Chapters 1-13: 15-14: The Glory Of Babylon

In Ted Chiang’s “Tower of Babylon”, the story serves as a pathway for the concept of the prominent fight between the existence of religion versus the intelligence of man in the genre of science fiction. The “Tower of Babylon” targets the self-righteousness and obliviousness of men when faced with any circumstances. Chiang shows the tower itself as a devotion to God in order to get closer to him in the story but in reality, is exemplifies man’s hubris which ultimately shows the man’s lack of humility towards God. The story starts off with introducing a group of miners from Elam hoping to achieve the goal of breaking the “vault of heaven”, which is the gateway to Yahweh’s paradise. Both miners from Elam and Egypt are gathered to decode this enigma, ultimately providing a utopia for mankind. As the men gear up for a long journey, they go over the basics of traveling up the tower in order. They have already figured out a way to go and break the vault, from growing a forest to supply wood for the tower to growing their own crops on the towers. The author now shows the main paradox the story is surrounded upon, they are confident and constantly uphold the superiority of their religion, but “rely on engineering rather than prayer”. The story is mainly focused on the adventure to the “vault” as “no deity makes an appearance in the story”. Specifically, man trying show their dominance in knowledge when facing God.

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.

In Stephen Vincent Benét’s prestigious narrative “By the Waters of Babylon”, a somewhat primitive, yet curious young man embarks on a journey towards the forbidden Place of the Gods in the east to challenge the fundamental principles of his faith, seeking to uncover new truths of both the gods and his marred world. Through the viewpoint of the protagonist, John, Benét slowly unveils to readers the truths of the world in which the Hill People and the Forest People live in. During the development of Benét’s highly esteemed short story, significant events and technological advancements within the gruesome years of the Second World War serve as influential cornerstones for the post-apocalyptic setting of Benét’s renowned narrative.

Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank, takes place in Florida, USA, during a nuclear war between them and the USSR. Much like the small, ancient city of Babylon, the United States of America was destroyed and its citizens, the ones still alive, had the immense task of rebuilding the former superpower nation of the world. Dan Gunn, Fort Repose`s doctor explained to Randy Bragg, our protagonist that “some nations and some people come apart like fat in the pan. Others meet the challenge and harden. [He thought he was going to harden]” (Frank 133). Although he was talking to Randy, the quote applied to him as well. Randy had to figure out how to lead a very scared city that was falling apart and Dan had to treat the many patients without the luxury of having conventional methods available.

There are plenty of controversial moments in “Babylon Revisited” where the reader could argue whether or not Charlie has truly left Babylon. A scene that could be speculated on is when Charlie agrees to have drinks with Lorraine and Duncan. One could argue that this behavior is not appropriate nor responsible for a father-figure; Charlie has a duty to protect Honoria, and a bar is not a safe place for a child to be. Moreover, Lorraine and Duncan symbolize Charlie’s alcoholic lifestyle, so the moment Charlie agrees to have drinks with Lorraine and Duncan, is the moment he choses to familiarize Honoria with his past. Therefore, this scene can identify that Charlie is still not ready to let go of Babylon and resume his responsibilities as a parent.

Throughout the story "Babylon Revisited" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are a variety of different factors that are revealed. The one that shot out the most is how Charlie shows the inability to let go of his past life in Paris. When he was younger and married, he was a heavy alcoholic along with his wife. One cold, winter night, they were wasted and they got into a heated argument. Charlie locked his wife outside of their home and she past away that night....The causing death was heart problems, but Charlie's sister-in-law blames him for her death. To try and "restart" his life, he moves to America for 10 months and regains the money he lost from the stock market crash. He eventually makes his way towards Paris for the urge of wanting his daughter back. Even though Charlie

At summer time in ancient Babylon, food is scarce that what to eat become a difficult problem. Due to low rainfall, the streams and rivers dries three month before the summer even reach, our crops withers and the fruit becomes small that Is not even attractive to plunge and eat, the crops and fruit are always filled with dust and a refuge to most small insect, boring holes on most of the crops and fruit. Our only source of water was the dams and the bore holes. But as summer, the volume of the water in the dams and bore holes reduced drastically that, what to also drink was an issue. Our dirty clothes go unwashed for many months. The fishes in the streams and rivers dries as a result, we exported fishes from our neighboring nations. Many livestock

After their release from their captivity in Babylonia by the Persians the Judeans adhered to the Persian Authorization Mandate, which required the Judeans to form their own individual history, culture and religion to be accepted by all Judeans.

The story of “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is about a father's attempt to regain the custody of his daughter after a series of personal disasters. The two major characters in this story are Charlie, realistic father fighting for his daughter Honoria, and Marion, the unrealistic sister. Charlie's quest to win back Honoria, for example, is also his quest to prove to himself and those who know him that he is a new man. Only a year and half before, he was an unemployed, irresponsible alcoholic with poor taste in friends. He now presents himself to his sister's family and his former friends as a changed man, once again sober and employed, "a reformed sinner" with a new appreciation of personal character as "the eternally valuable element."

In By the Waters of Babylon by Vincent Benét, John, the protagonist, sets off on a journey to find the “Place of the Gods”–New York–in order to learn the truth about the mythological “gods” who experienced apocalypse. When John finally does arrive at the “Place of the Gods,” after being captivated by the grandeur of the “gods’” towering construction and opulent lifestyle, he experiences astral projection during which he has an epiphany. According to John, during his astral projection, his spirit is drawn out of his body, and he watches the destruction of the “Place of the Gods.” However, to his bewilderment, John realizes that the “gods” weren’t actual gods, but rather were just regular men who, due to their hauteur and unregulated assimilation

“Araby” by James Joyce and “Babylon Revisited” are both stories written to convey everyday reality and truths of the narrator’s life. William Faulkner said during his Nobel Prize acceptance speech that an author “must not leave any room in his workshop for anything but the verities and truths of the heart”. How do these particular authors write embracing Faulkner’s opinion to convey everyday life truths and realities?

When Nehemiah heard that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates were burned by fire (Neh 1:3), he wept. Now it’s our turn. Stand in the midst of your city. See the rooftops and the church steeples; even in the larger cities see the skyscrapers. These are the walls of our cities. The church steeples are our town towers. Look closely. Ask for spiritual eyes. What do we see? There is death and destruction all around. There is sadness, loss and emptiness. The walls of our own cities have fallen just like Jerusalem. The city guards have deserted their posts. Our gates have also been burned – burned by the fire of hell. Satan has infiltrated our cities, causing pain, heartache and disaster. Too long we’ve turned a blind eye. Tell me

Jeremiah - Jeremiah rebukes the people for their sins, and warns them that they must obey God. After a while, he tells the people that 'it's too late.' God will punish them for their sins. He tried to get them to understand that the Babylonians would be used by God to inflict this punishment.

God warned them that all of the wealth and possessions they had prostituted themselves to get would once again be used to buy other prostitutes. This statement may be confusing to some so look at what God is saying. The people of Israel sold their integrity, morals, and beliefs for pleasure, popularity, and personal gain. God is now telling them that all of these things will be taken from them and Satan will use them to lure other people into the same type of prostitution.

“When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: ‘For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.’” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)