o Background notes o Alas, Babylon chapters 1-10 o 30 Multiple Choice Questions o Study Test Review PowerPoint (this PowerPoint) o Pay attention to key words and phrases bolded in blue

 Post-apocalyptic novel = written after a major disaster  The Domino Theory – the United States feared that if countries like Vietnam and Korea turned to communism, then others would follow.  Communism - classless society in which all property is owned by the community as a whole and where all people enjoy equal social and economic status.  Manhattan Project – Soviets infiltrated Project to steal plans for atomic bomb  The Cold War officially ended in 1989 when the Berlin Wall, which was erected after WWII to separate Soviet East Berlin and Allied West Berlin, was torn down. Get out your background notes and highlight key information from this slide.

 “Alas, Babylon” means disaster and Mark and Randy hear it for the first time at church  Florence believes Randy is spying on her, but she is actually spying on him (irony)

 Randy figures out how close they are to the blasts by using the flash and sound system.  Peyton is injured (temporary retinal burns) by looking directly at the blast.  Randy drives to town to get Dan Gunn (doctor)  Riverside Inn is in a state of chaos and medical emergency.  Theme: only the strong survive  Allusion: “If the Riverside Inn sank, they must go down with the ship.” – Titanic reference

 Bank is in chaos!  People are withdrawing all of their money.  “By afternoon the law of scarcity had condemned the dollar to degradation and contempt. Within a few more days the dollar would be banished entirely.” – pg. 119  Edgar Quisenberry  “If the dollar was worthless, everything was worthless.”  “He had been a banker all his life and that’s how he was going to die, a banker.”  Commits suicide because he is unwilling to adapt to the situation.

Randy Bragg  Accident on the side of the road  “And yet Randy stopped”  He cannot abandon his humanity, so he stops to make sure there is something he can do to help the woman – she is already dead though. Ben Franklin  “child of the atomic age”  knowledgeable about nuclear warfare  He figured out that his father was evacuating his family by sending them to Randy’s house.  Understood radiation and fallout concerns  Estimated distance of bombs  “I’m going to fill up the sinks and pails and tubs with water.”

 “The Day” – pg. 123  This war is unlike others because it was all over in one day!  Radio dependence – waiting to hear from the outside world  Mrs. Josephine Vanbruuker-Brown  Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (before the war)  PRESIDENT! (after the war)  “There have been grave dislocations of communications, of industrial, economic, and financial functions.” – pg. 127  Puts debts and loans on hold due to the banks crumbling  Dan Gunn visits to check on Peyton and talks with Randy about the medical situation in town. Randy learns that Edgar has killed himself.

 Toynbee’s Theory: “Some nations and some people melt in the heat of crisis and come apart like fat in the pan. Others meet the challenge and harden.” – pg. 133  Admiral Sam Hazzard (retired Navy officer)  He has an old ham radio that he uses to listen to military communication.  He can understand the military terminology.  Electricity goes out when Orlando is bombed

Randy Bragg  Randy refuses a drink because his priorities are changing.  “Aren’t you drinking, Randy?” - Dan “No, I don’t feel like I want one.” – Randy Ben Franklin  Randy gives Ben a gun for protection.  “‘You load up your gun, Ben,’ he said. ‘It’s yours now. Never point it at a man unless you intend to shoot him, and never shoot unless you mean to kill.’” – pg. 137  Ben’s loss of innocence/childhood

 Loss of electricity  Water shortage solution: connect all the houses on River Road using the artesian water well (Bragg’s house, Henry’s house, Admiral Hazzard’s house, Florence’s house = rely upon each other to survive)  Addicts attack Dan’s clinic looking for a drug fix.  Dan moves in to Randy’s house on River Road (theme: rely upon each other to survive).  Radio announcement of contamination zones

 Lavinia McGovern dies - no refrigeration = no insulin  Bill and Lib move in to Randy’s house (theme: value in surviving as a team.)  Commotion at Florence’s house  Sir Percy (cat) ate Anthony (parrot)  Theme: “The strong survive. The frail die.” – pg. 176  Animals reverting to basic instincts.  People will do the same thing in the “new” world now that the bombs have dropped.

Randy Bragg  Rises to the challenge of leading his group and helping everyone survive.  “We’re going to have to be tough. We’re going to have to be catfish.” – Randy to Lib  Theme: Only the strongest survive!  Weak “exotic fish” versus strong catfish  Edgar/Lavinia versus Randy/Lib/Dan/Ben/Helen Mr. Beck versus Pete Hernandez  Mr. Beck (hardware store owner) = gives Randy mason jars for free. Mr. Beck is adapting to life after the bombs.  Peter Hernandez (works at grocery store) = sells 10 pounds of salt to Randy for $200. Pete is clinging to the old ways as he allows greed to influence his actions.

 Easter Service  Represents hope and a sense of community  Jim Hickey gives Randy honeycomb  “He wouldn’t like to see Mark’s kids go without”  Demonstrates human nature is essentially good  After nuclear attack, differences in races no longer matter  “There were two drinking fountains in Marines Park, one marked "White Only," the other "Colored Only." Since neither worked, the signs were meaningless.”

 Easter Service  Represents hope and a sense of community  Jim Hickey gives Randy honeycomb  “He wouldn’t like to see Mark’s kids go without”  Demonstrates human nature is essentially good  After nuclear attack, differences in races no longer matter  “There were two drinking fountains in Marines Park, one marked "White Only," the other "Colored Only." Since neither worked, the signs were meaningless.”

 Bill McGovern  Elected to help Malachai with car batteries to keep radio working  Begins to enjoy life again because he feels useful  Rita Hernandez  Lives in Pistolville, a slum located near Fort Repose  Trades for all items once valuable but now useless  Got a car for trading “a case of beans, three bottles of ketchup, and six cans of deviled ham”  Believes that money and possessions have value and reflect status

 Randy pulls out his gun to get Porky buried and later finds out he has the legal right to do so  The Mayor  Corn Whiskey  Helen’s delusion  “If I grow up, I’m not going to be a fisherman.”  Natural resources (mushrooms, wild onions)  Iron rations  “It was a wolf…It wasn’t a dog any longer. In times like these dogs can turn into wolves. You did just right, Ben” (197)

 Typhoid outbreak  “Typhoid was the unwelcome, evil twin sister of any disaster in which the water supply was destroyed or polluted.”  Dan is attacked  Randy takes control under martial law  Rita’s grocery van = target for highwaymen  Randy & Lib become engaged  Plan to marry the following day on Easter Sunday

 Metaphor – a comparison between two unlike things not using the words like or as  Mark says that Helen “is my right arm.” He is comparing her to an essential part of himself.  “Alice, tiny, drab in black and gray, an active, angry sparrow of a woman, arrived late.”  Simile – a comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as  "Her eyes, which reflected her moods as the river reflected the sky, were gray and opaque.“ – physical description of Lib McGovern  "The air is like soup and the people are like noodles.“ – Lib discussing Fort Repose prior to “The Day.”  Symbolism – an item that represents something of more importance  Wedding ring = love

 Allusion – reference to a famous person, place, historical event, or literary work  “the Good Samaritan” reference to the Bible – Randy stops to help the woman on the side of the road. He discovers that she is already dead.  Riverside Inn residents compared to first-class Titanic passengers  Alas, Babylon – reference to the book of Revelations in the Bible. Randy and Mark first heard the phrase while at church, and the phrase becomes a code phrase for disaster.  Theme – life lesson or message being taught  “The strong survive. The frail die.” – pg. 176  Foreshadowing – hints or clues for future events  In Ch. 3, “insulin requires refrigeration”