Thirst and Desire for Knowledge: By the Waters of Babylon Essay

"By the Waters of Babylon" is a story narrated by a young man called John. John is the son of a priest, and he is designated to become a priest. He introduces himself clearly by saying 'My father is a priest; I am the son of a priest. I have been in the Dead Places near us, with my father-at first, I was afraid'. From the statement, John is afraid of the 'Dead Places', but since he was designated to be a priest, he has to be brave and follow his father's steps. He proves he is capable of becoming a priest by bravely gathering metals with his father in the 'Dead Places.' His father shows him chants and spells and even more practical knowledge such as stopping a wound from bleeding, reading and writing the old writings. These teachings ignite the desire for more knowledge in John as depicted by his statement when he says 'My knowledge made me happy-it was like a fire in my heart.' It is with this regards that the thirst and desire for knowledge are seen.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

His desire for knowledge grows and does not matter what danger is collecting metal from the 'gods' houses' posed to him as it was believed by his tribesmen. His choice to confront his fear foreshadows his subsequent alternatives to do things that startle him for him to acquire spiritual as well as practical knowledge. He realizes that his knowledge on anything that frightens him can demine the fear for the same thing.

However much religious and technology makes the human culture, their differences are a significant cause of disagreement within the community. This statement is depicted when John says, 'we are not ignorant like the Forest People-our women spin wool on the wheel, our priests wear a white robe. We do not eat grubs from the tree; we have not forgotten the old writings, though they are hard to understand. Nevertheless, my knowledge and my lack of knowledge burned in me-I wished to know more'. This shows the increasingly growing thirst for knowledge that John has which eventually triggers his journey to the 'place of gods'.

His journey begins when he goes to his father and tells him, 'It is time for me to go on my journey. Give me your leave.' His father performs ritual purification on him, and he becomes clean from unclean, a man from a boy and finally from a layman to a priest. He is guided by his vision and dreams and as well his desire for knowledge. His father only warns him of going to the 'places of god' since he believes it is forbidden; a place he has not seen despite being a priest. The priest does not come out to clearly to tell him not to go but instead tells him to follow his vision.

John starts his journey and on his way through the forest are 'the forest people' who are dangerous and is a threat to his safety. He passes through the 'gods' roads' which are abandoned highway. John also goes through the 'Ou-Dis-San' river which describes as the sacred, the long and one which none of his tribesmen had seen. Not even his father the priest; the river which is believed to be separating the worlds of the dead and the living, this shows how much danger he is ready to face to follow his vision and achieve his ambitions. John puts his life in danger and ignores the rules and laws of the society to pursue his dream. He accepts to face ritual death to allow him to cross the river to the world of the dead. He does this to fulfill his spiritual desire for knowledge.

John begins to discover that the myths said by the priests are entirely not true and the island might be an abandoned island in the New York City. He begins to associate magic with technology as the buildings are human-made and not natural as earlier believed.

His journey to fulfill his ambitions is nearly thwarted by the dogs that continuously follow him until he gets to an apartment where his human-ess enables him to open the door and leads him to the god's houses. He analyses the composition of the 'god's house,' and he is struck by what he sees. First, there is a place for washing yet there is no water, second, there is a place for cooking yet there is no wood or a place to lit fire. He decides to sleep in the tower and during his sleep, he sees in his vision how the city used to be when its inhabitants were alive. He is saddened and weeps for the fate of the 'gods'. He regrets that with all the 'magic' they had all that happened should not have happened.

Conclusion

John returns home full of the knowledge he had desired to have. He tells his father about what he has seen, and he is compelled to share it with the public. However, his father advises him not to share it to the public by saying "Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If you eat too much truth at once, you may die of the truth. It was not idly that our father forbade the Dead Places."