ipl-logo

The Main Themes In 'By The Waters Of Babylon'

1384 Words6 Pages

This complex story revolves around the idea of finding yourself and breaking free of certain limits that are set for you from the very start. The main character in the story is shown to be traveling to a forbidden area to gain new knowledge while along the way breaking taboos and superstitions his tribe created. It is solely based on a journey regarding curiosity and discovery. The protagonist and main character in this short story is John, a young male who becomes a priest after his father takes him to the Dead Places and makes him touch the metal. John starts to have dreams about seeing a “river, and, beyond it, a great Dead Place and in it the Gods walking.” John believes that he is given a sign through the dreams to visit the “Place of Gods”. He is passionate when it comes to the Gods, he loves to hear stories about them during the ancient times. John is a very hard-headed and ambitious character, his persistence is the only factor that makes him continue his long and tiring journey. John at the start of his journey feels very unsure of whether he should head East. He rests for awhile to wait for more signs. In the story, he says “my body hurt but not my heart”. …show more content…

In fact, this story takes place in the future where war caused the impact of isolation. This story’s setting takes place after “The Great Burning”. The Great Buring is described as a nuclear war attack with words such as “fire coming from the sky”. Cities full of people no longer exists, and the entire country is back to becoming tribes. No modern transportation is no longer available and the only way to travel is with the foot. John travels East and during his journey sees the Hudson River, and the Grand Central Terminal. John describes the terminal as a mighty temple because it had stars drawn on it. Also, it is believed that John’s tribe resides in modern-day

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between 'By The Water Of Babylon And' The Road

    448 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the existence of literature, there have been numerous pieces that portrays life in a dystopian American. In the narrative, "By the Water of Babylon", Stephen Vincent Benet tells the story of a young priest 's journey to gather metal in a post-apocalyptic New York City. In contrast, the Pulizter Prize winning novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy displays the hardships faced by a middle-aged man and his adolescent son as they travel south through an ash covered wasteland that were once the Appalachian Mountains. Even though these pieces of fiction are seperated by decades of various turmoil, the authors accomplish numerous comparisons and contrasts that exemplify a post-apocalyptic America.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Harrison Bergeron And By The Waters Of Babylon

    187 Words  | 1 Pages

    The “Rap-Back” Of Tech In the two stories, “Harrison Bergeron”, and “By The Waters Of Babylon”, the world is “destroyed”, or “remade”, after a technological “break-down”. Tech can very easily lead us to our own imminent demise, none the less it’s own, but usually, it may only do so with our allowing it.

    Read More

  • Book Analysis: Leading With Soul

    1183 Words  | 5 Pages

    The main character in the narrative had ceased to find meaning in his work. He undertook a spiritual journey consisting of successes and failures over a long period of time, leading him to find meaning in his work. His story provided insight into how to help others during their difficult times. First, it is important to assist the individual in identifying the reason for their struggle.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast By The Waters Of Babylon And Fahrenheit 451

    736 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; working together is success,” by Henry Ford. The book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, and the short story By the Waters of Babylon, by Stephen Vincent Benét, show how humankind isn’t always successful throughout their journey. Some stories, people, and objects could seem like they have nothing in common, completely different, but hidden underneath the surface are similarities and connections. People will make their own choices and carry through with them if they believe they are right. As things carry on throughout both stories we see they are connected more commonly through being compared to a phoenix, finding the truth and the travel.

    Read More

  • Examples Of The Cosmogonic Cycle

    635 Words  | 3 Pages

    The journey often consists of many different stages involving the ordinary world is the background of the heroes and describes the personal history of the character or the Life, Light, Conscious world symbolizing the stability of each character. The next step of the cycle is the call to Adventure which may begin when outside forces cause increased pressures it may rise up from deep within the character and the hero must begin facing the new changes to himself both mentally and spiritually. Next, the hero’s may refuse the call to be the hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the journey but for only a small amount of time, which may express the unexpected dangers and uncertainty lying ahead of him. Then, the meeting with the mentor/guide is someone with previous

    Read More

  • Summary Of Leo Mellor's 'Lure Of The Wilderness'

    906 Words  | 4 Pages

    When thinking of the wilderness one might picture a scene from a camp site. Untamed dense forest, and endless jungle probably come first to mind and although this might be one meaning of wilderness, Mellor’s perception of wilderness and pastoral opens our thoughts on how we view the unpredictable and the known. In “Lure Of The Wilderness” by Leo Mellor, he shows the meaning of the unexplored wilderness and the surprises that come with the unknown, while humans try to tame what is wild and create a pastoral environment around them. Mellor’s writing helps understand hidden aspects in the short story “Wild” by Lesley Arimah, when Ada is blindsided with a plane ticket to visit her aunt in Africa. She travels to a place mostly unknown to her, besides the relatives living there.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Chris Mccandless In Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

