By The Waters of Babylon is a short story written by Stephen Vincent Benét, first published July 31, 1937. It’s a story written under the threat of a second world war in a world still recovering from the first. Whether you like post-apocalyptic stories or not, this is a story that is certain to resonate with most audiences because of its moral and plot twists.
John, son of John-- is this story’s quintessential protagonist. He is to go on a journey and learn the secrets of the world, or in this case, the gods. He is the son of a priest and an aspiring priest himself, sworn to never cross east onto the “godlands”--yet he does just that. In a coming of age trial, John is sent on a journey of self-discovery where he is to fully cross over into …show more content…
This story pulls at the deepest heartstrings we as readers have in a subtle, yet powerful way. Why? Because it reads like a children’s fairy-tail. Like a bedtime story that desperate mothers use to temper their children before they sleep. It’s read calmly, primitive even, which only reads further into the regression of humanity. The story speaks of spirituality, and visions, and gods and temples, and the fact that it reads so much like a phantasmal story is haunting because we know that this story isn’t in fact a fantasy or a fable, but an acutely realistic retelling of the story of humanity, and how how our nature drove us to war and the eventual destruction of ourselves. The reality of all, is extremely real to us, the threat actually hitting us. This story was written when a second world war had been looming over the heads of humanity, and the threat of nuclear war than had been imminent and terrifyingly real, and today it is real to us, the tone striking us with a strange feeling of fear, guilt, nostalgia, and sadness all hidden under the guise of a fantasy. So while it seems so innocent and magical on the outside, it’s quickly averted as it shows us how dark and threatening a short story could get in a time like
John, son of John-- is this story’s quintessential protagonist. He is to go on a journey and learn the secrets of the world, or in this case, the gods. He is the son of a priest and an aspiring priest himself, sworn to never cross east onto the “godlands”--yet he does just that. In a coming of age trial, John is sent on a journey of self-discovery where he is to fully cross over into …show more content…
This story pulls at the deepest heartstrings we as readers have in a subtle, yet powerful way. Why? Because it reads like a children’s fairy-tail. Like a bedtime story that desperate mothers use to temper their children before they sleep. It’s read calmly, primitive even, which only reads further into the regression of humanity. The story speaks of spirituality, and visions, and gods and temples, and the fact that it reads so much like a phantasmal story is haunting because we know that this story isn’t in fact a fantasy or a fable, but an acutely realistic retelling of the story of humanity, and how how our nature drove us to war and the eventual destruction of ourselves. The reality of all, is extremely real to us, the threat actually hitting us. This story was written when a second world war had been looming over the heads of humanity, and the threat of nuclear war than had been imminent and terrifyingly real, and today it is real to us, the tone striking us with a strange feeling of fear, guilt, nostalgia, and sadness all hidden under the guise of a fantasy. So while it seems so innocent and magical on the outside, it’s quickly averted as it shows us how dark and threatening a short story could get in a time like