Themes In 'By The Waters Of Babylon'

Theme: There are a plethora themes in this story, perhaps the utmost observable and distinguishable theme is the price for knowledge. Throughout the exposition of the story, the reader witnesses Johns’ tribe clueless about metals. In the story, it states “...he who touches the metal must be a priest or the son of a priest...He gave me the metal to hold—I took it and did not die…”. This portrays how concealed they are about knowledge, they presume he who touches metal ought to be a priest, if not, consequently, you die. Moreover, John doesn’t comprehend how self-explanatory utensils work. In the story, this occurs, “...In the washing-place, a thing said ‘Hot’ but it was not hot to the touch—another thing said ‘Cold’ but it was not cold. This must have been a strong magic, but the magic was gone, I do not understand—they had ways—I wish that I knew...”. This displays how John is oblivious to how a sink works, furthermore, it’s even frustrating for him being in the dark about how the gods function or live. In conclusion, knowledge comes at a price, but it could also lead to our demise.

Plot:

Consequently, the civilization is not as ingenious and advanced as we were precedent. The story's main character referred to as John, (son of a priest) was on an expedition to become a “man” (also a priest). The rules that were fundamental are simply as follows: never go east and cross the river. The reason being is that the gods, (as referred to in the story, they were just humans with knowledge) lived there. John was patiently lingering for a sign to unravel where he should go so he can commence his journey. All the signs directed him