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• 1 2023-03-13T16:12:43-07:00 Alas, Babylon Themes 19 plain 2023-03-17T08:44:22-07:00

  Theme: Beneficial Apocalypse 

  Alas, Babylon stands apart from more traditional radiation ecohorror texts that provide pessimistic views of the future. In “Stripping the Artifice: The Beneficial Apocalypse of Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon," Rod Romesburg details how Frank’s novel offers a uniquely optimistic view of a nuclear apocalypse. The devastation caused by the warfare enables the characters to start anew and live lives of purpose. Frank refers to society as unnatural and artificial, and the apocalypse allows humanity to become less dependent on unnecessary technology. Romesburg notes that the inhabitants of Fort Repose begin to barter their goods instead of utilizing money, and this return to simpler times allows the community to place less emphasis on profit and capitalism. The nuclear fallout surprisingly allows Fort Repose to return to the ideal of the American dream. In fact, “everyone owns their own labor, and the American dream of prosperity again belongs to those who work the hardest and employ their skills, rather than those who merely own and invest capital” (Romesburg 112). The bombs strip away the visage of civilization, providing structure and purpose to the community. With a lack of technology and resources, Fort Repose citizens can no longer live lavish and decadent lifestyles. This forces the residents to become more attuned to their natural environments, and this switch creates an idealized community that is rid of artificial values. This insightful secondary source exemplifies how this nuclear apocalypse became a forced wake-up call for Fort Repose. Although this community was mostly spared from nuclear devastation and radiation, other communities were too late to realize that a minimalist lifestyle can bring happiness and contentment to humanity. Alas, Babylon offers hope that humanity can work together to survive and prosper amid environmental strife and chaos. At the end of the novel when an Air Force officer offers to airlift the Fort Repose citizens out, the characters decide to stay because their new community feels like home. Randy tells the officer that the teachers Alice and Florence will "both want to stay. [...] they're terribly busy. They've never worked so hard or accomplished so much in their whole lives. And [...Randy doesn't] know what Fort Repose would do without them" (Frank 305). The other townspeople also chime in that they also do not want to leave Fort Repose, demonstrating the characters' newfound sense of purpose and contentment. The nuclear apocalypse ironically forced the citizens of Fort Repose to survive without technology, allowing them to connect with nature and develop deep bonds with others in their community. To thrive in a world decimated by nuclear warfare, the people had to build a foundation of trust and promote unity. 

  Theme: Dangers of Nuclear Proliferation 

  
  
  “Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon and the Nuclear Consciousness Novel Genre of the 1950s” by Martha L. Reiner is another submission written in the Florida Studies journal. Reiner provides historical context for Alas, Babylon and describes how the novel “represent[s] concern about the dangers of an atomic arms race and suggest that health and safety risks, inhumane experimental practices, and conflicts of interest were serious problems emerging as postwar technology” continued to develop (Reiner 124). Alas, Babylon was published following the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 and after Russia tested the hydrogen bomb. Frank addresses these palpable fears about these destructive technologies by demonstrating how nuclear warfare can radically decimate societal structures. The development of nuclear technology can ironically lead to humanity’s regression back to times of limited resources and few means of communication. Additionally, the radiation can lead to long-lasting health impacts that take a toll on a community’s ability to survive. Reiner later analyzes the government’s lack of communication with the public about its development of nuclear weapons. One of the characters in Alas, Babylon, Lib, lives in a glamorous glass house that protagonist Randy warns against building. This glass structure symbolizes the “warnings about dangers of publishing research toward nuclear weaponry and the debate […] among scientist advisors to President Truman about whether to disclose the atomic bomb before bombing Japan as a way to try to negotiate an end to the war” (Reiner 132). There is tension between the characters in Lib’s home, demonstrating the arguments and differing attitudes at the time about sharing this information with the people. Reiner’s analysis illustrates how the nuclear arms race influenced radiation ecohorror texts published at the time. Frank addresses society’s fears about a nuclear apocalypse, while also offering a survivalist narrative that depicts the struggles and triumphs of a resilient community determined to work together and overcome environmental chaos.