Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”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.
In "By the Waters of Babylon,” what conflicts does the setting present for the main character? Select three options.youth versus maturitythe struggle between good and evilthe forces of nature versus the will of humansa sense of fear versus a desire to growobservance of society’s rules or one’s own ideas
The way a story’s narrator and characters are presented and developed is called
How does setting influence character? Select three options.It can create conflict for characters.It establishes a stark writing style.It can influence a character’s motivations.It can determine the rules that characters live by.It can reveal details about a character’s physical appearance.
Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”How shall I tell what I saw? There was no smell of man left, on stone or metal. Nor were there many trees in that wilderness of stone. There are many pigeons, nesting and dropping in the towers—the gods must have loved them, or, perhaps, they used them for sacrifices. There are wild cats that roam the god-roads, green-eyed, unafraid of man. At night they wail like demons but they are not demons. The wild dogs are more dangerous, for they hunt in a pack, but them I did not meet till later. Everywhere there are the carved stones, carved with magical numbers or words.
Which details from the text best support the idea that the narrator is cautious in this new setting? Select two options.
Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”It is not true what some of the tales say, that the ground there burns forever, for I have been there. Here and there were the marks and stains of the Great Burning, on the ruins, that is true. But they were old marks and old stains. It is not true either, what some of our priests say, that it is an island covered with fogs and enchantments. It is not. It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know. Everywhere in it there are god-roads, though most are cracked and broken. Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods.
Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”Nevertheless, as I made the raft, the tears ran out of my eyes. The Forest People could have killed me without fight, if they had come upon me then, but they did not come.When the raft was made, I said the sayings for the dead and painted myself for death. My heart was cold as a frog and my knees like water, but the burning in my mind would not let me have peace. As I pushed the raft from the shore, I began my death song—I had the right. It was a fine song.
Which details does the author include to describe the setting? Select two options.
Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”All the same, when I came to the Place of the Gods, I was afraid, afraid. The current of the great river is very strong—it gripped my raft with its hands. That was magic, for the river itself is wide and calm. I could feel evil spirits about me, I was swept down the stream. Never have I been so much alone—I tried to think of my knowledge, but it was a squirrel's heap of winter nuts. There was no strength in my knowledge any more and I felt small and naked as a new-hatched bird—alone upon the great river, the servant of the gods.
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