Texas Tech High, ENG 2a, Lesson 1, Introduction to short stories. Waters of Babylon

1. ENG 2B Lesson 1

2. INTRO TO SHORT STORIES

3. Literature in ENG2B focuses
on SELF-DISCOVERY

4. As you read, consider
the 5 basic elements of
SHORT STORIES

5. P L O T
PLOT
The sequence of events

6. CHARACTERIZATION
The personalities &
qualities of characters.

7. THEME
Main idea of story

8. SETTING
WHEN & WHERE story takes place

9. POINT of VIEW
Perspective o f sto r y ’s na rrato r

10. 1. It’s in PROSE form,
written in sentences &
paragraphs.
SHORT STORIES have the following features

11. I t ’ s
It’s a FICTIONAL NARRATIVE
i.e. A story sthat did not happen

12. SHORTER than a NOVEL
Can be read in one

13. Has 5 elements
listed above

14. As you read, pay attention to the litery
techniques & elements, & the
vocabulary footnote.
These are essential to understanding.
As you read, stop & summarize what
you’ve read. This will help you
understand the work & identify the
main idea.

15. BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON
ByStephenVincentBenet

16. CHILDHOOD to ADULTHOOD
Events?

17. JOHN
the main character
Goes on a journey that becomes a rite of
passage & gives him new knowledge.

18. TitlebasedonPsalm137:BythewatersofBabylonwesat
down&wept,whenweremeberedthee,OZion.
PsalmwaswrittenwhentheBabyloniansenslavedJews
around600B.C.ExpressestheJews’longingfortheir
homeland
Babylonwasthebiggestcityoftheancientworld,a
centerofculture,learning,&worldtrade.

19. As you read, think about why the author chose
this title.
Americanauthor,poet,shortstorywriter,&novelist.Best
knownforhisbook-lengthnarrativepoemoftheAmerican
CivilWar,JohnBrown’sBody(1928),forwhichhewonthe
Pulitzerin1020,andfor2shortstories,“TheDeviland
DanielWebster”&“BytheWatersofBabylon”.
In 1944 a year after his death, he received a 2nd
Pulitzer for his last collection of poems Western Star.
In 2009, The Library of America chose his story, “ The
King of Cats” for its two-century retrospective of
American Fantastic Tales.