ipl-logo

What Is The Allegory In Speech Sounds By Octavia Butler

1398 Words6 Pages

Anarchy, a social state in which human actions are governed by their morals, is considered to be the most liberating template to form society around. In an anarchical society, the absence of government allows absolute freedom for any individual involved, and in a society such as this, people are able do as they please without experiencing any governmental repercussions for their actions. Where this seems to parallel the society introduced to us in the short story, “Speech Sounds”, by Octavia Butler, it in fact contrasts the society that Rye lives in. While most authoritarian governments have a strong physical presence in society, the allegory "Speech Sounds" uses a virus to demonstrate the metaphysical oppressive force that is felt by a totalitarian …show more content…

Acting as a primary character, Obsidian lays the foundation for Rye’s future and guides her from her pessimistic state of mind, to an optimistic outlook on her future. As stated in the story, “Obsidian had been the protector,” meaning that he roamed the streets with an “obsolete uniform” looking to protect the population from murders driven by jealousy and frustration (Butler 579). Obsidian plays a pivotal role in the message, because he demonstrates the importance of unification in society and condemns people from doing just as an authoritarian government would encourage people to do, turn on one another. When Obsidian was first introduced, he used a glassy black rock to signify his name, and it is noteworthy that Rye initially thinks of the name Obsidian, because the conventional use for the rock-like material obsidian, is for foundation. The idea of foundation parallels the plot, because questioning Obsidian’s intent is how Rye had discovered her purpose on the earth. Obsidians death is what gives her this moment of realization, because when questioning his motivation, Rye thinks “now that there is something worth protecting, he was gone,” thus provoking her to carry on his duty of protecting these children who were considered the future (Butler 578). Here, Rye realizes that she had been living for all the wrong reasons, and just as an authoritarian government would want her to live, sedentary and only for the protection of her own well being. Without Obsidian’s groundwork, Rye would never have had the motivation for speaking out to protect the

Show More
Related
953 Words | 4 Pages

Escaping Communism Ayn Rand depicts a communist world in her book Anthem, where the citizens live day to day identical to the one before. Equality 7-2521, a struggling man in the society, is set apart for his strive of wanting more than what the society gives him. Rand shows that in a world carried on in such a communistic matter, it leaves some struggling and at a loss to make do with what they have and to fit in. The book, Anthem gives a grand example of how others react to one’s differences, shunning them or giving a punishment. Equality 7-2521 has a compelling ambition to learn things which then helps him escape the society.

Read More
1006 Words | 5 Pages

How Does One Lead a Rational Life in the Great Rebirth Ayn Rand is an illustrious writer, known for many of her works including the short novella Anthem and her short essay How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society. In Anthem, she speaks of a dystopian world set in the future with primitive technology. The Council expects everybody to look, act, and generally be the same as one another; however, Equality, the main character of Anthem, does not conform to the social norm. He rebels from the cookie-cutter system and learns to see the deep err in the way of the Council and finally realises the effects that the abusive treatment of the citizens creates.

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

Family members and close friends impact people’s lives in immeasurable ways. Octavia E. Butler uses this to develope Lauren in Parable of the Sower through interactions with the people around her. Growing up in a bleak area of a now dismal United States, her faithful upbringing contrasts with the necessary survival mentality demanded by the outside world. Two effectual characters in Lauren’s journey are her father, Reverend Olamina, and her younger brother, Keith. These two characters represent extremes of both devotion and destruction as they influence Lauren to choose her own path as an adult.

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

The book Anthem by Ayn Rand is a book with many strict rules and consequences. The City was very particular in how they do things. If you lived there, you never made one decision for yourself. They had a set group to decide your job for you and everything else for your life. You was not allowed to say certain things or even talk the way you want.

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

Title Michel Foucault once said, “There are forms of oppression and domination which become invisible. . .” The government, in Ayn Rand’s Anthem, is long since corrupt and has perverted their original idea of equality. Even though true equality will never be, this government has completely taken over all aspects of their citizens’ lives and the people do not acknowledge anything wrong. Oppression has become the normal reality for the citizens crushing their spirit until someone started to break the mold. Equality 7-2521 slowly confronted the injustice in his pursuit for knowledge.

