Essay: Alas, Babylon

Ch. 1: How does Mark Bragg’s message to Randy Bragg influence the urgency of the situation at hand?
The moment that Randy received the telegram, “he felt sick inside” as a result of the message “Alas, Babylon [which] was a private, family signal” (Frank 14). As adolescents, brothers Randy and Mark used the reference to mean something bad was about to occur. Unknowingly what is going on, Randy knows that the telegram is urgent due to the use of their childhood code.
Ch. 2: How does Pat Frank indicate that Florence has no ambition in life other than worrying about Randy Bragg?
While at lunch with her good friend Alice, “Florence could think of no adventure” to tell Alice about as they were catching up, other than “her experience with Randy Bragg” (Frank 23). Rather than focusing her attention this afternoon on her friend and spending time together, she goes against her own personal vow of not telling anyone about Randy and his peeping eyes to completely gossiping and unloading to Alice. Not being able to come up with any adventures in her life when Alice asks about it indicates that she does not have anything new that resonates in her mind.
Ch. 3: How does Randy’s preparation for the dropping of the atomic bombs impact the people around him?
Going against the norm for himself, Randy begins to turn heads of the “seven or eight women, lined up behind him, [that] counted his purchases, fascinated” by how much he is buying (Frank 45). As Randy looks at his watch out of habit, he realizes that he spent almost twenty times longer than usual in the grocery store and spent much more than anticipated by the cashier. As a result of this, women behind him in the line, as well as the cashier, begin to wonder what it is that one man needed all this food for and/or what he is preparing for.
Ch. 4: In what ways has the war influenced the Bragg children’s perspective on the world they live in?
Ben Franklin and Peyton have “lived under the shadow of war” causing them to “take it calmly, almost as a matter of course” and to believe that the “abnormal has become normal” (Frank 85). The author, Pat Frank displays both children with a great amount of maturity as a result of growing up with wars looming overhead. Although different than a stereotypical childhood, the influence of the possibilities of an atomic war starting consumes their youth and makes itself the norm.
Ch. 5: How does the desperation of the civilians in Fort Repose reflect the possible end of humanity after the first bombs are dropped?
After the first bombs were dropped and in sight of Fort Repose, turmoil swept over the town as “traffic was piling up” and “stores that open early on Saturdays were [being] crowded [by] groups that waited in front of others” (Frank 105). As panic breaks, chaos follows along with inhuman actions. Lootings, robberies, threatens, pushing and shoving to gain a better position in a line, and riots are results of how desperate the town’s people are to be preparing for an event that has already happened and has already devastated part of the land.
Ch. 6: How are Randy’s father-like actions toward Ben a result of his experience with his father?
In his childhood, Randy went “hunting [for] deer with his father, and [then] shooting his first deer with buckshot” was unable to fully kill that deer; even so, he tells Ben to “‘never shoot unless you mean to kill’” (Frank 137).  Scarred by his past experiences while hunting, Randy makes sure that Ben understands what it truly means to point and shoot a gun. In effects to try and prepare Ben for the world then must go and face, he gives Ben a gun given to him by his father along with wisdom learned by his past.
Ch. 7: In what ways is community displayed by the actions of the neighbors surrounding the Braggs in Fort Repose?
As “the character of Fort Repose had changed,” Randy “had assumed leadership in the tiny community bound together by the water pipes leading from the artesian well” (Frank 153,169). In the midst of the darkest times, the neighbors in surrounding areas use their resources to supply the needs of others around them. By the help of the friends in the area, relationships are strengthened, henceforth, resulting by a stronger community.
Ch. 8: How does the idea of Easter services cast light and hope on the lives of Randy and the others in Fort Repose?
As Randy read the notices on the pillars, “he felt an unexpected thrill” as well as believing that in the midst of the darkness, he can see “a chink of light” (Frank 193). The excitement and thrill that Randy gets from the announcement of the Easter services implies how stressful his and everyone else’s lives have been since The Day. With the burdens of planning day by day, meal by meal, it is a breath of fresh air to know that something is the same as before The Day that has already been planned.
Ch. 9: How has the relationship between Randy Bragg and Lib McGovern intensified as a result of the bombings?
Although “it is a bad time for love,” Randy and Lib continue to hold steadfast with one another and continue to be “the first thing [they] think of in the morning and the last thing before [they] sleep at night” (Frank 237). The monologue that Randy displays indicates that even though the times right now may be tough, nothing can break the strong love that he has for Lib. Rather than allowing the world to determine how the pair lives their lives, they strengthen their relationship and continue to rely on one another for love and support on a day to day basis.
Ch. 10: In what ways has the decrease in economy caused an increase in the rate of criminal activity?
As money has lost its value and many stores have empty shelves, some people in the Fort Repose area have resulted in becoming “shadows, swiftly fading behind a half-opened door or bobbing from house to house” (Frank 259). Rather than townsmen banning together in a time of darkness, they split up based on selfish desires and greedy wants, looting the helpless and the poor. As a result of no money value and the economy crash, materialistic ways influence and change the mindset of many people to act from day to day.
Ch. 11: How does the problem with the highwaymen escalade from a general moral problem to a personal problem?
The highwaymen’s violence towards Dan causes Randy to become protective and grow in anger towards them, as if they were a “nest of coral snakes under your house,” and “you had to go after them and kill them or certainly one day they would kill a child or your dog” (Frank 274). As the author, Pat Frank, includes the simile comparing the nest of snakes to the highwaymen, this insinuates that the highwaymen are a nuisance. The extreme measures that Randy and the others take are a reflection of their personal attachment to what the highwaymen have done and how they passionately feel about stopping them.
Ch. 12: How does Peyton’s self esteem reflect the role she has in her family?
Although Peyton and Ben both concurred that hunting for armadillo would be a awe-inspiring idea, Peyton felt as though she “was only a girl, fit for sewing, pot washing, and making beds” instead of hunting with her brother and Caleb (Frank 294). Brought down by the conventional image of a lady in the house, Peyton finds herself to be useless and worthless. Going against the status quo, she exemplifies a strong young lady through her actions to prove her worth.
Ch. 13: Over the course of Paul Hart’s visit, how does this bring light to the thousand year darkness?
All things considered,  “it was something. . . . it was something you could put your hands on. . . . proof that the government of the United States still functioned”; ultimately, this leaflet sparked an interest and a new life in the town of Fort Repose to live another day. (Frank 307). The excitement that everyone displays indicates that on contrary to what is believed, there is hope for the future and those who chose to walk in it. Instead of being fearful of the new and unexpected visitors, Fort Repose takes this as being a new chapter in their lives.