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Metal
Towers, which readers will recognize as skyscrapers, are the defining feature of the Place of the Gods, making it remarkably different from any landscape that John has ever seen before. As architectural marvels, the towers represent the power, “magic,” and technological prowess of the “gods”—and the pinnacle of human achievements. The ruined towers, then, symbolize the downfall of a past society—a downfall brought about because that society gained too much knowledge too quickly. The destruction of the towers of “newyork” also recalls the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel from the book of Genesis: when people attempted to build a tower tall enough to reach Heaven, they over-stepped the natural boundaries set for them by God. As punishment, God dispersed them across the earth and gave them different languages so that they could no longer work together to build the tower. In much the same way, the few survivors of the Great Burning have dispersed and formed rival tribes (the Hill People and the Forest People) who have lost the knowledge and technological skills that their ancestors once had.
Towers Quotes in By the Waters of Babylon
The By the Waters of Babylon quotes below all refer to the symbol of Towers. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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By the Waters of Babylon
Quotes
When gods war with gods, they use weapons we do not know. It was fire falling out of the sky and a mist that poisoned. It was the time of the Great Burning and the Destruction. […] Then the towers began to fall. A few escaped—yes, a few. The legends tell it. But, even after the city had become a Dead Place, for many years the poison was still in the ground. […] It was darkness over the city and I wept.
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Towers Symbol Timeline in By the Waters of Babylon
The timeline below shows where the symbol Towers appears in By the Waters of Babylon. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
By the Waters of Babylon
...south and sees the Place of the Gods, an island filled with “mighty and ruined” towers “too big to be houses.” Afraid that the gods will see him, he returns to...
(full context)
...evil spirits, and the air is not filled with enchanted fog. Instead, John sees ruined towers and “god-roads.” What is more, there do not seem to be any gods on the...
(full context)
...Gods has very few trees: its landscape is almost entirely made from metal and stone towers, and John describes how many buildings are carved with words and numbers that he believes...
(full context)
...as the dogs begin to rush him, John finds a door into one of the towers (John also calls them “god-houses”) that opens. He slams the door behind him, shutting the...
(full context)
...Fire fell out of the sky onto the people in the streets and toppled the towers, he tells us. The island was covered in a poisoned mist, and the gods ran...
(full context)