Read More
721 Words | 3 Pages

Midterm Essay 1984 by George Orwell and The Anthem by Ayn Rand are both novels about people who live under a totalitarian regime and who go against their governments. In 1984, Winston Smith works for his government’s media outlet. He reads books, articles, magazines, and anything they tell him to and then translates them into a new, more limiting, language for the people to read. He gets caught going against the government and is tortured until he changes and agrees with the Party. In The Anthem, Equality 7-2521 lives under a government that makes every single person equal.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Speech Sounds 1) Summary A mysterious disease has swept across the nation and deprived many of their abilities of communication; speeches, literacy, as well as the lives of numerous people were lost. Rye, after the death of her family to the disease, was making a trip to Pasadena out of loneliness and desperation in search of her remaining relatives. While riding on the bus Rye encountered Obsidian, a man dressed in police uniform trying to restore peace in a society where miscommunication led to violence and government was obsolete.

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

The Virtue of Mortality Ayn Rand’s story of Anthem takes place in an oppressive, Communist-like society of the future, where there is no individual - only the great “WE.” Subjects of this dreary civilization have no rights - existing solely to serve the state for a lifetime in their assigned position. The protagonist of the story, Equality 7-2521, is a gifted young man who is different from his fellow brothers. Equality desires to be a scientist, but instead, the government commands him to be a Street Sweeper out of fear of his mind and curiosity.

Read More
891 Words | 4 Pages

Both 1984 and Anthem have very oppressive governments, but their laws are completely different from one another. In 1984, the government is strange when it comes to rules, there is nothing that is illegal, the people are allowed to do whatever they want, but if they do anything or even look slightly suspicious, the “Thought Police” will kidnap, torture, and kill anybody who has gone against the government. The government believes that if people are allowed to have emotions, they will become angry at the government, and revolt, and that’s why emotions are illegal (I will call it illegal because even though there are no laws, doing certain things will get you in trouble, so to avoid confusion, I’m going to continue saying it’s “illegal”), including emotional attachments to other people. People having sex for the purposes of procreation is perfectly legal, but having sex because you love the

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

In the novella, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, the protagonist Equality 7-2521 emphasizes the importance of the many dystopian themes within the story. After the destruction of the Unmentionable Time, all knowledge was lost and a new society has sprung where individualism is banned. In their society, the government is in control of the population and people are conformed to uniform expectation. Since many of characteristics of individualism was stripped away from people, it is described that they live in a dehumanized state, where names are unspecified and decisions are made by the councils. In doing so, many of what was lost remained in the Uncharted Forest where all of mankind dare not to talk about it since they developed a fear the outside world.

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

Individualism As the book Anthem starts, Equality 7-2521 states that it was a sin what he was doing. For example, “we knew we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it. We would accept our Life Mandate, and we would work for our brothers, gladly and willingly, and we would erase our sin against them, which they did not know, but we knew”. Equality 7- 2521 feels guilty about wanting things for himself, he feels guilty about having his own life, spending time alone and doing things that don’t involve their brothers or sisters was forbidden (Rand 26).

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1984 society , people are purposely left to feel alone to make them fear getting caught by the Party. Although many people commit thoughtcrime, they will remain silent because they know the consequences of engaging in rebellion. This constant source of fear holds the community together and manipulates people’s thought processes. The government often leaves the people

Read More
1466 Words | 6 Pages

Plastic Language. Plastic Mind. Language is an extension of the human mind for it is through language that we are able to communicate the thoughts and questions that rattle in the mind. Unfortunately, this means that communication is feeble and rather malleable. It can be changed through convention, prescriptivism, or just simple totalitarianism.

Read More
1442 Words | 6 Pages

Also in line 19, the word “autumn” appears, and it gives the image of the fall of life, and a time that is near death. Even more, “shroud” which is used to describe people’s heart, originally means a piece

Read More
1500 Words | 6 Pages

By looking deeper into the novel and analyzing specific details Orwell included it can be seen how Orwell used the setting of the story, the city itself as well as the workplace of Winston as a few examples, and also the characters themselves, such as the Parsons, to get readers to see the message he was trying to warn of. The idea of conformity was enforced throughout the story, as shown above, in the ways that all citizens are made to essentially be the same as all others around them, with deadly consequences if they refuse. The theme of dehumanization is also deeply explored as all personal feelings and emotions are outlawed by the Party in an attempt to create people who all are the same. As well the setting is used to present the theme of the dangers of totalitarianism as Winston’s job is to change and “fix” any document that is critical in anyway of the government or expresses free speech. This use of literary devices effectively delivers the theme Orwell was trying to

Read More

More about What Is The Allegory In Speech Sounds By Octavia Butler

Related Topics

Open Document