to go on my journey. Give me your leave."

A reason is never stated for why this journey is part of priest training, but a reader can assume John will not be allowed the recognition of full priesthood until he goes on his journey.  

Before leaving on the journey, John must participate in a ritual that determines where he shall go. The ritual is not complex. John looks into a fire and tells his father about his recurring dream:  

He bade me look into the smoke of the fire and see—I saw and told what I saw. It was what I have always seen—a river, and, beyond it, a great Dead Place and in it the gods walking. I have always thought about that. His eyes were stern when I told him he was no longer my father but a priest. He said, "This is a strong dream."

In addition to John's father telling John that the dream is strong, John's father tells him that the dream is dangerous and may "eat you up." Nevertheless, John is allowed to leave.  

The journey is unusual because John travels east. Right before leaving, John's father reminds John about how it is forbidden to go east.  

It is forbidden to travel east. It is forbidden to cross the river. It is forbidden to go to the Place of the Gods. All these things are forbidden.

Despite being warned, and despite knowing the law against going east exists, John still travels east. He even believes he is given signs that affirm his choice. For example, he sees an eagle and some deer traveling east. John believes he is being told to go east.

John's journey is so unusual precisely because it breaks so many of the taboos that feature as part of his and his tribes life. Note what his father says to John after John has had his dream of going to the Place of the Gods as part of his initiation ritual:

"It is forbidden to travel east. It is forbidden to cross the river. It is forbidden to go to the Place of the Gods. All these things are forbidden."

The phrase "It is forbidden" is used a lot in the first paragraph to highlight the way that we are presented with a society that is ruled by fear and tradition. John's dream points towards his journey into realms in which no one else has entered for a very long time, precisely because of the taboos surrounding these locations, but he knows that he must be obedient to the dream he had, whatever awaits him. Thus John's journey is so unusual because of his destination and the way that it is completely forbidden for him or anyone else to go there.

The narrator of "By the Waters of Babylon" is a member of the tribe of the Hill People, the group of humans who are skilled in metalworking, hunting, and spinning wool, and yet who also retain some understanding of the "old writings" and healing. As a young man studying under the tutelage of his father to enter the priesthood, the narrator has trained in various subjects, including seemingly normal ones (like medicine) and slightly odder ones (like spells and chants).

In order to mark his "coming of age" and to fully initiate himself into the priesthood, the narrator must go on his journey to seek out the Dead Place. This is a territory that is off limits to most people in the tribe, as superstition about what transpired there informs much of the tribe's practices. However, the narrator has a vision of what the Dead Place might have looked like when it was thriving. The narrator fasts and searches for a sign to indicate whether or not he should cast off his tribe's customs. With the appearance of that sign (an eagle flying in an eastern direction and a panther which he manages to shoot in the eye mid-attack on a white fawn) and with the blessing of his father, the narrator decides to embark on his journey.

The narrator leaves the Hill Country to go on the journey to the Dead Place because he is training to be a priest like his father, and as part of his training develops a strong interest in the past. He learns, too, that:

A priest must know many secrets—that was what my father said.

The narrator is especially drawn to the Old Days. He has spent time learning the old language and reading the old books. He says he loves the knowledge he gains and that it is like a fire in his heart. He also has been allowed to go into the "dead houses" and has seen the bones. Therefore, he is no longer afraid to enter into such frightening places.

When he informs his father he must go on his journey, his father allows it, telling him his desire to go is a "strong dream."

John is the protagonist of Stephen Vincent Benét's "By the Waters of Babylon." As the son of a priest, John has a chance of being a priest, too. Priests have a lot of responsibility in John's tribe, which is west of the Place of the Gods. Going east to the Place of the Gods is not allowed, and, John claims, has "been forbidden since the beginning of time." 

Due to John's dreams and his ability to do the spells he is taught by his father and other priests, he is told he will be initiated as a priest. Before his initiation, John must go on a journey of discovery. At the beginning of his journey, John fasts and waits for a sign about where he is supposed to go on his journey. John sees an eagle flying east and takes that as a sign that he ought to journey to the Place of the Gods, even though it is forbidden. His journey to the Place of the Gods, which turns out to be an abandoned New York City, has a significant effect on John and the rest of his tribe.

There are a couple reasons that John takes his journey.  The first relates to the traditions of his tribe.  He is the son of a priest, and all priests, kind-of like some Native American tribes or Aboriginal tribes in Australia, have their sons go on a "spirit walk."  This is where a boy, who is approaching manhood, sets out on his own, to survive by himself, in search of revelation, wisdom, meaning, and tests that will prove that he is a man.  It is a rite of passage, one that will be a step in achieving manhood in the eyes of the tribe itself.  Nowadays, we don't have such extreme rituals--maybe getting your driver's license, or getting your first salaried job would be akin to the same idea--once you've achieved that accomplishment, you can call yourself an adult.  So, that is the first reason that John goes--it is tradition, a ritual in his tribe, and he sets out in search of his wisdom, knowledge, or trials that will prove his strength.

