By the Waters of Babylon

The Knowledge of the Truth Is the knowledge you have known about a place true? In the short story, “By the Waters of Babylon”, the main character John has to venture out into unknown lands because he seeks knowledge. John is a son of a priest and is now a priest and he is always hungry for knowledge. He wants to go out into the Place of the Gods where the Gods once lived before the Great Burning. Before John leaves for the adventure he has his father do a ritual with him to see his dreams to…

The story of “By the Waters of Babylon” is a post-apocalyptic short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benet. First published July 30, 1937, Benet has included historical context in this tale related to the Americans as the second world war was approaching during the time of creating this story. This story is told in the point of view of John, the protagonist in the story and his mission is to get to the place of the gods and to seek wisdom on how these gods lived. In this amazing…

What are two things that humans looked for in life since the dawn of time? Ever since the dawn of time humans have sought out knowledge, and the truth. The main character in “By The Waters Of Babylon” John, was consumed by the knowledge and truth. Knowledge and truth is what influenced John into being able to go through such hardships. john even said, “My knowledge made me happy--it was like a fire in my heart” (p. 312, line 35). John is set up with an easy way to get what he wanted. Only the…

Comparing and Contrasting Two Futuristic Stories Ever wondered what the future might look like, bright and wonderful, or gloomy and dark? Well in the story’s “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Bennett, and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, they tell about the future and what seems to be in the stories future. The futures in both stories are equally creepy and equally interesting at the same time. The stories unquestionably are interesting as they are also scary, but it would be easier to…

different results. In the short story, The Waters of Babylon, certain characters were put into tough situations and were forced to make some tough decisions. These tough decisions don’t just happen in stories, as they frequently happen in everyday life, specifically professional athletes. Decisions are a privilege, someone has been granted the ability to chose what they want to, the only thing is we don’t always make the right choice. Throughout The Waters of Babylon, the main character, John,…

Themes are what make a story interesting. In “”By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet, the themes are what make this story interesting. There are many interesting storylines and themes throughout this book. But three important themes are overcoming fear, when a place becomes a wasteland people rebuild, and advancement of through exploration are all central themes throughout this story. John is a very scared child. Throughout the book John is constantly expressing his fears. His…

left John go to the Forbidden area although it was not allowed for anyone, even priests. However, he let John know of the dangers that await him there, which proves that he is a good father. Theme Benét builds the central narrative of “By the Waters of Babylon” around John’s coming-of-age and his quest for new knowledge, which takes him east to The Place of the Gods, a mysterious, long-abandoned city that members of his tribe are forbidden from visiting. Benét presents the desire for knowledge…

paragraphs show the narrator's perspective. It gives the main characters thoughts, but not another persons. One example of characterized perspective is when in By The Waters Of Babylon, the narrator views the technologies we have today as "magic". This would be things such as power tools, electricity, running water, and Peters 2 cars. When he was in the apartment, he saw a vision of all the "magic". This as we know it, is not magic but utilities, vehicles, and…

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…

Harry Potter without reading the first 2 books, you miss out on references that you would have known if you read the first 2 books and this is true in these 2 short stories known as By The Waters Of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benet and thank you ma’am by Langston Hughes The setting in the waters of babylon is significant because several plot points bring attention to thwhate scenery in the story. As John is going to the forbidden land he comes across this “There was the great river…