ipl-logo

By The Waters Of Babylon Literary Analysis

1389 Words6 Pages

To what extent does self-preservation address the practical issues and necessary changes in society? After times of war and horror, self-preservation is one of the natural laws that states in order to survive, man must first seek peace and relief. Such themes appear in “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Benét, who wrote his story in a post-apocalyptic society where the society controls the idea of ‘providing’ relief and control, that is, self-preservation by bounding its peoples with superstitions and laws , so that are anyone hardly made aware of the devastating past of the ‘Great Burning’. “These things are forbidden—they have been forbidden since the beginning of time.” (Benét 416) The main protagonist John is a young man, the son of a priest, whose mind is motivated and fueled of “fire in [his] bowels, a fire in [his] mind” (420) , and wants to find the whole truth about the devastating past. Benét’s post apocalyptic short-story describes the eye-opening realization of the young man, as he defies his society’s way of self-preservation and embarks on a perilous journey to satisfy his curiosity for truth. This story takes place in a future civilization that “has been nearly destroyed by a war”(415). The society, since …show more content…

Albeit, the society’s ways of self-preservation is placed with the intention of preventing disaster and contacts, but was it a realistic and practical approach? The lawmakers do not realize, as John does, that change must be made if there is to be learning and progress. Ignorance is no avail to any situations, as is an analogy of being reactive rather than proactive. John, with his truth, wins the battle against self-preservation; just like John’s eye-opening realization, the ultimate reward for the truth is the rebirth of an even better

Show More
Related
57 Words | 1 Pages

The following document reflects on the subjective matters and different thoughts of an author on the human actions. In Theodore Dalrymple “what we have to lose”, the author seems to questions human integrity, argues on the rule of barbarism and describes civilization as the key. I personally, happen to agree to all the arguments made by

Read More
448 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
669 Words | 3 Pages

How closely related can two stories written decades apart really be? “Fahrenheit 451” written by Ray Bradbury in 1951 and “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephan Benet written in 1937 both have heaps of information on the topic of nuclear annihilation. “Fahrenheit 451” and “By the Waters of Babylon” correlate but still deviate with remarkable characters, brilliant themes, and detailed literary elements. The characters in “Fahrenheit 451” relate to those in “By the Water of Babylon”

Read More
148 Words | 1 Pages

We must build again.” With John’s optimism to rebuild and learn, his passion to share his knowledge gives hope to bring back the civilization that has been lost to warfare and hate. He says on page 8, “Perhaps in the old days they ate knowledge too fast. “ With this he acknowledges that he will learn from the mistakes evident

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

By the Waters of Babylon Vs. World War Z  "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benet, and "World War Z" by Max Brooks are both different depictions of the future, but when you look closely they do share some similarities. Both are about a hero surviving in what has plagued their world, and going on a journey of self-discovery. They both have enemies to overcome and secrets to find.   "By the Waters of Babylon" and "World War Z" Both take place in different eras of civilization.

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

Between 5000 and 2500 B.C., small kingdoms were set in the Middle Eastern parts from the Tigris-Euphrates River valley and then to the Nile valley. Those small kingdoms, named the “cradle of civilization”, were ruled by a king. The king was considered the head of power, making the laws and serving justice for any wrongdoings. The king was the absolute ruler and provider. This system of authority was one of the earliest contributions to an idea of law enforcement.

Read More
441 Words | 2 Pages

The interpretation of the theme – truth in “By the Waters of Babylon” In the short story “By the Waters of Babylon” the author Stephen Vincent Benét conveys the theme, “truth is a hard deer to hunt, if you eat too much of it at once, you may die of the truth” (Benét, 255). Which is a hyperbolic metaphor that means truth is like knowledge, hard to find. So, if too much of it is eaten at once, death is likely; as in truth is dangerous and hard to regulate among people if it is boundless. When the protagonist John was tired after travelling to the forbidden Place of Gods seeking knowledge, he fell asleep in one of the big dead-houses.

Read More
1232 Words | 5 Pages

Sapp John Sapp Hensley English 11/ Fourth Period 05 February 2018 Part 12: Rough Draft “Babylon Revisited” is a very detailed and well written story that has many ups and downs bound to leave the reader on the edge of their seat. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses many different types of writing techniques in “Babylon Revisited” to make this story grab the reader’s attention even more so than some of his previous works. Fitzgerald’s style portrays one of the most important aspects of this book by far, setting the tone for this story giving you more details throughout.

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

In this story “ By the Waters of Babylon”, we find out later in the story that the character’s name is John. He is the son of a priest. He is John son of John. John is the protagonist in the story. In the beginning of the story you see that John’s father is a priest and he is going through houses looking for metal in the Dead Places.

Read More
307 Words | 2 Pages

It’s easy for things to be forgotten especially if their broke or you never knew the full meaning of them. A short story written by Benet, “by the waters of Babylon” and the poem written by Percy Shelley, ”Ozymandias” share a similar theme. In both of these pieces present parallel stories that revolve around things that have been broken or forgotten. Even though the readings have a similar theme, they aren’t exactly alike.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1984 society , people are purposely left to feel alone to make them fear getting caught by the Party. Although many people commit thoughtcrime, they will remain silent because they know the consequences of engaging in rebellion. This constant source of fear holds the community together and manipulates people’s thought processes. The government often leaves the people

Read More
801 Words | 4 Pages

“A strange fire because it meant something to him… [fire] could give as much as it could take” (145-146). Away from the corrupt civilization of censorship and conflagration, Montag sees even more in fire than he had seen before. Before, fire had been a way to shut down life and shadow the natural mind and rational world. But now, Montag sees fire in the light of starting a new life. Fire becomes a way to get rid of the past and look toward the future.

Read More
1212 Words | 5 Pages

What Are the Basic Differences Between Democrats and Republicans? The political party is an organization of people who share similar ideas about the way the country should be governed. Political parties perform important tasks in government. In fact, political parties select candidates, check the other party and inform the public.

Read More
815 Words | 4 Pages

Conformity is something that humans have been doing for a long time. Such conformity has lead to negative outcomes. This idea is explored through “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut and “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden. In these two texts conformity eliminates individuality and causes the society to be weakened.

Read More
253 Words | 2 Pages

In this day and age,others believe that the .. story of Gilgamesh is a well respected story that is to be unique. I believe it's just a special and it's just an ordinary cliché a type of book.it also even shares the same type of events with other trilogies. ideal examples perhaps the Bible and Noah's Arc. Gilgamesh a demigod/king discovers he's not a superior than he thought.

Read More

More about By The Waters Of Babylon Literary Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document