By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Ben

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By the Waters of Babylonby Stephen Vincent Benét
Feature Menu
Introducing the Story Literary Focus
First-Person Point of View Literary Focus
Setting Reading Skills Drawing Conclusions
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By the Waters of Babylonby Stephen Vincent Benét
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By the Waters of BabylonIntroducing the Story
We thought, because we had power, we had
wisdom. Stephen Vincent Benét
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By the Waters of BabylonIntroducing 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.

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By the Waters of BabylonLiterary 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 narrators experience and feelings

• know only what the narrator knows about other
  characters and events

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By the Waters of BabylonLiterary 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 personaa mask or voice for the fictional
  narrator

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By the Waters of BabylonLiterary 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 storys main conflict

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By the Waters of BabylonReading 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
details from the story

your knowledge and experience

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By the Waters of BabylonReading 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
setting and descriptions of objects and places
your knowledge and experience


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By the Waters of BabylonBackground
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.
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Quickwrite
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By the Waters of BabylonQuickwrite
Make the Connection
In Stephen Vincent Benéts fantasy youll
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?
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Meet the Writer
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By the Waters of BabylonMeet the Writer
By the Waters of BabylonMeet 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
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