Period 2 - “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benét (published 1937)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feR8_8k5XGY
Strange Vocabulary: Dead Places, Old Days, Ou-dis-sun= (Hudson), Bitter Water= (Atlantic Ocean),
UBTREAS= (Subtreasury), ASHING= (Washington), newy ork
1. In one paragraph, explain what you think our society will look like in 100 years from now.
Consider some of the advancements and regressions in government, education, technology,
lifestyle, religion, entertainment, and health.
The world will be very a different place in a hundred years. I think it will be a wasteland, due to
nuclear war. Everything will be dead, and there will only be a few places to live. There will be no
more technology. The governments will all have fallen. No religions and people will be all living
very unhealthy lifestyles. That is how I think the world will look in one hundred years.
2. Why does the author use a priest and the son of a priest to tell his story?
The author uses both of the characters so he gets two different perspectives. He wants the
readers to get as many opinions as possible. Both of the characters speak differently and have
different characteristics.

The author uses a priest and the son of a priest because priests were the more educated of
anyone else in this society.
3. When a character is in conflict, there are THREE possible solutions:

Defeat

Success

A lack of resolution
Summarize the conflict in this story. If there is more than one, summarize each one. Include the
solutions for each conflict.
1. He struggles with his heart because it tells him that he should travel to the forbidden place of the
Gods. Solution = He simple decides to defeat his fear and not let his heart stop him.
2. He struggles with telling himself to finally go across the river. Solution= Again he defeats this by
not letting his fear get to him.
3. He struggles with actually crossing the river and the wild dogs that try to attack him in the place
of the Gods. Solution =
4. Benet suggests the boy’s internal conflict as he courageously faces his fear of the
forbidden.
5. He sees the panther’s quick death as a sign, resolving his inner conflict over
continuing into the forbidden area.
6. The narrator’s inner conflict becomes a choice between risking physical death and spiritual
death.
7. John’s inner conflict is his wish for knowledge versus his superstitious fear.
8.
4. What does the narrator tell about the Place of the Gods?
(Jennica, Monika, Mike, Rob)

It is across the great river, but no one is allowed to look upon it or say its name. Spirits and
demons live there, and there are ashes from the Great Burning.
5. What do these beliefs suggest about the narrator’s society?
The narrator`s beliefs lead me to believe that he may be in almost like an aboriginal village that
stayed away from society ever since the beginning and because of this they weren`t affected by
the war, that had killed the gods or the man-humans.

The society is one based upon fear and superstition. The people are controlled by strict laws.
A catastrophe of some kind (the “great burning”) occurred at an unspecified time in the past.
6.
Why does the author use first person point of view in this story?
I believe that the author used first person point of view because they wanted the reader to see
the world the same way that the priest-priest`s son did so that we can see what we are doing to
our world, from a different point of view.

Benet uses first-person point of view to confine the reader’s knowledge to that of the narrator,
John, the son of a priest.
7. Why is it that only priests can touch the metal?
-because the man and the metal must be purified

Since this is a society based on fear and superstition, this makes sense. The priests are the
most respected, most educated, and considered to be of a higher power.
8. Explain why the author included the narrator’s out-of-body experience (253). In your opinion,
was it necessary to our understanding of the story? Why or why not?
-Yes, he got to see what it is like in the city of gods, sounds like foreshadowing


He says that the spirits drew his spirit from his body
He may be dreaming, but he is definitely seeing sights of which he has no
experience. As a member of a priest’s family, he may have psychic powers.
9. Why does John’s father send him off on his own? What is a Rite of Passage?
John`s father sent him off so that he could become a priest and so that he could become a man.
A Rite of Passage is an event that someone participates in to make a transition from one status
to another. A couple of examples are Confirmation or Bar Mitzvah

His father sends him off to become a man. A Rite of Passage is a ritual performed in
some cultures at times when an individual changes status (as from adolescence to
adulthood)
10. Characterization: What characteristics does John reveal about himself along his journey? Be
sure to support your answer with proof from the story.
On John`s journey he was a very strong-willed person. He went fasting and continued on with it
even when he could have quit. John showed a lot of bravery during his journey. He continued on
his journey despite what he saw. Like when he saw all the strange things (a cooking place with
no wood)

He reveals his intelligence, resourcefulness, and self-reliance as he finds a door
to close against the attack of the wild dogs.
11. Plot – Climax: The climax of the story occurs when John realizes what?
The climax is when John realizes that the man and all the men in the place of the Gods were just
normal people. He also realizes that they are more advanced, but they`re just like him.

