Short Story By The Waters Of Babylon

The plot of the short story “By the Waters of Babylon” is set in the near future after the destruction of industrial civilization, the story is narrated by a young man, who is the son of a priest. The priests of John’s people, the hill people, are a curious group of people associated with the divine. They are the only ones who can handle metal collected from the homes of long-dead people whom they believe to be gods called “dead places”. The story follows John’s self-assigned mission to get to the Place of the Gods. His father allows him to go on a spiritual journey but does not know he is going to this forbidden place. John explores the city of the gods and sees the truth for himself.
First and foremost, the characters in the story include John, who goes on the journey to the forbidden city of the gods. John is the embodiment of curiosity and is a perfect example of someone who thinks for themselves. He narrates the story as well and guides the reader through his point of view on how to comprehend the rules we abide by. John's father is a priest that symbolizes the society of the hill people and conforms to written rules set for him by those before him with little thought. …show more content…
Rebirth demonstrates the mentality of John towards the end of the story when he becomes a priest and decides to rebuild his tribe for humanity as a whole. He gained valuable knowledge from what he witnessed on his journey through the city of the gods and has intentions on wielding that knowledge and power to slowly advance his people for the greater good. However, he wants to avoid the fate of mankind with too much knowledge which is inevitably self-destruction. The coming of age of John is evident through the story. On his journey, john matures and learns more about the world around