Point of View

Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon is written in third person as an omniscient neutral narrator of events and occurrences that lead up to and from a worldwide nuclear attack. Characters reveal their true natures and tendencies through actions and conversations they have with one another. The author does not offer sympathetic commentary on the characters but the consequences of their actions reveals their natures. For example, theft, greed and hoarding of jewelry by some residents is not discussed or sanctioned by the author as a moral issue but consequences of radiation poisoning from the stolen jewelry are a skin-blackening and debilitating sickness leading to death. The rural environment where Randy and River Road neighbors live is safer and more amenable to survival than Fort Repose and its residents. The broader civilization of the United States and other governments is presented as an uncontrollable source of destruction compared...