returns, and attempts to have sex with her in the CDC, believing they're still in a relationship. _(TS-19)
• Hershel Greene denies the fact that the zombies in his barn will never be revived. _{(TV Series)}
• The group denies the fact that Sophia Peletier may be dead, until her surprise appearance from Hershel's barn. _{(TV Series)}
• The Governor believes his daughter can be revived, having his advisor Milton Mamet study zombie reactions to see if there was a way to bring back their memories. _{(TV Series)}
• Lizzie Samuels is in denial about the walkers, believing that they are just different and misunderstood. _{(TV Series)}
• Dawn Lerner is in denial about help arriving. _(Slabtown)

Video Game

• Clementine denies Lee Everett's opinion of her parents being dead. (Determinant) _{(A New Day, Long Road Ahead)}
• Ben denies working with the bandits. _{(Long Road Ahead)}
• Kenny denies that his son will turn after being bitten. _{(Long Road Ahead)}
• Lee denies stealing from The Stranger. (Determinant) _{(No Time Left)}
• Dee denies stealing the supplies from Roman _{(Bonnie's Story)}
• Becca denies the dangers of going outside the Pitstop. _{(Shel's Story)}
• Clementine denies being Sarah's friend. (Determinant) _{(A House Divided)}, _{(In Harm's Way)}, _{(Amid The Ruins)}
• William Carver denies the possibility of Rebecca's baby being Alvin's. _{(A House Divided)}, _{(In Harm's Way)}
• Some of the Howe's Hardware survivors deny their leader's true nature. _{(A House Divided)}, _{(In Harm's Way)}
• Sarah denies that Carlos is dead. _{(Amid The Ruins)}
• Clementine can deny Jane's request for forgiveness. (Determinant) _{(No Going Back)}

Dead Reckoning

• Gary Taylor refuses the fact that his daughter is undead and blocks Shane Walsh from shooting her. _{(Dead Reckoning)}

Social Game

• Summer denies that her parents are dead and later runs away. _{(Social Game)}
• Ed and Greg reveal that they had a hard time believing that the zombie apocalypse was actually happening. _{(Social Game)}
• Max denies that Nathan is dead, but later comes to terms with his death. _{(Social Game)}

Novel Series

• Philip Blake never tells his brother Brian and Nick Parsons what happened between him and April Chalmers, attempting to forget the whole thing ever happened. _{(Rise of the Governor)}