Although Stephen Vincent Benét gained popularity for his poetry and stories during his lifetime, little scholarly attention has been paid to his work. Some of his works, however, including his epic poem about the Civil War, John Brown’s Body , and his short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster” are considered minor classics. He was…
Tag: Stephen Vincent Benet
An End to Dreams – Setting
The Jazz Age American society went through a period of dramatic change in the aftermath of World War I. Traditional beliefs in God, country, and humanity were shaken as Americans faced the devastation of a war of this magnitude. The resulting feelings of confusion and dislocation led to a questioning and often a rejection of…
An End to Dreams – Literary Devices
Foreshadowing Benét uses foreshadowing to good effect in the story as he drops hints that Rimington is not what he appears to be. When he looks in the mirror as he is lying on the hospital bed, he admits that his face “seemed like the face of an utter stranger.” He is in a “shaken…
An End to Dreams – Themes
The American Dream Benét explores the destructive aspects of the American dream and suggests an altered version. In his dream, James follows the traditional plot of the dream, which involves rising from poverty to the top of the corporate world, amassing wealth and power along the way. He envisions, however, the destructive consequences of this…
An End to Dreams – Characters
Toby Beach Toby is a popular classmate of James, even though the boy is “fat and placid.” He teaches James that “if you had a pony and your father owned the bank, they wouldn’t laugh at you.” Toby’s father offers James a job at his bank that, in his dream, he rejects. In reality, though,…
An End to Dreams – Summary
Benét was a great advocate of America’s entry into World War II as evidenced by a speech he wrote for President Roosevelt. He also worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood and wrote a series of radio scripts, including Listen to the People (1941) They Burned the Books (1942). Benét was plagued with bad vision throughout…
By the Waters of Babylon – Analysis
‘‘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…
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….