By the Waters of Babylon

In By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét, John, a son of a priest, goes on a journey to a forbidden land. His father told him not to go to any of the Dead Places but inside he knew that his son would go either way. John travels by himself in search of the land and while he is traveling he changes as an individual. By going on his journey to The Place of the Gods, John becomes more responsible, intelligent, and less afraid of the world around him. 

John becomes more responsible by going on his journey because he lived and traveled by himself. For instance, John’s father gave him the word to go and travel but as a young boy that John is, it is not that easy to be lonesome. John had to be prepared for the worst environment since he had no shelter in The Place of the Gods but he was confident enough that he could survive. Additionally, John had to be ready to fight for himself just incase he was attacked. Dogs started bombarding, “I had just found a doorI could open when the dogs decided to rush,” but John was ready to win against them, as he did. John matured on his trip to The Land of the Gods. 

On his journey, John becomes more intelligent. For example, John saw what a washing machine, “a washing-place but no water”, was on his journey. He also found out what a stove, “a cooking-place but no wood”, was. In John’s tribe they didn’t have neither washing machines nor stoves so he found out something new which made him know even more. Also, John learned just by traveling to a place that he hasn’t been to before. He saw new ways of life and when he came back home he was excited to share them. John became smarter through his journey because he learned new things everywhere he looked.  

John went to a place that was forbidden to go to, so when he accomplished his journey and returned home safety, he became was braver. For instance, John’s father told him not to go to The Place of the Gods but John did anyways. Since John was on his own it was harder and more stressful but he managed to over come his fears and accomplish his goal. Also, John thought that he was going to die when trying to cross the river. He said, “I said the sayings for the dead and painted my self for death.” Even though he was almost sure that he was going to die, he still took the risk to cross the river. By going on his journey, John became more courageous when he cross the river and then even entered the land of the dead. 

Intelligent and adventurous John, changes through out the short story. In the beginning, John was naive and obeyed all his fathers rules. When his father told him about the forbidden lands, John couldn’t get his mind off of wanting to go there. He is a young boy who wants to see the life outside his small little village. John faced many challenges though his journey but at the end he became more mature. By being a rebel and due to not listening to his father, John ends up learning about other peoples lives. He changes as an individual into an even better person than he was before.