"By the Waters of Babylon" is a post-apocalyptic
short story by Stephen Vincent Benet, published
July 31, 1937 in The Saturday Evening Post as
“The Place of the Gods.”
Western Literature on October 28, 2014
“By the Waters of Babylon”
An allusion is a reference to a statement,
person, place, thing, or event from another
text or from history or culture.
It is only effective if the reader is familiar
with whatever is being alluded to.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
Authors generally trust readers to recognize
or discover the connection between an
allusion and its purpose in the writing.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
Allusions add another layer of meaning.
Think about how the title of this story to add
another meaning to it.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
The story is told from first-person point of
view. The person who tells the story
is called the narrator.
A first-person narrator uses the pronoun “I”
to refer to himself or herself.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
In first-person narratives, the author may
adopt an identity--or persona. This persona
allows the author to present the setting
through a distinct character’s eyes.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
Stephen Vincent Benét uses a persona named
John to guide readers and point out
significant details to introduce them to a
bizarre future world.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
First-person narrators
can only tell what they themselves know-their own feelings, thoughts, experiences,
and their observations about other
characters.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
First-person narrators
can’t see into the mind of another
character or know what is happening in
faraway places.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
Authors imagine the setting and then use
details to help the reader see it. The details
the narrator points out can help to establish
tone and character. People usually notice
things that are important to them or that
reflect their moods or attitudes.
“By the Waters of Babylon”
Allusion
» References Psalm 137 in the Bible
» Isrealites’ sorrow over the
destruction of their temple in Zion
and their enslavement into Babylon
» The psalm begins “By the waters of
Babylon, there we sat down and
wept, when we remembered Zion”
Read Psalm 137 - How does the title’s Biblical
Allusion connect to the theme of the story?
By the rivers of Babylon we sat
6 May my tongue cling to the roof
and wept
of my mouth
when we remembered
if I do not remember you,
Zion.
if I do not consider Jerusalem
2 There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
my highest joy.
3 for there our captors asked us
7 Remember, O LORD, what the
for songs,
Edomites did
our tormentors demanded
on the day Jerusalem fell.
songs of joy;
"Tear it down," they cried,
they said, "Sing us one of
the songs of Zion!"
"tear it down to its foundations!"
4 How can we sing the songs of the 8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed
LORD
to destruction,
while in a foreign land?
happy is he who repays you
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
for what you have done to usmay my right hand forget
9 he who seizes your infants
its skill .
and dashes them against the
rocks.
Purpose of the Allusion
The Israelites lost their
"promised land" of Israel from
which they have been exiled.
Their homeland was
destroyed and its people
scattered.
The message of the short
story’s allusion: the eventual
threat of self-destruction if
we are unable to curb our
thirst for knowledge - and
not "eat it too fast."
Point of View
» 1st person point of view
» Limited knowledge given to
the reader from this point of
view. Only seeing what that
character sees and knows.
» How does this enrich the
story?
Mood
» The mood of a story is the
atmosphere the author helps
create to make the reader
feel a certain way.
» Remember that tone is not
the same thing as mood. Tone
is the writer’s own attitude
toward the subject.
Symbolism
.Symbolism is the use of symbols to
signify ideas and qualities by giving
them symbolic meanings that are
different from their literal sense. It
can take different forms: object,
action, or event. Symbols do shift
their meanings depending on the
context they are used in. “A chain”,
for example, may stand for “union”
as well as “imprisonment.”
The Great River, Ou-dis-sun was
The Hudson River
Old Books and Writings were…
Books written in English that
existed before our society was
destroyed
The Old Days were….
The days before The Great
Burning, our “present day”
The God Roads were…
The Concrete
roads we used
to use
The Bitter Water was…
The Ocean
The Place of the Gods was…
New York
UBTREAS was…
The Sub Treasury in New York,
now called Federal Hall National
Memorial
Ashing was…
A Statue of George Washington in
Union Square, New York City
The temple with the stars for a
roof was…
The ceiling at Grand Central Station
Theme
A unifying central idea, expression, or
motif of a literary work.
Topic: Technology
Technology can lead to the downfall of society.
Topic: Coming of Age
For a boy/girl to become a man/woman,
he/she must go on a journey (Spirit Walk) to
achieve wisdom.
Topic: “Rite of Passage”
A dangerous challenge must be attempted and succeeded
to earn respect from the elders.
Write your own thematic
statement.
A unifying central idea, expression, or
motif of a literary work.
1. Your topic is “knowledge.”
2. Write a thematic statement about this
topic. (What does the author or the story
say about knowledge?) It must be universal. \
Things to Consider:
» The Tower of Babel
» The Fall of Man (The Tree of Knowledge)
» Technology as the Downfall of Society
» Knowledge = Technology, Advancement,
Industrialization, Innovation, Power, etc.
Archetypes
» What archetypes are present
in the story?
» Review the questions.
Homework
» Prepare for Bible
presentations on Wednesday.