“By the Waters of Babylon” Sig

“By the Waters of Babylon” Significance In the short story “By the Waters of Babylon,” by Stephen Vincent Benet, a futuristic form of life and living is presented. The story deals with the cruel realization that man is capable of accomplishing anything, including its own destruction. It portrays today’s man as selfish, violent, worried with the materialistic aspects of the world, and full of hate and rage. “By the Waters of Babylon” is the …

…beyond knowledge,” and yet they knew not when to stop. As Don Marquis once said, “What man calls civilization always results in deserts. Man is never on the square-he uses up the fat and greenery of the earth. Each generation wastes a little more of the future with greed and lust for riches.” Our desire for more gives us nothing, and in the end we are left to recreate and fix what our ambitions damaged.