From the Tower: Week 4 Story
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| The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563). Found on wikipedia. |
When the Tower began, it was just an idea. The idea of reaching into heaven, of waging war against God. Now the Tower didn't have a choice for it's use. It's stationary you see. But it was proud. It would be tall enough to reach heaven, taller than anything in the world, it would be the best. Even if it didn't necessarily like the way it was being used. But what choice did it have, it is stationary.
Now, the Tower grew, one brick on top of each other it grew taller and taller. It reached for the sky, with people buzzing all around it making sure that every brick was in it's place. And as the Tower grew, the people working on it changed. They began with the goal of heaven of reaching into the sky, but now people were angry, uncaring, obsessed. They dropped the bricks and wailed at the loss of time, because every brick took a year to reach the top of the Tower. But, they didn't care about the other building. They stopped caring. People would fall from the Tower and die, and no one so much as blinked.
But they kept adding to the Tower. And the Tower kept growing. And growing. Higher and higher. Until God looked down on the Tower, and claimed his punishment. The people building the Tower suddenly spoke different languages, and the Tower stopped growing. Materials were lost, misplaced. And then those who wished to wage war against heaven turned against each other. The blood of the builders ran down the face of the Tower. And the Tower didn't like this addition. I just wanted to be the tallest building, to reach to heaven. Other people were scattered around the globe, separated from those with which they had banned together to reach heaven and confront God. And still the Tower stood. The tallest building in the world. But is never was quite tall enough to reach heaven, so just being the tallest would have to be enough.
Author's Note: This story was adapted from The Tower of Babel in from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909). I changed the story to focus on the Tower as an animate but stationary object commenting on the people building and dying on it. The nuts and bolts of the story remained the same, but the perspective shifted to change the framing and how the tower is related to the rest of the story.
Bibliography: The Tower of Babel in from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909).
Bibliography: The Tower of Babel in from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909).
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Hello, I really loved this version of the Tower of Babel. I like reading biblical stories, and I love seeing how different people interpret them and make then unique! I like the perspective you used, and how you referenced the feelings of the tower itself. Great writing, and a great spin on such a classic story! Great job.
ReplyDeleteHi, I really enjoyed your story. It is interesting how having a goal can change a person as they get closer to reaching that goal. As one gets closer, it undoubtedly gets harder for one to reach that goal. And that is exactly what is happening in this story. They are getting closer to the top and it is getting harder and harder to bring up the bricks.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth! Wow. I really enjoyed your personification of the tower, while still remaining in a third-person point of view. It is different but in a very good way. The characterization of God and humanity is so dark, with God as a punisher and humanity as perhaps a glutton for the punishment. It really highlights the issues of being separated as well as the importance of being united - however, it offered such an emotional intensity because of the lack of a unifying language dragging humanity apart really made me feel a sadness. Good work!
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