Mankind must have many traits in order to learn and survive. Three of the most important traits are self-preservation, humility and awareness of the degree of risk. The novel Alas, Babylon emphasizes the theme of mans need to learn from history in order to prepare for and survive the present.Once bombs were dropped on the United States the laws changed. The laws of the present civilization are brought back to the laws of earlier civilization. The days before the blast were a past period in history (Page 97). The laws changed the day of the blast just as Roman law gave way to atavistic barbarism (Page 97). Written law is then changed to the basic law of self-preservation. In the ancient Neolithic Age children grew up and matured faster than children in present civilization. During the Neolithic, a boy either grows up fast or he doesnt grow up at all (Page 225). In certain situations children must also mature and take responsibility in order to survive.Alas, Babylon is a phrase used by Randy and Mark which means that man can experience a disaster or downfall. Preacher Henry preaches a story out of the Bible about the great city of Babylon. It says in the bible that the great city of Babylon that was clothed in fine linen, and filled with riches, was burned off the face of the earth in an hour (Page 14-15). Because of their wealth, the people of Babylon thought they were indestructible. However, everything was destroyed in an hour showing that wealth without humility will not result in survival.Admiral Hazard is retired from the Navy and knows a lot about warfare. Admiral Hazard thought nuclear warheads were a huge threat, but others disagreed and did not worry about it. For a long time the Admiral thought that Russias most dangerous threat was the terrible combination of submarines carrying armed nuclear warheads (Page 138). People should take more precautions and not ignore someone when they say something could be a big th...
