A Thematic Analysis Of John's Story

The world has ended; cities destroyed, society in ruin. The world we used to know is nothing, but a remnant of a time long gone. Imagine a world where humanity has been reverted back into its tribal state. A world that must pick up the fragments of the past, and start anew. This can all be seen through the eyes of a young member of a Hill Tribe that is ready for priesthood. What we see, is the son of a priest that is experiencing a spiritual journey. John, the name if the priest’s son, has strong recurring dreams about the city where the gods lived in it’s prime. This is why John decided to partake in the spiritual journey. As he continues on his expedition, we begin to see that he is extremely calculating and headstrong. His cunning nature

It is best that the story is told through John because we only know what he does. If John tells us about his priesthood than that is what we know about his priesthood. If the story was told through third person, than we would already know the setting and the big twist in the end. Naivety is extremely important when trying to reveal an important part of the

One can live with the knowledge of a subject without knowing the truth, or having the truth and not knowing what to do with this knowledge. John is a perfect example of this because he was raised on the knowledge that the gods were absolute, but he sought out the truth for himself. He found out that the gods that his people worshipped were just people like them. “Then I saw the dead god. He was sitting in his chair, by the window, in a room I had not entered before and, for the first moment, I thought that he was alive. Then I saw the skin on the back of his hand—it was like dry leather. The room was shut, hot and dry—no doubt that had kept him as he was. At first I was afraid to approach him—then the fear left me. He was sitting looking out over the city—he was dressed in the clothes of the gods. His age was neither young nor old—I could not tell his age. But there was wisdom in his face and great sadness. You could see that he would have not run away. He had sat at his window, watching his city die—then he himself had died. But it is better to lose one's life than one's spirit—and you could see from the face that his spirit had not been lost. I knew, that, if I touched him, he would fall into dust—and yet, there was something unconquered in the face. That is all of my story, for then I knew he was a