Thus the falling action consists of his return back to his father and his tribal grouping before his conversation with his father and the resolution of the story: I had no fear after that – I had no fear going home, though twice I fought off the dogs and I was hunted for two days by the Forest People.

Basically, John sees New York City as it is now. That dream sequence is the climax to the story. It’s completely overwhelming to him, but more importantly it is the main turning point in the story. The dream gives him knowledge that gods didn’t live in the city.

The resolution is John returning to to his people and vowing to begin restoring all of their lost knowledge.

What is the main conflict in by the waters of Babylon? John’s internal conflict is his fears while he is trying to figure out if the “Gods” are dead. John’s external conflict is against real or imagined outside threats, such as a pack of wild dogs and the Hudson River, which almost gets rid of him.

The Forest People are the rival tribe to the Hill People. They are ignorant, eat grubs, and hunt the Hill People.

The first of these is an internal conflict (man against himself) and the second is an external conflict. The internal conflict is solved when the external conflict is resolved. When John defeats “nature” (the panther) he takes that as a sign telling him how to resolve his internal conflict. So, there are two conflicts.

What conflict occurs in the passage? An external conflict between the narrator and her mother over whether the girl on television is playing well.

The theme of the story is to seek knowledge, as John set’s out on his journey purely because of his “knowledge and lack of knowledge” He wished to know more. This theme plays out in flash backs to his childhood (where he ate the fruit), to when he crosses the river, and finally in his discoveries in the village.

How does “By the Waters of Babylon” offer a strong example of dramatic irony? the reader understands more about the Place of the Gods than John does. John finally learns the truth about the gods.

John wants to build society again, to make those same advances in technology and in wisdom. He wants to have all of the knowledge that the people in the city of the gods had. He realizes that even though these people had all the knowledge and advancements that they could want, they did not use it wisely.

What conclusion can you draw from this passage from “By the Waters of Babylon”? There was also the shattered image of a man or a god. It had been made of white stone and he wore his hair tied back like a woman’s.

When John goes to sleep that night, he dreams. He dreams of New York in its prime. He sees the city at night with all of its lights, busy people, traffic, and noise. I looked out of another window — the great vines of their bridges were mended and god-roads went east and west.

Since our wills are not active in our dreams, but instead our unconscious mind paints a lively symbolic scenario based on an idea, wish, or desire, there is no moral culpability–no sin–on our part, no matter what happens in the dream.

The Bible not only talks about sleeping too much, which is a sin. The Bible also says we can sleep at the wrong times, slumbering in place of doing very important things. Jesus said, “Sleep and take your rest later on” (Matthew 26:45). There’s a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

It was fire falling out of the sky and a mist that poisoned. It was the time of the Great Burning and the Destruction. They ran about like ants in the streets of their city—poor gods, poor gods!

John believes he is being told to go east. John, the narrator, is the son of a priest of the Hill people. He has studied for the priesthood with his father and now has come of age. As part of his initiation rite into the priesthood, he has a dream about a gigantic Dead Place in the time of its glory.

What thing of value do the priests get from the Dead Places? When and why does John paint his body for death? When he’s getting ready to cross the river he paints his body because he thinks he’s going to die. Name two kinds of creatures that survive in the ruins of the great Dead Places.

It is his intense desire to gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding that drives him to the place of the gods. His desire for knowledge is satisfied as he learns the great truth that the gods “were men” just like him.

The three things that John and members of his society have forbidden are named in the very first paragraph of the story. It is forbidden to go east. It is forbidden to go to the Dead Places (unless you are a priest searching for metal). It is forbidden to cross the great river and look at the Place of the Gods.

He sees an eagle, 3 deer and a white fawn, and kills a panther.