The second reason that John goes is because he has a very intense desire for knowledge.  He is a curious guy, one who wants to know the history of the gods, of his people, and why the world is the way it is.  His desire drives him to his journey, because it filled his dreams.  The dreams drive him closer and closer to the city of the gods.  He wants to know, and despite such journeys being forbidden, he states that "the burning in my mind would not let me have peace."  His burning desire for knowledge drives him forward on his journey, breaking rules and boundaries, and the result is that he does indeed gain great knowledge.  He learns of their origins, that the gos are "men, like us."  He is able to bring that knowledge back to his tribe to benefit them all.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

I would describe John as young. He refers to himself early in the story as the son of a priest. He thinks of himself, first, as somebody's son. I believe that makes John fairly young.  I would guess under the age of 20. I also would describe John as physically strong. He lives in a world that requires people to hunt and forage for food. John is likely physically active a lot of the time. We also know that he uses a bow and arrow to shoot and kill a panther. That's an impressive show of strength.  

John is also emotionally and mentally strong. That also makes him brave. John knows that it is forbidden to go east, yet he feels the need to discover what is out there. That mental fortitude (or stubbornness) is what allows John to bring himself to defy his father's explicit reminder about not going east. That's not the only time that John's will overcomes his fears. When he is sitting on the banks of the Hudson, he wants to go home, but he knows that he must continue and go into the city.  

John is naturally curious. That is a big part of why he goes east and forces himself to go into the city. I also believe that natural curiosity is why John decides that his people will go back to the city to continue learning. Lastly, John is also intelligent enough to know that furthering his people's knowledge will be beneficial to them.   

In John, Benet creates a character who is both brave and cautious.  He is full of curiosity for the "Place of the Gods," but also heeds the traditions of his elders and the wisdom of his priesthood. He respects his father's advice but also understands that he must chart his own path and discover what his powerful dreams mean.  One defining moment for John is when he kills the panther and takes it as an omen to continue his journey; John has great personal strength and determination to see his journey through to fruition. 

Although he may come across to the reader as naive due to his lack of understanding of the world around him, John's fresh perspective challenges the reader to reconsider their understanding of modern technology and society.

The specific way that John is different than his brothers is not clear.  The reader is meant to infer what it is that makes John initially different.  John's society has a certain set of rules.  They are not allowed to go to the Dead Places, go east, touch the metal, or go to the place of the gods.  The only people that are allowed to go to the Dead Places and touch metal are priests.  

Because of these rules, there is a general fear of the Dead Places and the metal. Early in the story, John tells the reader that his father, a priest, took him to the Dead places and handed him some metal.  John did not run in fear and did not die when he touched the metal.

"Then my father came out with the metal—good, strong piece. He looked at me with both eyes but I had not run away. He gave me the metal to hold—I took it and did not die. So he knew that I was truly his son and would be a priest in my time. That was when I was very young— nevertheless, my brothers would not have done it, though they are good hunters."

I suppose in one way John is braver than his brothers.  The text seems to indicate that John's brothers would have run away or would have been too afraid to touch the metal.  That's one difference.  The other difference is a result of John's bravery.  Because he didn't die after touching the metal, John is chosen to be a priest.  John is held to a higher standard of rules, but he also gets to go to the Dead Places and collect metal.  He also in entrusted with special knowledge and spells.  

"I was taught the chants and the spells—l was taught how to stop the running of blood from a wound and many secrets. A priest must know many secrets—that was what my father said." 

Lastly, John is different from his brothers, because he was taught to read.  

"I was taught how to read in the old books and how to make the old writings—that was hard and took a long time. My knowledge made me happy—it was like a fire in my heart."

John can touch metal without getting hurt and has a vision about the gods.

John’s father is a priest.  He tests whether his son will also be a priest by going into one of the Dead Places and finding a piece of metal to bring to John.  If John is able to touch it, he will be a priest too.

He gave me the metal to hold—I took it and did not die. So he knew that I was truly his son and would be a priest in my time.

John is also special because he does not fear the Dead Places.  He actually has a vision that takes him to the land of the Gods, which turns out to be New York.  John’s people are a post-apocalyptic society that is not very advanced.  They fear New York and the Dead Places.  It takes John’s special vision and determination to find out the truth.

John has a dream about the gods, who supposedly inhabit the Dead Places.  His father questions him about the dream, saying it might eat him up.  John’s dream seems to be about the past.

He asked me how the gods were dressed and I told him how they were dressed. We know how they were dressed from the book, but I saw them as if they were before me. When I had finished, he threw the sticks three times and studied them as they fell.