The climax occurs when John realizes that men, not gods, built the city and
caused the destruction of their own civilization.
12. The narrator says, “Perhaps in the old days, they ate knowledge too fast.” In a well-supported
paragraph, show how “eating knowledge too fast” might have devastating effects in our
society.
It would have a devastating affect, ``eating knowledge too fast`` because then people will
advance into the future too fast. Meaning people will be worried about the future and not
focusing on the present and therefore they won`t worry about things like war and helping
charity.
Passages from the story where the writer forms a picture in the readers mind.
“But near there, I found food, in the heart of the ruin, behind a door that still opened. I ate only the
fruits from the jars- they had a very sweet taste. There was drink, too, in bottles of glass-the drink of the
gods was strong and made my head swim. After I had eaten and drunk, I slept on the top of a stone, my
bow by my side.” (p. 251)
“He gave me the bow and three arrows. ‘Take them,’ he said. It is forbidden to travel east. It is forbidden
to cross the river. It is forbidden to go to the place of the Gods. All these things are forbidden.” (247248)
“He had sat at his window, watching his city die” (254)
Ì went fasting, as is the law. My body hurt but not my heart. When the dawn came, I was out of sight of
the village.``
``He punished me more strictly than my brothers``
``The Gods heard me – they showed me how to paddle with the pole on one side of the raft. The current
changed itself-I drew near to the place of Gods``
``It is there that there are the ashes of spirits live, and demons.``
``All the same, when I came to the place of Gods, I was afraid, I was afraid.``
``Dead places now, there are books and the writings.``
``My knowledge made me happy-it was like a fire in my heart.``(247)
``The towers are not all broken-here and there one still stands, like a great tree in a forest, and the birds
nest high.``(250)
``The I saw the dead God. He was sitting in his chair, by the window, in a room I had not entered
before…``(254)
Part II: Extracting Difficult Material
This selection can be read as a “guessing” game. You will have to recognize ordinary objects described by someone
with very little knowledge of what they are or what they are called. Identify as many items in the list below as you
can. In Column A notice the terms given, these are the narrator’s terminology; in Column B, list the current
terminology.
Column A: Narrator’s Terminology
Great Burning
Great Dead Places
Eight suns
Great river
God-road
Ou-dis-sun
Place of the Gods
Old Writings
Too big to be houses
God-roads across the river
Fire fell from the sky
Great spike of rusted metal sticking out of the river
High towers of the gods
A fair island
UBTREAS
ASHING
Shattered Image
Carved stones with magical numbers and words
Enchanted boxes and jars
Great temple with roof painted like the sky
Caves and Tunnels
Fruits from jars
Drink that made his head swim
Towers high enough, but not so high
Strong door, many stairs
Bronze door with no handles
Anteroom
Coverings on the floors
Chairs soft and deep
Picture of a bunch of flowers
Figure of a bird in hard clay
Washing place with no water
Cooking place with no wood
Lamps with no wicks
“Hot” and “Cold”
Place to make fire
Night, but not dark
Column B: Current Terminology
Nuclear holocaust
Cities
A week
Hudson River
Roads/Highways
Hudson River
New York City
Books
Tall buildings
Bridges
Bombs
Piling – support for bridge
Skyscrapers
Manhattan
Subtreasury aka Federal Hall National
Memorial
Washington
Statue
Cornerstones; addresses
Groceries
Grand Central Station
Subway system
Jams
Liquor
Apartments
Apartment building
Elevator
Foyer
Rugs
Easy Chairs/Recliners
Impressionist Painting
Ceramic Statue
Sink
Stove
Electric Lights
Faucets
Fireplace
His vision of the city, dream; lights of the city
Chariots
Gods
Turned night into day
Mist that poisoned
The destruction
Poison still in the ground
Flew in the air
All the magic they had
Dead god
Magic tools are broken
Newyork
Gods – Lincoln, Biltmore, Moses
Hill people
Unbelievable tools
Big room looking over the city
Catacombs
Bitter water
Enchanted box with food
Roaring in my ears
2 Towers
Great windows
Cars
Men
Street lights/signs
Radiation
Result of War
Fallout – radiation
Airplanes
Knowledge/Technology
Body – mummified
Machines
New York
Abe Lincoln, Biltmore hotel, Biblical Figure
Primitive hunting society
Bulldozers, cranes, etc.
Livingroom/penthouse
Subways
the Sea; Ocean
Refrigerator
Sounds of traffic
Twin Towers
Picture Windows