How shall I tell what I saw? I went carefully, my strung bow in my hand, my skin ready for danger. There should have been the wailings of spirits and the shrieks of demons, but there were not. It was very silent and sunny where I had landed—the wind and the rain and the birds that drop seeds had done their work—the grass grew in the cracks of the broken stone. It is a fair island—no wonder the gods built there. If I had come there, a god, I also would have built. –“By the Waters of Babylon,” Stephen Vincent Benét What statement best explains how John’s reaction to the setting develops his character? John’s determination as he journeys through a forbidden land reveals his bravery. John’s fear of demons in a new environment suggests that he is mostly a cowardly person. John’s response to encountering this “fair island” indicates that he is a joyful person. John’s disinterest in the gods as he arrives at this new place shows that he is not very religious.