What Makes Ann A Survivor? - Z for Zachariah By Robert C O'Brian

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What Makes Ann A Survivor?

By Melissa Bannon

"Z For Zachariah" by Robert C. O'Brien, is an exciting and powerful novel. I am going to discuss what makes the main character Ann a survivor by conveying some of her many qualities, which she reveals to us in her diary. She shows practical knowledge, capability and cautious behaviour.

Ann Burden is a sixteen-year-old girl who is left to fend for herself after her hometown is destroyed as a result of a nuclear explosion. She has lived alone for a year and her initial reaction to new life, Loomis, arriving in the valley is joy and excitement. But she soon realises what he is really like and her reaction is altered to fear and instinct to survive.

In the story, Ann is portrayed as a wise girl. She has a lot of practical knowledge, which in the end, is the key to her survival. Simple things like taking care of the farm when she is left alone and letting Loomis drink only in little amounts when he is sick, "Not any more, it will make you sick again," give me a positive message that she is a very flexible character. I think this is a good thing as, no matter the circumstances, she does what she has to do and gets on with it. Checking the brook for safety using a Geiger counter before drinking: "He asked me, I took it (Geiger counter) across to Burden Creek" and forward thinking, like food and fuel for winter, show she is also sensible and well organised. This is important to the story because if she were a lazy, uneducated character, she most likely would not have survived.

I also admired the way Ann was very cautious with her actions and was able to stay calm. When Loomis first arrived in the village Ann moved into the cave up the hill so she would be out of sight from him. She kept this a secret as a reserve place where she could go if anything was to happen: "I still for some reason did not mention the cave" and unfortunately, it inevitably did. This effect was expressed by using foreshadowing. After discovering that Burden Creek was contaminated, she became very cautious about the streams she took water from. After Loomis tried to rape Ann, even though she is secretly very frightened, she does not let Loomis know she is scared, but she waits until she is outside then she "ran, not thinking, not caring, just getting as far away as I could." Her ability to stay calm was one of Ann's very strong points throughout the story. When Loomis was ill with radiation poisoning she took care of him without hesitation, despite her fearing his death. The last straw for Ann was when "Loomis shot me". She no longer felt they could share the valley if Loomis was going to act childish (hiding the key to the tractor and making Ann move out instead of himself) about it. It was a shame as Ann had been selfless for so long. She shared her home, her food, and her life with him and that was how he repaid her, forcing her to live in fear.
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Written as a diary, the story is a lot more meaningful. Ann tells us her personal thoughts about the trials in her life. As it is written retrospectively, she goes into more detail of the events of that day. She can look back on what has happened and deal with more difficult situations. Suspense is created from the very beginning of the book. "I am afraid. Someone is coming" creates atmosphere, suspense and gave me the urge to read on. It is hard to believe, but a man in fact wrote this day-by-day exposition! The writer was very ...

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