Waters Of Babylon

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“By the Waters of Babylon” and The Village are two very similar pieces of work; however, there are several distinct differences between the two. In both the movie, The Village, and the short story, “By the Waters of Babylon,” suspense is what drives the story, though the way in which they reveal key points differ tremendously. While one of the pieces leaves little room for suspense after the ending, the other leaves the audience with a million questions. The character, Ivy, in The Village, had much in common with John from “By the Waters of Babylon.” In the movie, Ivy was very driven to cross over the forbidden forest in order to help Lucius, just as John was driven to travel east to the forbidden place of the gods (Shyamalan) (Benét 2). …show more content…
Both contain a theme relating to a society attempting, and failing, to be perfect (Shyamalan) (Benét 1). In The Village, instead of protecting people from crime like they intended to, crime still exists, just without the proper resources to handle it (Shyamalan). In comparison with “By the Waters of Babylon”, John lives in a confined society that they believe to be the safe area; in reality, they’re just shielding themselves from the technology of the modern world outside (Benét 1). The pattern between the two is the naivety that they carry in thinking that they’re safe being secluded, whether the people are aware of what’s on the outside or not (Shyamalan) (Benét 1). Inability to succeed in a perfect society seems to be the apparent theme in both pieces of work, (Shyamalan) (Benét 2). Though it is arguable that a theme in The Village that differs from “By the Waters of Babylon” is that in doing something believed to help keep someone safe, you could be harming them in another way (Shyamalan). That theme is seen through the way that the parents keeping the modern world away from their children also kept Lucius from getting immediate help after being stabbed (Shyamalan). “By the Waters of Babylon” does exhibit a society kept from the modern world, but John’s father is not knowingly keeping him away from that particular life; he believes that going east will have his son killed, not just put his
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