Since John has the special gift, and has visions, he is able to go on a sort of vision quest to newyork, the land of the gods.  Once there, he is intelligent enough to realize that he is not seeing dead gods.  He is seeing dead people.  The people were never gods; they are ancestors.

John’s destiny is to bring back this knowledge to his people so that they can move forward with the understanding of the people who lived before them.  If John’s people can avoid being afraid of the technology and learn what happened, then they can move beyond their fear of the past.

John returns to his people from the Place of the Gods profoundly changed by the experience. He now knows that the beings he thought were gods are—or were—actually simply humans just like him. As John expresses to his father, he now realizes that it is possible for his own people to rebuild the civilization that was destroyed. One doesn't have to be a god to live as people once lived in the Dead Places and the Place of the Gods.

John wants to tell the villagers what he has learned, but his father advises him not to, saying it would be too of a shock:

Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If you eat too much truth at once, you may die of the truth.

John understands the wisdom of his father's words. He does not tell his people the truth, as it could be too much for them to absorb. However, when John goes to the Dead Places, he is no longer just scavenging for metal. Instead, he is searching for books, writings, and tools, in the hopes of gaining the tools to learn and rebuild civilization.

To be honest, I am not convinced that John’s character really does change over the course of “By the Waters of Babylon.”  Instead, I would argue that John remains the same person, but adapts a little bit to his new-found knowledge.  However, if we have to argue that John’s visit to the Place of the Gods changes his character, we can say that it makes him bolder and less inclined to simply obey rules.

We can argue that, at the beginning of the story, John is a conformist who feels that it is important to obey the rules.  If we look at the first paragraph of “By the Waters of Babylon,” we see that John uses the word “forbidden” six times, just within those few sentences.  The whole first paragraph concerns what is acceptable and what is forbidden.  From this, we can infer that John is very concerned with the rules and that he wants very much to conform to those rules.  This makes sense because John is part of the ruling class of his society, a priest and the son of a priest in a society that seems to be ruled by its priests.  Such a person would probably think that the rules are good ones and that people should obey them.  We can say that this was the essence of John’s character at the start of the story.

But then John visits the Place of the Gods.  While there, he finds out that some of the things that he believed are not really true.  He discovers that the “gods” were really just people.  He has become something of a revolutionary.  He tells his father that he is willing to die for saying so, but that he knows that the “gods” were really just humans.  He also comes to believe that his people should try to find knowledge in the “dead places,” not just pieces of metal that they can use.  In short, he no longer believes in the rules of his society.  We can at least argue that this is a major change in John’s character.  We can say that he goes to the Place of the Gods and that what he sees there changes his character.  It changes him from a person who obeys his society’s rules to one who wants to change them in radical ways.

John's realization when he finally reaches the "Place of the Gods" is that the so-called Gods were just human beings like himself and their once wonderful city, which we know as New York, was destroyed by some horrible weapon. He longs for the knowledge these men possessed and is sure that he can use that knowledge more wisely than they. He decides that, as a new priest, he will help his people make a new beginning, and he will help the recover the lost knowledge in order to build a new civilization.

Along his journey, he gathers strength and courage as he fights off wild animals, hides from the Forest tribes, and makes decisions on his own.  Before, he was beholden to the rules and rites of his tribe; on the journey, he gains confidence, and feels okay in passing previously set boundaries.  He takes things further than anyone else in his tribes has done before, and as a result, gains more knowledge than anyone else.

In the end, it opens his eyes to a great truth, that the gods were men, just like them.  This gives him incredible knowledge and power; then, when he gets home, upon the advice of his father, he tempers that knowledge with wisdom, choosing to dispense his knowledge a bit at a time, in order for his people to use each bit wisely.

So, he left his tribe a boy who saught permission to do all that he did.  He was naive and expectant, excited and had a very limited perspective.  He came back full of confidence, having passed numerous tests of strength and courage, and armed with knowledge that would change him and his people forever.

Early in the story, the reader learns that John is forbidden to go east.  He is forbidden to go to the place of the gods.  Unfortunately, the reader doesn't learn why.  Because the story is told in first person, John treats these rules as normal, and he doesn't wonder why, like the reader is wondering.  As the reader learns more about John and the post-apocalyptic world that he lives in, the reader discovers that the rules about going east to the place of the gods are superstitious traditions.  Those rules are being perpetuated by the elders.  

John does go east to the place of the gods and learns a lot. He, and the reader, learn that the place of the gods is New York City. John learns that the inhabitants of the city were not gods, but regular men and women who had great knowledge. After John learns this he vows to help his people begin relearning the lost knowledge so that they can once again be great.  

