Alas, Babylon

By: Samantha Crowley, Weston Mundy, Renee Spillane, and Chase Guarino

In times of chaos after a disaster, people turn to each other and to their resources in order to survive.

Pat Frank uses plot in Alas, Babylon to evolve the theme, "In times of chaos after a disaster, people turn to each other and to their resources in order to survive."

The basic situation includes the setting, character descriptions, and the premise of the story. In Alas, Babylon it is the first four chapters.

"In Fort Repose, a river town in central Florida..." (pg. 1)

"Randolph Rowzee Bragg a peeping tom. It was shocking!" (pg. 4)

These quotes set up the story, describing the setting and two of the characters: the speaker in quote two, Florence Wechek, and Randy Bragg.

The inciting incident is the conflict that starts the story and forces the protagonist to act. It is right after the basic situation.

"...two nuclear explosions..." (pg. 91)

This quote sets up the whole conflict and the ensuing battle for survival. This is the disaster mentioned in our theme.

The Rising Action is a series of events or actions in a story that build up tension, ending in the climax and often including more than one conflict.

"But the mothers will have to be careful of what they eat." (pg. 136)

"No, you stick with the disliking, Preacher. I thought maybe Two-Tone and Malachai could help." (pg. 156)

These quotes connect to our theme because they show the reliance of people on others while showing some of the sub-plots. The first shows the dependance of the people of Fort Repose on Dan Gunn as a doctor because of radiation fallout, and the second shows Randy's reliance on his neighbors for water and food.

"'I've got three cases of radiation poisoning.'" (pg. 186)

"'They took it; and the car... The highwaymen.'" (pg. 240)

These are examples of two of the conflicts in chapters eight through ten of the book. The second is what builds up to the climax. They demonstrate the thesis by showing how people come together after a disaster, doing all they can for themselves and each other. Dan Gunn, Randy, Helen, and more rise to the job. They work with the people and resources around them to help rid of conflicts.

The climax is the main action of the story, solving the previous conflicts.

"The fight would have to be made entirely from front and rear." (pg. 274)

"On 17 April the following highwaymen were killed on the covered bridge..." (pg. 284)

In chapter eleven the story comes to a head with the climax; when the highwaymen are killed. This connects to our thesis in that this is a main part of the plot, and Randy and his comrades had to work carefully with each other and had to gather all the resources they could to complete their mission.

The resolution is when the conflicts are resolved.

"We won it. We really clobbered 'em!... Not that it really matters." (pg. 316)

This is the resolution because when Paul Hart comes, he says that he will be bringing needed supplies, and that ends the conflicts they had with lack of medicines, food, and other provisions.

Literary Luminary- Renee Spillane

From "Extraordinarily Convenient Neighbors"

"... I will read the significance of his passing momentarily but note here that his heath also results in the incapacitation of the last racist element in the narrative frame, furthering progress toward the interracial utopia Frank seems to be reaching for."

This quote is talking about Malachai's death, and it brings into focus the fast that this book isn't just about life after an atomic bomb, but is also about the evolution of racism, or the loss thereof, when everyone has to work together or die. The blacks in this story go from being segregated to being sort of like an employee to being an equal with the sacrifice of Malachai.

"Coping with nuclear crisis, however, compels Randy to rediscover his inner strength and virtue, which in turn allows him to assume his role as head of a new family..."

This quote shows how the 'family' goes about surviving after the bombings. Randy assumed a place at the head of the family and his role grew to include all of Fort Repose. He helped to make order out of the chaos following the disaster, providing a reliable figure for Fort Repose to depend on. In the end when offered a chance to leave he chooses to stay, resolving the plot and further proving the theme of the story.

Connector- Weston Mundy

Radiation and Fallout Connections

Radiation is created when an atom decays through alpha, beta, or spontaneous fission. Radiation varies in how dangerous it is and can range from causing nothing to cell death or genetic mutations. Some symptoms of radiation poisoning include nausea, vomiting, headaches, fever, dizziness, and fatigue. Treatments include potassium iodide in 130mg doses.

Radioactive fallout is radioactive particles that settle on an area after a nuclear attack or nuclear meltdown. The two types of fallout are tropospheric fallout and stratospheric fallout. Tropospheric fallout is radioactive particles that are located in the tropopause. These particles come to earth in the form of rain. Stratospheric fallout is located in the stratosphere and with no precipitation will stay in the stratosphere for a great period of time.

Connections to the Cold War and the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Alas Babylon is very similar to these because, having been written in 1959, it was right in the middle of the cold war. Although in the cold war the atomic missiles were never launched they were very close to having been.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the two cities that were destroyed to end WWII. Both ended in almost complete destruction of the cities and in many deaths by radiation or because of the explosion itself. It is similar to Alas, Babylon because many major cities were destroyed in both and even more people were killed by radiation and the explosion. The only difference between the bombs of real life and the book are that the only bombs done in real life were atomic while we can assume that the bombs shot in the book are a combination of atomic and hydrogen bombs.

Discussion Director- Chase Guarino

Question One:

How do the actions of those in the story relate to everyday life for us?

Question Two:

How can relying on others be detrimental to a society?

The End

Alas, Babylon

Theme Analysis Project

Climax

Resolution

Rising Action

theme:

thesis:

Basic Situation

Inciting Incident

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear3.htm pages: 1-4

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/radiation-sickness/DS00432/DSECTION=symptoms

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/radiation.html

http://atomicbombmuseum.org/3_health.shtml

http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=49

http://library.thinkquest.org/C004218/RadiationFallout.htm