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Bibliographic data:
O'Brien, R. C. (2002). Z for zachariah.
New York: Simon Pulse.
Summary
After a weeklong war, the United States
has been ravaged by a nuclear holocaustic. Everything and everyone is dead, with the exception of sixteen-year-old
Ann Burden. Thanks to an unusual
weather pattern, the valley she calls home is unaffected by the radioactive
fall out. She believes she is the
last person alive…until Mr. Loomis appears in a radioactive safe suit.
Analysis
Written as if reading Ann’s diary, Z
for Zachariah is an engaging page-turner.
Unlike many dystopian books, Ann does not focus on survival. Her agricultural upbringing has taught
her the skills needed to meet her physical needs. The fact that she may be the only person left alive in the
country doesn’t seem to upset her much, she is too busy working to
survive. The conflict in the story
is the relationship between Ann and Mr. Loomis.
Ann’s
behavior in the novel is mystifying.
To start, she is strong and independent. She runs her family’s farm on her own, keeping herself not
only alive but also thriving, for over a year. Yet, when Mr. Loomis appears Ann seems incapable of standing
up for herself. Mr. Loomis begins
to dictate how the farm will be run, at times forcefully preventing Ann from
completing tasks. Ann rarely
questions Mr. Loomis and continues to care for him, determined to keep him
alive. Even after Mr. Loomis
attempts to physically harm Ann and she decides to move into the hills to be
away from him, she continues to ensure that he has adequate food and is well
taken care of.
This inability to standup for
herself goes against everything that society is working to teach girls. While on her own, Ann is strong but she
immediately bows when a man appears.
This is frustrating to see, however it could be an extremely beneficial
novel for young girls who are in similar situations. Ann is able to justify her loyalties to Mr. Loomis, she
justifies his behaviors even when, to the reader, his actions are
irrepressible. Young girls
who are developing their inner strength may be able to see themselves or their
situations in Ann.
Z for Zachariah would be an
interesting book for young adults who enjoy stories about dystopian
futures. It is old enough that it
provides a different prospective, rather than zombies or authoritarian
governments, it is a nuclear holocaust; rather than fighting to survive, it focuses
on the interactions and mindset of the characters. It would be an interesting choice to compare against popular
novels of today, such as the Hunger Games or The Maze Runner.
Activity
In a world without budget constraints,
it would be amazing to present the readers with an opportunity to experience
some of the farm work that is discussed in the novel, particularly for urban
teens. This could be done through
a series of guest speakers that can discuss and educate on crops and animals, a
small garden could be setup at outside the library for students to tend to or a
trip could be arranged to visit a working farm. Readers could engage in the activities that Ann does, such
as caring for chickens, milking cows and farming by hand.
Related Resources
The video “Nuclear War’s Worst-case scenario” could be used
to engage students before reading.
The book begins a year after nuclear weapons were dropped. In this video, clips from a number of
Cold War and films about nuclear weapons have been put together to replicate
what would happen during a nuclear attack. The video would set the scene for what the world around Ann
would be like.
Cdcollura. (2012). Nuclear war's worst-case scenario (nobody
wins). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRWzNIaVyBs
Ann survives the destruction around her by farming. For many teens in America, farming is
completely foreign. The Farm
School is exactly what it sounds like, a school where the subject is
farming. They offer a yearlong
course for adults, 3-day field trips for students and summer camps for kids and
teens. For a large undertaking or
for students who are particularly interested in Ann’s way of life, this could
be a resource to gain an understanding of this skill set. Additionally, they have a resource
section of their website that students could utilize to learn more about
agriculturally based life.
The farm school. Retrieved from http://farmschool.org/
Published Review
“Z is for Zachariah, the last name in fifteen-year-old Ann
Burden's Bible school alphabet book; it's also for zero population after
nuclear bombs and nerve gas seem to have destroyed everyone in the world except
Ann in her Amish country valley (her family left it and seem singularly
unregretted but then Ann is one of those unthinking practical types) who is
making it alone with her brother's dog Faro, with their cow, chickens, the
diminishing supplies from the store and her garden. Until a stranger comes over
the hill in his plastic safe-suit -- he'd killed to get it; he has a bout of
radiation sickness and almost dies but Ann brings him back to health only to
face a lethal gratitude on his part. Mr. O'Brien wrote two juveniles as well as
another genocidal thriller, A Report from Group 17. This is a little of each
for both audiences and you'll find Ann's level resourcefulness as insulating as
that safe-suit. So, less convincingly so, is her abz naivete in a day and age
which has just come to an end.”
O'Brien, Robert C. 1975. Z for Zachariah. n.p.: Atheneum,
1975. Book Index with Reviews, EBSCOhost (accessed June 11, 2016).
