Answer:
“By the Waters of Babylon” is set in a post-apocalyptic, post-technological world where people hunt for their food with bows and arrows and their priests scavenge the “Dead Places” for metal. John, the protagonist and first-person narrator, belongs to the tribe of the Hill People and is the son of a priest. The Hill People consider themselves culturally superior to the rival tribe of the Forest People, and live by dogmatic laws that, among other things, forbid them from traveling east, crossing the Ou-dis-son river, visiting the Place of the Gods (which was destroyed in “The Great Burning”), and saying the true name of the Place of the Gods.
John’s father and the other priests teach John reading, writing, healing, and “magic,” and John is fascinated by the stories about the gods. The story follows John on his initiation quest, a journey he undertakes in order to be recognized by his tribe as a man and a priest. John chooses the path of his journey based on visions and his reading of signs in the natural world. John’s desire for new knowledge leads him to break many of the laws of his tribe. He travels to the Place of the Gods, even though he is afraid that he will die there. Instead, he discovers that many of the stories about the Place of the Gods are inaccurate. The island is not filled with magical mists, the ground is not burning with eternal flames, nor is it populated by spirits and demons. Instead, John finds a vast Dead Place, a city of ruined towers. As he explores the city and learns more and more, John’s sense of fear diminishes.
Explanation:
