By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét Feature Menu Introducing the Story Literary Focus: First-Person Point of View Literary Focus: Setting Reading Skills: Drawing Conclusions

By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét

By the Waters of Babylon Introducing the Story We thought, because we had power, we had wisdom. Stephen Vincent Benét

By the Waters of Babylon Introducing the Story “By the Waters of Babylon” is a story told by a young narrator who seeks wisdom in the ruins of a once-great civilization. As John, the narrator, explores the ruins, readers gradually come to understand the tragedy of the Great Burning and the significance of the Place of the Gods. [End of Section]

By the Waters of Babylon Literary Focus: First-Person Point of View First-Person Point of View: “I” Tells the Story When stories are written in the first person, readers share the narrator’s experience and feelings know only what the narrator knows about other characters and events

By the Waters of Babylon Literary Focus: First-Person Point of View First-Person Point of View: “I” Tells the Story Stories written from the first-person point of view often have a sense of intimacy, as if the narrator was a friend talking to us use a persona—a “mask” or voice for the fictional narrator [End of Section]

By the Waters of Babylon Literary Focus: Setting Setting: Where and When Setting is the time and place in which the action occurs. Setting can be used to create a mood, or atmosphere reveal character provide the story’s main conflict [End of Section]

By the Waters of Babylon Reading Skills: Drawing Conclusions When you read stories that present a puzzle, you look for clues and draw conclusions about what details in the story mean. Clues Conclusion solution to the story’s puzzle details from the story + your knowledge and experience =

By the Waters of Babylon Reading Skills: Drawing Conclusions As you read “By the Waters of Babylon,” pay close attention to clues about the setting. Carefully read descriptions of objects of places. Think about what the writer and narrator may not be telling you. Clues Conclusion solution to the story’s puzzle setting and descriptions of objects and places your knowledge and experience + = [End of Section]

By the Waters of Babylon Background The title of this story is an allusion, or reference, to Psalm 137 in the Bible. The psalm tells of the Israelites’ sorrow over the destruction of their temple in Zion (a reference to Jerusalem) and their enslavement in Babylon. The psalm begins, “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.” [End of Section]

Quickwrite

By the Waters of Babylon Quickwrite Make the Connection In Stephen Vincent Benét’s fantasy you’ll accompany John, the narrator, as he catches glimpses of a past civilization. Using what you know of world history, jot down some of the reasons civilizations might disappear. What role do people play in their destruction? [End of Section]

Meet the Writer

By the Waters of Babylon Meet the Writer Stephen Vincent Benét preferred to write poetry, but some of his short stories are his best-known works. Benét was the grandson of an important general and the son of a well-know colonel who instilled a love of literature and American history in his children. With this family background, it is not surprising that Benét turned to American history, folklore, and legends as topics for his stories and poems. More About the Writer [End of Section]