    591 Words  | 3 Pages

    Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, is a story and a film, about Chris McCandless, a 24 years old young man who wandered into the wilds of Alaska and spent more than 100 days in there, away from his family, friends and society. After observing Chris’s experiences and the decisions that he made throughout his life, I can conclude that Chris was a character who chose to be alienated and isolated by choice and not forced by others, because of his unwillingness to meet the expectations placed upon him by the society. Even from the beginning Chris’s judgements were always different from the normal. In the story, Chris shares, "I wished to acquire the simplicity, native feelings, and virtues of savage life; to divest myself of the factitious habits, prejudices and imperfections of civilization; ... and to find, amidst the solitude and grandeur of the western wilds, more correct views of human nature and of the true interests of man.

    Read More

  • John Proctor Guilt Analysis

    614 Words  | 3 Pages

    But I will cut off my hand before I’ll ever reach for you again” (22). He deeply regrets everything he has done and still suffers with being censured by himself. John trying to figure out if he’s still a good person of not states, “But I wilted, and like a christian, I confessed! Confessed! Some dream I had must have mistaken you for God that day.

    Read More

  • Goodness And Nobility In The Crucible By Arthur Miller

    1218 Words  | 5 Pages

    This shows that John is a merciful being and desires forgiveness from his wife and God, therefore demonstrating traits of a good man. Furthermore, John has a heated argument with his wife, due to his encounter with Abigail, alone. Although, he thinks his wife will doubt him, she states on the contrary, “I do not judge you. The magistrate sits in your heart that judges you. I never thought you but a good man, John - only somewhat bewildered” (55).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Hero With A Thousand Faces By Zora Neale Hurston

    1156 Words  | 5 Pages

    Joseph’s Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces is a valuable novel for college students because it allows the reader to apply common elements in mythic adventures that easily connect and explain the journey of the protagonist. In Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, offers an excellent example of The Hero’s Journey. The book follows Janie Mae Crawford on her adventure in finding herself. The adventure is described within three main steps that make up The Hero’s Journey; the departure, the initiation, and the return. Through these steps, we follow Janie as she leaves her known world and travels into the unknown world.

    Read More

  • By The Waters Of Babylon Theme Essay

    441 Words  | 2 Pages

    The interpretation of the theme – truth in “By the Waters of Babylon” In the short story “By the Waters of Babylon” the author Stephen Vincent Benét conveys the theme, “truth is a hard deer to hunt, if you eat too much of it at once, you may die of the truth” (Benét, 255). Which is a hyperbolic metaphor that means truth is like knowledge, hard to find. So, if too much of it is eaten at once, death is likely; as in truth is dangerous and hard to regulate among people if it is boundless. When the protagonist John was tired after travelling to the forbidden Place of Gods seeking knowledge, he fell asleep in one of the big dead-houses.

    Read More

  • Optimism In Waters Of Babylon

    148 Words  | 1 Pages

    The “Waters Of Babylon” is an optimistic story. The story revolves around the protagonist John as he makes his way to the forbidden “Place of the Gods”. Once in the Place of the Gods he realizes that this place was not inhabited by Gods but instead by humans (page 8). After this epiphany, John understands that his people could accomplish the achievements from past. On page 8 he says, “Nevertheless we make a beginning . . .

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Babylon Revisited

    1232 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sapp John Sapp Hensley English 11/ Fourth Period 05 February 2018 Part 12: Rough Draft “Babylon Revisited” is a very detailed and well written story that has many ups and downs bound to leave the reader on the edge of their seat. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different types of writing techniques in “Babylon Revisited” to make this story grab the reader’s attention even more so than some of his previous works. Fitzgerald’s style portrays one of the most important aspects of this book by far, setting the tone for this story giving you more details throughout.

    Read More

  • Identity In James Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain

    1524 Words  | 7 Pages

    Although he doubts God in the beginning, he begins to question his doubt. In the following quotation, John is worrying about his future if he does not accept God. He begins to believe that God truly is the only way to escape the evil he was born in. ¨Only the hand of God could deliver him.

    Read More

  • And Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Ocean'

    737 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever swam in the ocean? Ever fought against the waves? Have you ever felt its intensity?? Oceans can be quite treacherous and rigid, but once you sink down beneath the water, all is calm and peaceful. In “The Ocean” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he paints an image of this by illustrating the waters and the men at sea.

    Read More

More about The Main Themes In 'By The Waters Of Babylon'

Open Document