Plot Summary
In the dystopian novel Z for Zachariah, the protagonist is a sixteen year
old girl named Ann. The book is written as if it is Ann’s diary, and she lives
alone in a small valley that was unaffected by the devastating nuclear war that
wiped out all the surrounding land. Her family went on a trip with the owners
of the nearby store the war-affected land surrounding the valley, to see if anyone was still alive in the after they
heard over the radio that everyone was presumably killed. After Ann survives by
herself in the valley for more than a year, a man clothed in a radiation-proof
suit enters the valley. When the man swims in a poisonous creek in the valley
and falls ill from radiation poisoning, Ann is first wary of revealing herself
to him, but gives in and cares for the man.
The man’s name we discover is Mr. John Loomis, who was a chemist at a university before the war began, and he created the suit with the help of another man named Edward. In Loomis’s sickness, he has repetitive nightmares about Edward, and we discover that Loomis murdered the man named Edward when he tried to take the suit and find his family, who were undoubtedly deceased.
Loomis eventually becomes stronger, and reveals his obsessive personality. He takes over the farm that Ann created, and tells her what to do and what not to do. He dismisses any of her ideas and boasts about his own. Later on, Loomis tries to sexually abuse Ann, but she escapes and returns to living in a cave on the valley hillside. She strikes a deal with him in an attempt to maintain the peaceful, separate lives they were living, but Loomis describes the idea as a stupid, childish game. The following night, once Ann finishes working on the farm for a day, Loomis tries to chase her down in the tractor, but he doesn’t catch her- or find where she is hiding.
Loomis later “storms” the store, trying to find Ann living in the old owner’s living quarters, but finds nothing. Ann remains on the run, but eventually tries to talk to Loomis about it, but he shoots her in the ankle. Ann remains on the run from Loomis for weeks, maybe even months. She eventually devises a plan to steal the safe suit from Loomis, by leading him away from the house, and she manages to flee from the valley in the hope of finding another safe place to live in.
The man’s name we discover is Mr. John Loomis, who was a chemist at a university before the war began, and he created the suit with the help of another man named Edward. In Loomis’s sickness, he has repetitive nightmares about Edward, and we discover that Loomis murdered the man named Edward when he tried to take the suit and find his family, who were undoubtedly deceased.
Loomis eventually becomes stronger, and reveals his obsessive personality. He takes over the farm that Ann created, and tells her what to do and what not to do. He dismisses any of her ideas and boasts about his own. Later on, Loomis tries to sexually abuse Ann, but she escapes and returns to living in a cave on the valley hillside. She strikes a deal with him in an attempt to maintain the peaceful, separate lives they were living, but Loomis describes the idea as a stupid, childish game. The following night, once Ann finishes working on the farm for a day, Loomis tries to chase her down in the tractor, but he doesn’t catch her- or find where she is hiding.
Loomis later “storms” the store, trying to find Ann living in the old owner’s living quarters, but finds nothing. Ann remains on the run, but eventually tries to talk to Loomis about it, but he shoots her in the ankle. Ann remains on the run from Loomis for weeks, maybe even months. She eventually devises a plan to steal the safe suit from Loomis, by leading him away from the house, and she manages to flee from the valley in the hope of finding another safe place to live in.