Stephen Vincent Benet's By The Waters Of Babylon

What if everything you grew up believing about your past, the very basis of your lifestyle, was a lie? John, the naive narrator of Stephen Vincent Benet’s “By the Waters of Babylon” discovers this while on a spiritual journey. As a future priest of his people, John has big dreams of pursuing knowledge. He sets off to the forbidden Place of the Gods in search of what he desires, but finds that everything he thought he knew is wrong. John’s tale of discovery and personal growth begins with a hunger for knowledge and ends with wisdom gained from finding the truth. In John’s society it is common knowledge that many things are forbidden, including travelling east, going to the Dead Places unless in search of metal, touching the metal without being a priest or the son of the priest, and crossing the great river and looking upon the Place of the Gods. As a young boy John accompanies his father to a Dead Place and holds a piece of metal. He does not die and, as common knowledge states, was found to be his father’s son and a future priest. From that point on John is taught chants and spells, how to stop a wound from bleeding, how to read and write in the old way, and many secrets. This is the beginning of his passion for knowledge. He states, “My knowledge made me happy--it was like a

He sees and hears cars, lights, great bridges, buildings and roads. The works of the gods are nothing short of magic to him. However, he is still able to say, “And yet not all they did was well done… their wisdom could not but grow until all was peace.” John then watches as the city is destroyed by fire falling from the sky and poison mist (Benet 320). From this he learns that knowledge does not guarantee prosperity. Despite the gods extensive knowledge, they were very flawed and their civilization was doomed. The gods John has grown up believing to be perfect were as flawed as his own