Apocalyptic science fiction stories are dominated by the theme of the end of civilization with the influence of technology. For example, By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen V. Benet is a short story in which John, the narrator, describes the taboos of his community and urges people to learn the truth. Despite being the son of a priest, John breaks all the rules by heading east, going to the dead places, crossing the great river, and even going to the gods. In this case, Dead Goods and John's father are supporting characters in the story and play an important role in helping the main protagonist find the truth and communicate Benet's message. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Dead gods are used to explain the lives of men before their fall due to the exploitation of their knowledge while the John's father guides him about taboos, the meaning of these taboos and finding the truth. The dead gods across the river were all men considered to be living as supernatural beginnings due to their technological advancements. John explained that the gods “were men, neither gods nor demons.” This characterization of men as gods indicates their lives before the world was destroyed in the Great Fire. John described the gods as having “wisdom beyond wisdom and knowledge beyond knowledge” (Benet 7). The description of the people's knowledge suggests that they are technologically advanced compared to John's people. The gods are therefore men who advance technology and sophisticated lifestyles. The complexity of the dead gods' lifestyles suggests that they possess advanced technological capabilities. John describes a washing place without water, a cooking place without firewood, and a cooking machine without a place to light the fire (Benet 6). The tools used by the gods indicate that their technology is advanced beyond the comprehension of an individual from John's people. Thanks to technological advances, the dead gods are able to transform “night into day for their pleasure” (Benet 7). The Lifestyle of the Gods describes today's world as an example where electricity allows them to continue their events after dark. Through the description of the lifestyles of dead gods, the author explains the lifestyle of modern men. The “great fire” is seen in the text as an attack on civilization due to man-made weapons. John describes the war that led to the great fire and destruction of the dead gods as one that used “sophisticated weapons that his people did not know” (Benet 7). The complexity of the war is reflected in the tactics and weapons used by the population. John described that there was “fire falling from heaven and a poisoning mist,” also killing the gods (Benet 7). Fire falling from the sky can be seen as the use of modern weapons, such as bombs and missiles, while poisonous mist can describe biological weapons such as poison gas used in warfare. The survival of a few gods indicates that John's people may be remnants of men of the past and are essentially gods themselves. That being said, the few gods who survived the annihilation were most likely John's people. John considers his people privileged, stating that they are not “ignorant like the people of the forest” (Benet 1). John claims superiority because of his idea of ​​advanced civilization habits, allas the gods seem superior by possessing technology. John described the gods as “men who were here before us” and he told of a legend that a few escaped the great fire (Benet 8). He ends the story by saying that he and his people will rebuild the city. Thus, the dead gods symbolize secondary characters, and their city and their representation in the short story inspire John to rebuild civilization after their annihilation by the great fire. Finally, John's father who is a priest who prepares John for the priesthood so that one day he succeeds him and becomes the next in line. John distinguished himself from his brothers by waiting for his father when he went to look for a metal in the “house of a dead man” (Benet 1). From that day on, John was raised to become a priest and inherit his father's priestly position. In order to make this reality, John's father punished him more severely than his brothers for misbehavior in order to prepare him for future duties of the priesthood (Benet 1). John's father taught him the secrets of the priesthood, which his brothers did not know and which can be seen as part of John's future character development. Not only did he prepare him for the priesthood, but he also prepared him for leadership by allowing him to go to dead houses, which ultimately taught him the secrets of a priest. These secrets included chants and spells such as how to stop bleeding from a wound. In doing so, John's father was determined to help his son become a good priest. The statement that “a priest must know many secrets” indicates that he was preparing John for the journey east (Benet 1). John's travels to the East broke all the taboos of his people. The little questions and books given to John by his father aroused his curiosity which led him to go to the gods and investigate what happened to the dead gods. John's father also indirectly guides his son as to where he should go on his journey. This is made clear when he reminds John of the three taboos, “like not traveling east, not crossing the river, or not going to the gods” (Benet 2). However, the signs John receives from his father all point to a path by which he must go east, cross the river, and go to the gods. His father had prepared him to defy taboos in the search for knowledge, and this particularity was necessary to make him a “high priest”. According to John's dream, his father knew where he was going on his trip and did not stop him. From a young age, John's father was characterized as the supporting character John needed to uncover the ruins of civilization. In the short story, John's father is also described as a link between the past civilization and the new world about to rebuild God's place. He expressed his disdain for taboos by stating that he "couldn't have done it in his time" and suggests that he also wanted to explore taboos himself when he was the same age as John. His listening to John's adventures suggested that he knew what would happen on the other side of the river and his understanding of the truth in the story indicated that the author had constructed the character to lead John on his journey of discovery ruins of past civilization. . John's father's wisdom also tells him how to deal with the truth he discovers about taboos and dead gods. He states that "truth is a hard deer to hunt", in reference to John's journey, breaking taboos did not lead to death but led to truth (Benet 8). John's father suggests ways to deal with the truth that John discovers instead of telling everyone. John has.