By The Waters Of Babylon Analysis

          In the story, “by the waters of babylon”, the character John is a protagonist. He is the son of a priest and wants john to become a priest too. The reason  that the character  John is a protagonist because his thoughts and emotions are expressed throughout the story. In the story the author states, “so i learned the ways of those houses-and if i saw bones, i was no longer afraid.”

After a national tragedy has struck the United States, a group of survivors now has to learn how to survive on their own. In Alas, Babylon a nuclear war has just started that has majorly decreased the population in countries around the world leaving nuclear fallout in its path. Alas, Babylon takes place in the United States, Florida in a small town called Fort Repose. Frank writes, in his book Alas, Babylon, about Randy Bragg and a small group of survivors from River road that band together to take on all the changes that face them without the help from the government. The three methods of survival that Randy and his band of survivors use are making ways to process items and recharge batteries; reinventing old ways of transportation and replacing

Technology can be too smart for our own good. Nuclear bombs have killed innocent people and technology will too. In the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét there was a nuclear bomb that went off and destroyed everything but some people did survive. In There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury there was a nuclear bomb that destroyed everything but a smart house. There Will Come Soft Rains was more disturbing than The Waters of Babylon because of the fact that it is about a house that has a brain type computer chip.

Did you know “it is strictly forbidden to cross the river and look upon the place of the gods”-By The Waters Of Babylon. Stephen Vincent Benet wrote “By The Waters Of Babylon”. He introduces the priest and the son of the priest John. In “The Waters Of Babylon” there was a quest to be fulfilled, but no one was brave enough to fulfill that. John felt an internal passion to go on the quest. So at the end he gained knowledge that everyone was afraid of. The author “By The Waters Of Babylon” uses modern society as textual symbols which are spirits and demons, deer, and a door with a broken lock.

were here before us. We must build again." They will learn the ways of the old

In the story “ By the Waters of Babylon” the narrator, John, is a priest who values knowledge greatly. In the story John states: “My knowledge made me happy--it was like a fire in my heart.” (312). Through the interpretation of this line the reader can infer that knowledge is very important to the narrator's culture and society. It is what inspires these quests and drives all of his actions. The narrator assumes that all of the knowledge that has been gained throughout a lifetime is true because he has yet to learn otherwise. In relation to John’s strong feelings about knowledge, He also feels as though he can never get enough. His need and desire for knowledge is described by the following quote: “Nevertheless, my knowledge and my lack of knowledge burned in me – I wished to know more.” (312). John

As both the reader and John begin to understand what this realization on John’s part means Benét’s lesson about truth and knowledge begins to manifest. With the truth of John’s ancestors revealed and how it was discovered that the priests in John’s culture have been proclaiming their knowledge without evidence, the relationship that one cannot have truth without knowledge begins to visualize. Benét doesn’t let this lesson stay one sided though, as if he was trying to portray the priests as only in the wrong, instead Benét writes John’s father to give insight as to why the priests may have lied about what they really knew and didn’t know, and why their ancestors didn’t want the truth to be revealed. John’s father says “Truth is a hard deer to hunt….you may die of the truth” and “He was right-it is better that the truth should come little by little” because John’s father is trying to say that the truth is a dangerous thing (Benét 321). While the truth is important, it can also be damaging if it shouldn’t be taught at the right

In modern day society, we revolve our lives around technology with our constant need to have the newest gadgets. Little do we know that this new technology is taking over our world in big ways. In the story, By The Waters Of Babylon, it tells the tale of a young priest who travels to a forbidden place to find out the truth of what happened before the “Great Burning.” The more he explored, the more he uncovered the shocking truth behind the life in the “old days.” This is portrayed by the author, Stephen Vincent Benet, who conveys a theme of technological advancements can set us back, using the literary techniques of exposition, imagery, and symbols.

What is the most important thing to know about knowledge you are given? The answer is simple, the truth. In the story “By the Waters of Babylon” the main character John is on a quest for knowledge. In his civilization the priests are the wisest and most knowledgeable people. John is the son of a priest and wants to become one himself. John is obsessed with finding more knowledge. John says, “My knowledge made me happy--it was like a fire in my heart” (Benet 312). He dreams of going to on a journey to the The Dead Place, a place that is forbidden for any of his people to go to.

Two very good stories are The Chrysalids by John Wyndham and “By The Waters Of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet. Both these stories are sci-fi and depict what human civilizations will be like after a nuclear holocaust. The result of the holocaust has altered the Hill People and Waknuk people’s morals and religious beliefs. The main difference between the stories is one is viewing the future as positive the other is portraying the future negatively. The Chrysalids was a better story. It portrayed what humans act like. In the following paragraphs many points will be looked upon to prove that The Chrysalids is a better story.

When drastic times occur and sweep one of everything they own, do they have a plan of action? Will they be prepared for a life without power, resources, and stability? Many times when people are faced with this situation they find themselves unprepared and unable to live in such conditions. They lose the connections with the world, the water they drink is likely to get contaminated, and the scarcity of goods is a threat to themselves and anyone left alive. Everywhere around them there is death and destruction leaving them isolated in their own dystopia. Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon illustrates a nuclear bomb simulation. In such a way, he gives the readers a taste of isolation and survival needs when facing such drastic times.

The story “By The Water Of Babylon”, written by Stephen Vincent Benet, has a plethora of aspects of literary elements that depict the story. The following analyzes the story using the seven elements of fiction.

“Alas, Babylon”, the book written by Pat Frank, takes place during the Cold War. Randy Bragg is the main character in this story, and he has to take up the responsibility of a town leader, and the “father” of his brother’s family. Over time, Randy becomes very tough and strict, but at the beginning of the book, he seems very lazy and bachelor-like. On page 4, the quote “As she wrestled with her girdle, Florence’s thoughts gravitated to the equally prying behavior of Randy Bragg. There he was, brazenly immodest in checked red and black pajamas, sitting on his front steps, knees akimbo and binoculars pressed to his eyes… She ducked back against the bedroom wall, hands protecting her breasts,” uses imagery to describe the childish and immature

This anecdote from his own life provides insight into the prophecy that he preaches. One should treat all things with reason and not merely accept knowledge regardless of the prestige of the source, but should test the knowledge through examination.

Babylonian civilization is considered as one of the most important civilizations in the ancient world. The Babylonians took and developed everything after the Sumerians civilization especially in the spiritual realm and in the field of building an integrated civilization. The earlier civilizations had big role in the Babylonians civilization period when Babylonians took all the cuneiform writing, mathematical and astronomical knowledge, in addition to that the method of building cities, dams and etc. they improved all of them. The development of knowledge continued by Babylonian where the Sumerians stop, and the Babylonian built an empire for themselves on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the southern part of Sumer (Iraq). "The first Amuriyahian family has ruled over Babylon in the period (1830- 1530 BC), when Babylon was a mini-states at the time." Then the greatest king of Babylonian Hammurabi appeared in the seventeenth century BC. He established a famous group of laws known by (Hammurabi code).Also he was the king who united this petty States and achieved an important architectural movement in the city of Babylon.