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The Main Themes In 'By The Waters Of Babylon'

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Recommended: Theme of isolation in literature

This complex story revolves around the idea of finding yourself and breaking free of certain limits that are set for you from the very start. The main character in the story is shown to be traveling to a forbidden area to gain new knowledge while along the way breaking taboos and superstitions his tribe created. It is solely based on a journey regarding curiosity and discovery. The protagonist and main character in this short story is John, a young male who becomes a priest after his father takes him to the Dead Places and makes him touch the metal. John starts to have dreams about seeing a “river, and, beyond it, a great Dead Place and in it the Gods walking.” John believes that he is given a sign through the dreams to visit the “Place of Gods”. He is passionate when it comes to the Gods, he loves to hear stories about them during the ancient times. John is a very hard-headed and ambitious character, his persistence is the only factor that makes him continue his long and tiring journey. John at the start of his journey feels very unsure of whether he should head East. He rests for awhile to wait for more signs. In the story, he says “my body hurt but not my heart”. …show more content…

In fact, this story takes place in the future where war caused the impact of isolation. This story’s setting takes place after “The Great Burning”. The Great Buring is described as a nuclear war attack with words such as “fire coming from the sky”. Cities full of people no longer exists, and the entire country is back to becoming tribes. No modern transportation is no longer available and the only way to travel is with the foot. John travels East and during his journey sees the Hudson River, and the Grand Central Terminal. John describes the terminal as a mighty temple because it had stars drawn on it. Also, it is believed that John’s tribe resides in modern-day

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