Humanity in Warm Bodies

The things separating humans and zombies are very different in Warm Bodies than they are in most other zombie texts. "Humanity" is what seemingly separates the two, but the definition of that humanity is what is ambiguous. Many other works seem to imply that society and community is what makes people human but in Warm Bodies the zombies have the semblance of a society. They seem to be going through the motions of human societies. This includes "marriages", giving each couple one boy and one girl, church services, and watching "sports". They have fallen into cycles of what humans are "supposed" to be doing. However, the humans are also just a shell of their society. They are in compounds doing jobs but there is no creativity and life and joy in the people. Humans in the compound are merely going through the motions of being human, just like the zombies. I personally believe that what the novel intends to display is that the difference between life and zombification is the embracing of the emotional side of the world. Though some read the novel as purely a love story, I think that all the emotions R experiences up to the culmination in his love for Julie are essential to his ascension into something beyond both zombie and human. Simply the desire for life and the curiosity in their pursuit of truth is enough to push both Julie and R beyond the "zombified" lives they've been living.