Analysis of Alas Babylon! Essay

September 11, 2001. One of the most tragic and memorable days in American history. One cannot help but ponder how such a devastating act could be perpetrated by human beings against humanity. Is this not the most despicable act people are capable of? And yet, we show through positive thinking and resilience of the human spirit, that we can survive, and even prevail against these destructive actions. In the novel, Alas, Babylon, an event, similar in many ways, occurred in several locations throughout the United States. The Soviet Union dropped several nuclear bombs onto United States soil, leaving the citizens of the nation of freedom, to perish. The citizens of Fort Repose, Florida, instead of accepting the downfall of its society, decided to make the best of what they had and, ultimately, rose against these evil forces. The only thing motivating the town was unmitigated hope. The citizens of Fort Repose realized that, like Sept. 11th, God or a force of nature had not caused these unfortunate events to take place, but human beings did. Fort Repose desperately wanted life to return to as it was before The Day, but they acknowledged that its citizens had to work together with what little amount of resources they had. With sheer hope on their side, the power of human resilience succeeded. The bombs did not end the town, but Randy Bragg and the perseverant citizens of Fort Repose applied the best in themselves to begin the re-establishment of life within a civil society. Of course, despite the citizens of Fort Repose doing their very best, immediate and long-term problems did occur in the after math of The Day.

Shortly after the abrupt and catastrophic bombings, there was a series of immediate problems. The protagonist and leader, Randy Bragg, had to react to these problems quickly. One example of an immediate problem was the money system collapsing. A large mass of people arrived at the bank to withdraw instant large sums of money, even their entire life savings. Edgar Quisenberry, the president of the bank, did his best to limit the chaos in the bank because he knew the bank would shut down if he didnt take immediate action. Unfortunately for him and the community, the banks closed and money became useless. Because of this, Edgar committed suicide, as he knew what events were about to occur in Fort Repose. For the remainder of the aftermath of The Day, people used the barter system. People traded only for items needed for survival as the community switched to survival mode. Another example of a short-term problem the community of Fort Repose faced was the loss of electricity and utilities. Power lines were not functioning and, as a result there was a communication breakdown. At first, people had no idea how many contamination zones were in America, or who was in charge of the nation. They didnt even know if there was an organized government anymore. People had no idea whether or not we were in war with the Soviet Union. While the explosion was taking place, Randys niece, Peyton, had been temporarily blinded. Dr. Gunn used every method he possibly could to help her as well. Problems such as these led to a more chaotic society after The Day. There was also a lack of food in Fort Repose and the other areas in or adjacent to the contamination zones. People had to manage how much food they ate daily, which was extremely limited. On the other hand, people in Florida had almost a surplus of citrus products, especially oranges. Another direct result of the bombings was how the citizens of Fort Repose could use fresh water, for survival. Before Randy discovered that he could use a piping system to bring water to his household with his sister-in-law Helen, they had to limit their usage of water by flushing the toilet only twice a day. Helen had two children that also lived in the house, Ben Franklin and Peyton. The citizens of Fort Repose had to adapt to this lifestyle quickly, or else they would not survive.

Despite all the immediate problems that the community of Fort Repose had to deal with, they also faced more intense and serious long-term problems, which truly broke down their society. The citizens had no other choice but to deal with these problems effectively. One example of a long-term problem was extensive radiation throughout the community. This radiation fallout caused many deaths near the contamination zones. Dr. Gunn was hearing of new cases of radiation poisoning often throughout the novel, and did his best to treat them, but many of his patients still suffered and even died. There was radiation in many of the citizens jewelry, such as watches and earrings, which made some patients even more contaminated, as Randy and Dr. Gunn concluded later in the novel. Another example of a long-term problem that had to be dealt with was anarchy in society. In a sense, there was no law which the people had to abide by. Due to this, parts of society panicked and this led to violence and the stealing of materials. The society was going through rough times. A specific group of people decided to take this one step further and, in order to get through the rough times, live a life of crime. These people were the highwaymen. This self-serving gang became a long-term problem resulting from their violent tendencies. They were treacherous trouble-makers who killed anyone with money, drugs or anything they desired. They occasionally used trickery to lure in victims, as in Dr. Gunns case. Dr. Gunn stopped to help a woman who looked injured but she was only pretending to be injured to lure him over so they could steal his car and his bag of medicines. After this event occurred, Randy knew he had to rise against these cruel people who roamed the highways just outside of Fort Repose. This eventually led to the climax of the novel, which was the ambush and killing of the highwaymen. Randy gathered a group of men to kill the highwaymen with him, and borrowed Ritas truck and gasoline for transportation. There were several reasons why Randy wanted to get revenge on the highwaymen, but the incident with Dr. Gunn crossed the line. Randy and his group of men did kill three of the highwaymen, and captured one, who eventually died. Unfortunately during the ambush, the driver Malachai, a good friend of Randys, died after being shot. This was a life-changing victory for Fort Repose. After the killing of the highwaymen, which was also the solution to the long-term problem of anarchy and chaos in society, things in Fort Repose seemed to be better. All the perseverance and hard work the citizens had put in to try to re-establish an organized society had finally paid off. The United States, after being attacked with a nuclear bomb, had won the war, but it was a pyrrhic victory, as the nation still had decades of reconstruction ahead of them. If the survivors of The Day and their children continue to possess the sense of pride and hope they had during the darkest days, the nation would succeed.

Lastly, Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank truly does leave the reader with unmitigated hope. If faced with the worst circumstances, human nature is to survive, to keep fighting. We are a resilient species. Today, we need only look to the sight of the World Trade Center in New York City to see a living example of such hope as Frank portrayed. In the 10 years since 9/11, we too have faced long and short term consequences of that horrible day. But we have begun the daunting task of rebuilding and this new structure, we are told, will be even stronger. And New York City is as vibrant and popular today as it was a decade ago. The society formed after The Day in Fort Repose will be an even better society as well, because the people understand now how positive attitudes and resilience can surpass any limit. They learned to interact and work cooperatively. They learned to reach out. They learned to look to the future. It is a timeless message that inspires hope in any era, even today. En Vivemus!