Alas, Babylon:Survival Of The Fittest Essay, Research Paper

Survival of the Fittest

Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank, illustrates genuine examples of how superior

creatures survive and the weaker perish. Those who sufficiently responded to this difficult

challenge set before them were Randy Bragg, Dan Gunn, Alice Cooksey, and Florence

Wechek. Those individuals who were unsuccessful with this devastating feat were Edgar

Quisenberry, Bubba Offenhaus, Pete Hernandez, and Porky Logan. During this period

those animals that become savage beasts and would do anything for food survived, while

the animals that were controlled by humans did not.

Randy Bragg is a natural leader and a quick thinker and he had his mind set that

he was going to live even if he had to fight for his life. “We’re going to have to be tough,

we are going to have to be catfish” (Ch.7). The community’s doctors had either been

killed or vanished and Dan Gunn, now the only physician in Fort Repose, tried to help

everyone who was sick and this made him survive because he knew the people of the

community needed is capabilities. After being beaten by the highwaymen he shows how

strong and how much will power to survive he had by walking miles to the Bragg

household. Fort Repose’s librarian, Alice Cooksey, had the strength to keep on living

because she knew that the library was the only source of learning for the people and

especially the children. “She felt fulfilled, even important” (Ch.8). Florence Wechek, “a

guppy, a nice, drab little guppy ” in the eyes of her pier Randy Bragg (Ch.7). The analysis

made by Randy Bragg was correct in the sense that Florence relating to the guppy was

willing to do what she had to serve the community and survive.

The President of the Fort Repose Bank became a massive position after The Day.

Edgar Quisenberry was a coward because he couldn’t face the facts; he couldn’t bare a

world that didn?t use any type of currency and he wouldn’t allow himself to be humiliated

so he committed suicide. ” He had been a banker all his life and that was the way he was

going to die, a banker” (Ch.5). Bubba Offenhaus, an egotistical man, was the Deputy

Director of Civil Defense in the town. He gave all the Civil Defense pamphlets to the

librarian because they took up to much space in his office and if they people could have

seen these pamphlets they might have had a better chance to support themselves longer.

Even though he didn’t die he was a failure because he sat at home and did nothing but

wait to die. After everything was sold in his grocery store Pete Hernandez had stored

some supplies for him and his sister but, he was so greedy that he was happy about

making ten dollars a pound for salt. ” Ten dollars a pound for salt!?.. Ain’t that

something!” (Ch.7). Stupidity and greediness was Pete’s downfall and wearing

contaminated watches and other jewelry killed him. Porky Logan took everything he

could out of a demolished jewelry store and sold some of the items to the Hernandez’ for

food and other items. His greediness killed him because he should have just sold all the

jewelry, but he liked it so much he had to keep it.

Animals and humans evolved at the same time during this time. The dogs of Fort

Repose had become wolves and found and caught their prey any way conceivable. The

cats are one of the few animals that did survive. “The house cat turns hunter” (Ch.7). The

controlled animals put up less of a fight to survive. Anthony the pet bird failed to survive

because the cat over powered the little bird.

The evolutionary theory that only the strong survive stated in Darwin’s Origin of

Species is well focused throughout the novel. Those who survived knew they had to find

the joy in this disaster, whereas the ones who did not survive wanted to give up and die.

Many found their place in life and those who could not find it in life instead found it in

death.