Throughout John’s quest in the short story‚ “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet‚ the consequences of knowledge are reflected by the setting. Set in the future‚ John’s homeland is disguised to lead the reader to believe the story is in fact‚ in the past. East of his home‚ “Dead Places” are considered dangerous and must not be entered unless the character is a priest or the son of a priest. The bones and barren materials of these “Dead Places” keeps the people at bay and stuck in a
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The Valuable Lesson In the story “By The Waters of Babylon” author‚ Stephen Vincent Benèt‚ talks about a man by the name of John‚ and how the decision he made changed his life forever. John had to make a decision when he came across a river. You could not cross it if you were purified. However‚ John was not‚ but he still made the decision to cross the river. John comes to learn that some things happen for a reason‚ but it can only make you stronger. John came to learn a very valuable lesson
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"Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If you eat too much truth at once‚ you may die of the truth. It was not idly that our fathers forbade the Dead Places." The truth is a very important thing for an individual. It can be very useful or very destructive depending on how it is used. The significance of the quote made by John’s father could be broken down in to three different sections according to each statement. First of these statements is "Truth is a had deer to hunt." the second of these statements
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In the passage “by the water of Babylon”. (Stephen Vincent Benet) I think during the story the author explains the main characters feelings‚ “This is a very strong dream‚ it may eat you up”.(benet) meaning that the son has very strong feeling towards going on this journey. He explains what type of precaution he has to go through to get his destination meaning saying chants‚ praying and looking for signs of good luck or bad luck. I knew prior to reading this passage that there was a lot of death during
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In the short story‚ By the Waters of Babylon‚ by Stephen Vincent Benet‚ (April 25‚ 1963) the name seems to be given based on that Babylon was once the largest city in the world for 300 years in 539 b.c.‚ Babylon was a very advanced society for the time of its construction‚ and the name Babylon means Gate of the Gods in the language Akkadian. Babylon was one of the largest cities in the world for one hundred years‚ then it lost most of its valor for a few hundred years then later became the biggest
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By the Waters of Babylon (Paragraph) In the short story‚ “By the Waters of Babylon‚” the human quest for knowledge is sometimes dangerous but cannot be extinguished. John understands that the only way to gain more knowledge is to explore the world around him even though such expedition involves great risks. During the conversation between John and his father‚ he expresses his true thoughts about himself. He feels the need to finally go on a journey to fulfill his burning desire for more insight
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In the course of time‚ technology will soon take over if it is not controlled. “By the Waters of Babylon”‚ written by Stephen Vincent Benét‚ tells the story of a young member of the Hill People who has been curious about the ancient civilization before him. Benét is trying to get the message out to his readers that mankind is becoming so dependent on technology and machines that they will soon destroy themselves‚ It also creates a disturbing view on what was going to happen to mankind if they continued
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In the short story “By the Waters of Babylon”‚ by Stephen Vincent Benét is a about a priest’s son who goes on a journey to find the truth about the Dead Places which is discovered as the ruins of New York City destroyed by the “gods”. The major theme of this short story is knowledge and it perceives it as knowledge without wisdom is nothing. John’s character reveals his desire to find the truth and have more knowledge on his journey when he says‚ “It is better than to lose one’s life than one’s spirit”
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Albert Einstein once said‚ “ I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” In the story By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Benét‚ the priest found this out. Technology can be destructive. Overall‚ technology can destroyed both infrastructure and intellect. Technology has and will destroy infrastructure. To begin with‚ the priest‚ John‚ explains his thoughts about the eastern lands. The priest said‚ “It is there that spirits live
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The main character in the story “By the waters of Babylon” is John‚ a boy who can be look at as a very mature. He notices on his little journey that the land he is in is now in ruins‚ but even though everything was destroyed he feels that the society can be built up once again if they take everything in a slow pace. As a new priest he takes his people and wants to make a new beginning he wants to have they same knowledge that we had before we died. John wants to build a new broken city back into
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