"That is all of my story, for then I knew he was a man—I knew then that they had been men, neither gods nor demons. It is a great knowledge, hard to tell and believe. They were men—they went a dark road, but they were men. I had no fear after that . . . Nevertheless, we make a beginning. it is not for the metal alone we go to the Dead Places now— there are the books and the writings. They are hard to learn. And the magic tools are broken—but we can look at them and wonder. At least, we make a beginning." 

In "By the Waters of Babylon", John seeks knowledge in the Place of the Gods.  While on his way, he first tries to determine whether or not his is a "good" journey.  When he sees the eagle and then the deer going east, he takes these as good omens.  He has to avoid the Forest People, though, because his tribe (the Hill People) are enemies with the Forest People.  He must also cross the Oudison (Hudson) River to get to the Place of the Gods.  John is able to build a raft in order to cross the river, but he almost doesn't make it because he has never been on a raft before.  In the Place of the Gods, he is stunned to find that is is in ruins instead of some enchanted place.  After exploring the area, he has a vision in which he sees the "gods" with their magical things being destroyed by fire that fell from the sky (it was New York City being bombed).  He learns that the gods were merely men; however, he does not tell his people right away because the knowledge would destroy thier faith and the society of the Hill People.

John explains how he is "special" in the very beginning of the story.  

First, John is the son of a priest.  By itself that is meaningless.  John has brothers, and they are not special.  But being the son of a priest means that John has the potential to be greater than other members of his society.

In the second and third paragraphs, John tells his readers that he went with his father to one of the Dead Places.  John was scared, but did not flee.  Next, his dad came out with a piece of metal.  People are not supposed to touch metal from the Dead Places, but John's dad hands him the metal.  John takes the piece of metal and does not die.  Now John can become a full priest.  

He gave me the metal to hold—I took it and did not die. So he knew that I was truly his son and would be a priest in my time.

So John's special difference is that he is the son of a priest and didn't die when he touched metal.

Once he begins priestly training, John is granted special privileges.  He is allowed to visit the Dead Places.  He is taught to read and write.  He gets the best food and the best sleeping spots closest to the fire.  

After that, they gave me the good piece of meat and the warm corner of the fire.

John is also taught basic first aid techniques, which members of his society think are special and magic.  

I was taught the chants and the spells—l was taught how to stop the running of blood from a wound and many secrets. A priest must know many secrets—that was what my father said. If the hunters think we do all things by chants and spells, they may believe so—it does not hurt them.

Ideally, this question needs to be more specific because John states that he is not afraid a number of different times in the story. In general, John says that he is no longer afraid of something because he understands it or he knows that it won't kill him. Readers see this confidence early in the story after John realizes that going into the Dead Places, touching metal, and seeing skeletons won't kill him. He wholeheartedly believes his safety is due to being the son of a priest and his future as a full priest. He's not afraid because he has gained knowledge.

After a time, I myself was allowed to go into the dead houses and search for metal. So I learned the ways of those houses—and if I saw bones, I was no longer afraid. The bones are light and old—sometimes they will fall into dust if you touch them. But that is a great sin.

I was taught the chants and the spells—l was taught how to stop the running of blood from a wound and many secrets. A priest must know many secrets—that was what my father said.

About halfway through the story, readers are once again told that John is not afraid, and we can surmise that his lack of fear is due to his ongoing success.

I travel upon the god-roads and am not afraid. E-yah! I have killed the panther, I have killed the fawn!

Once John decides to cross the river to the Place of the Gods, he is absolutely convinced that he is going to die. Interestingly, this knowledge gives him confidence and a lack of fear. He's hungry for knowledge, and he wants answers. He is content with dying in exchange for the knowledge.

I went north—I did not try to hide myself. When a god or a demon saw me, then I would die, but meanwhile I was no longer afraid. My hunger for knowledge burned in me—there was so much that I could not understand.

Before he left, John was an adolescent still bound by tradition, obedience to his tribe and father, and unsure of his capabilities.  Along his journey, he gathers strength and courage as he fights off wild animals, bests the Forest tribes, and makes decisions on his own. He gains confidence, and feels okay in passing previously set boundaries.  He takes things further than anyone else in his tribes has done before, and as a result, gains more knowledge than anyone else.

His journey also opens his eyes to a great truth, that the gods were men, just like them.  This gives him incredible knowledge and power; then, when he gets home, upon the advice of his father, he tempers that knowledge with wisdom, choosing to dispense his knowledge a bit at a time, in order for his people to use each bit wisely.  We him making a very wise and mature decision; a normal adolescent would come home bragging about all that he had seen.  John makes the more responsible choice.

He left his tribe a boy who saught permission to do all that he did.  He was naive and expectant, insecure and had a very limited perspective.  He came back full of confidence, having passed numerous tests of strength and courage, and armed with knowledge that would change him and his people for the good.