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By The Waters Of Babylon Summary

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“If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows.” (Mountbatten) “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet was written after WWI when the nations were debating if nuclear war was the answer. Benet, who was anti-nuclear war, wrote this story to represent what could happen to the United States if we were to go into a nuclear war with another nation. More specifically, what could happen in New York City, the city of dreams and opportunities. Although this story is fiction, it resembles the Hiroshima attack which caused terror in the city and people. An article written by Lily Rothman shows multiple people’s point of view, having interviews and quotes from survivors explaining what …show more content…

His father warned him about his dream of the Gods and who they really are, challenging his son’s choice to go on his journey. Once he left for his journey he came to the realization that the Gods Place was not deadly but ruined from a war that taken place previously. John describes the city, explaining that the towers were not broken completely as one or two of them standed tall. The longer he stays in the Gods Place he speaks of the gods, picturing what happened in the city that is now stained by the Great Burning and roads that are cracked and broken almost as if something smashed into the ground. As the story explains, “When gods war with gods, they use weapons we do not know. It was fire falling from the sky and a mist that poisoned. It was a time of the Great Burning and the destruction. They ran about like ants in the streets of their city.” (Benet 7) While the details in the story are small and could be easily missed, when comparing it later events this story is very insightful on what could happen in the future if nuclear war is used. The author portrays the aftermath of nuclear war, “Here and there were the marks and stains of the Great Burning, on the ruins, that is true” (Benet 4), similar to what the Hiroshima Article presents, concluding how many deaths and how much damage can be caused purely from nuclear

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One often wonders if they would be able to survive in a time of crisis, some spend a bunch of time and money preparing for a crisis. Survival of the fittest refers to natural selection which is “the idea that species that acquire adaptations that are favorable for their environment will pass down those adaptations to their offspring” (Scoville 1). Survival of the fittest means “the best physical specimen of the species and only those in the best shape and best health will survive in nature” (Scoville 1). In Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon survival of the fittest comes into play in time of crisis; Randy Bragg, Edgar Quisenberry and Preacher Henry find this out the hard way after The Day.

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In “By The Waters of Babylon” the narrator John travels to the city of the gods, (which is forbidden) because he had seen the gods in his dreams. When he gets there he discovers a dull and abandoned town of New York. He then realizes that the gods were just men.

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Bradley In "By The Waters of Babylon" is trying to astablish more structure. It was presented as an organized state. It was open to new forms of government. The people of Babylon had temples to the gods where they made sacrifices to the gods.

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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.

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The bomb turned the city to, “Rubbles and ashes.” (Bradbury 29) The city at night gave off a, “Radioactive glow that could be seen for miles.” (Bradbury 29) It is clear that the technology in control of the nuclear silos turned against humanity, along with other technology.

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Breaking The Rules In Stephen Vincent Benét's By The Waters Of Babylon

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Benét writes about John being conflicted with decisions about breaking the rules, which is shown through the use of internal conflict. John is the son of a priest and has followed rules his entire life (Benét 315). He tells his father about dreams he has been having, and he decides to go on a quest with the permission of his father (Benét 316). He waits for signals to tell him where to go, and after getting these signals, which were an eagle and three deer with a white fawn going east, he decides to go east (Benét 316-7).

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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 . . .

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In the short story, By the Waters of Babylon, the narrator is on a journey for knowledge and discovers unexpected truths that change his beliefs. On his journey, John makes the highly significant discovery that the Place of the Gods was just a city, and that the Gods themselves weren’t actually gods; in fact, they were man, just lie to himself and his people. This shatters all of the myths, taboos, and many cultural beliefs of his people. A lot of their existence centers around those mythical “gods” and the strict rules concerning their dead places and the great burning. John realizes, on his journey, the significance of this discovery.

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Launching into a perilous pursuit of enlightenment, By the Waters of Babylon explores the profound implications of forbidden knowledge. In a post-apocalyptic world shrouded in enigma and taboo, Stephen Vincent Benet presents us with John, a young priest whose unyielding curiosity propels him to uncover the truths hidden beyond his tribe's societal confines. This essay will delve into the intricate relationship between the insatiable desire for comprehension and the severe consequences that accompany its acquisition. Benet's narrative is more than a tale of personal growth; it is a metaphor for the collective human journey, questioning the core of our pursuit of knowledge amidst uncertainty. "By the Waters of Babylon" is set in a future post-apocalyptic

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After exploring the god roads and going into one of the buildings, John has a vision in which he sees that those who once lived in this place were men, not gods, and that they were destroyed by fire that fell from the sky. In actuality, this is New York City in the far distant future, and it has been destroyed by bombs. Once John learns that the gods were men, he returns home where his father warns him not to tell his people the truth. Too much truth all at once could destroy their society.

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If I had come there, a god, I also would have built. ” We could also confirm that John wasn’t on his journey during summer or fall because he doesn’t say that there were leaves on the ground and he also says that the rain has helped the grass

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By The Waters Of Babylon Theme Essay

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Likewise, after John woke up from his dream, he went through the dead-house to find out why the Great Burning happened. He found a dead god in a room that seemed to still have spirit still left in him and realized, “It is a great knowledge, hard to tell and believe. They were men – they went a dark road” (Benét, 254). John ironically discovers that there were no gods or demons, they were just men like himself and he would not die. He finds the truth, that men can also be capable of such knowledge and destruction, very surprising.

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