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.