‘‘By the Waters of Babylon’’ is a story plagued by its uniqueness. It is given too much credit for being a landmark work by some, and yet too little credit for popularizing the science fiction genre by others. Both views are valid, and both must be understood to view the story in the context of…
Tag: By the Waters of Babylon
By the Waters of Babylon – Setting
The Spanish Civil War At the time Benet wrote ‘‘By the Waters of Babylon,’’ a civil war was raging in Spain. In the first decades of the twentieth century, Spain was a country in conflict with itself. Toward the end of the nineteenth century the country was governed as a republic, but this quickly gave…
By the Waters of Babylon – Literary Devices
Science Fiction ‘‘By the Waters of Babylon’’ is considered science fiction by most definitions of the genre. Science fiction is literature that focuses on how science and technology affect humanity and the world around us. Although no single definition is widely accepted, science fiction in general depicts a world different from our own, but different…
By the Waters of Babylon – Themes
The Potential Dangers of Technological Progress In the story, the catastrophe called the Great Burning appears to have destroyed most of human civilization. Although the exact reason for the Great Burning is never revealed, it is suggested that technological progress allowed humans to develop weapons powerful enough to destroy each other on a massive scale….
By the Waters of Babylon – Characters
John John is the main character and narrator of ‘‘By the Waters of Babylon.’’ When the story begins, he is a boy from a tribe known as the Hill People. His father is a priest who performs purifying rituals and is also responsible for traveling into the regions known as Dead Places. These are the…
By the Waters of Babylon – Summary
‘‘By the Waters of Babylon’’ begins with a brief summary of the rules of a tribe that is later identified as the People of the Hills. This group allows hunting to the west, north, and south, but no one is allowed to travel to the east. People are also forbidden from going to the Dead…