Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon." After a while, I knew that my belly was hungry. I could have
hunted for my meat, but I did not hunt. It is known that the
gods did not hunt as we do-they got their food from
enchanted boxes and jars. Sometimes these are still found
in the Dead Places-once, when I was a child and foolish, I
opened such a jar and tasted it and found the bod sweet.
But my father found out and punished me for it strictly, for,
often, that food is death. Now, though, I had long gone past
what was forbidden, and I entered the likeliest towers,
looking for the food of the gods.
I found it at last in the ruins of a great temple in the mid-city.
A mighty temple it must have been, for the roof was painted
like the sky at night with its stars-that much I could see,
though the colors were faint and dim. It went down into great
caves and tunnels-perhaps they kept their slaves there.
But when I started to climb down, I heard the squeaking of
How does the resolution in this passage help develop the
theme about rules?
When the narrator decides not to hunt, he recognizes that
the rules of the gods were better than the rules of his
people.
When the narrator enters the temple, he recognizes that
he no longer fears the gods, regardless of what the rules
of his people say.
When the narrator avoids the rats, he realizes that he is
going against the teachings of his people, but also doing
what is necessary for his survival.
When the narrator decides to ignore his father's words
and eat the food of the gods, he realizes that he is learning
to make his own choices.