Maslow's Hierarchy In The Walking Dead

The tension between Rick and Shane reaches another unexpected peak when Rick makes the statement “Even with that deer Shane shot yesterday filling our bellies it’ll probably get mighty cold tonight.” (Kirkman) Rick is insinuating that he was right in saying that they should have moved because it is now becoming colder. This causes Shane to get mad at Rick and tell him that they are going to be fine and that they are not moving. Shane become angry about this indirect comment means he is insecure about his position as leader because he now realizes that it is becoming colder and Rick may have been correct about leaving. Shane’s insecurity poses a problem because he makes decisions that do not have the best interest for the group in mind, but instead he makes ones that will keep him as leader. Along with causing problems for the group it causes his own hierarchy to weaken because he is losing faith in himself as a leader. Even though everyone now has safety back since Rick got guns for everyone Shane may be about to collapse due to the fact that he is insecure about his leadership and he recently lost his intimacy with Lori. Also the statement that Dale makes …show more content…
Through the use of Shane it is made apparent that the collapse of even one person’s hierarchy can lead to the downfall of the camp and it can even cause a ripple effect which can damage others hierarchies. It is also apparent that Shane’s want of remaining as leader aided in the downfall of the camp. If Maslow’s hierarchy were tracked through the whole series the times where things go wrong would most of the time be when someone’s hierarchy is either collapsed or when the groups is more complete than usual because once it is fulfilled they begin to stop worrying about the situation that they are really in because they are blinded by having their needs