John Doe ENG-132-52 Haas
February 23rd, 2015
Silent but Deadly
When in an uncomfortable or dangerous situation, humans tend to be distrustful rather than compassionate to their fellow humans. This is a common motif in many a novel centered around post-apocalyptic society. This is no different in the short story “Speech Sounds” by Olivia E. Butler. Writing about a time where a plague has disabled the vast majority of people on the earth, Butler adheres to the basic principle that humans are inherently distrustful of each other. While this seems to be the main point of the story, Butler also gives the reader a glimmer of hope for the story's version of humankind. “Speech Sounds” shows how desperate society would become after a plague, that if the ability to communicate were lost, humankind would regress into a barbaric state, that humans are jealous and selfish, but even then humans will still act with compassion and long for it in return.
home, they pass what can be perceived as a case of domestic violence, and in breaking up the fight, Rye’s companion is killed. In her grief, Rye almost leaves the children (the only survivors of the incident) behind to starve, but after her conscience convinces her to stay, she overhears them speaking, and Rye reveals that she herself can speak. Rye realizes that children born a few years after the plague are not affected by it, and there is hope for the human race (Butler 156).
With the loss of the ability to communicate, society will crumble, and regress into anarchy. This is the clear main message of the short story, “Speech Sounds.” The ability to communicate is more important than is realized. Without it, misunderstandings would devolve into fistfights as they did on the bus at the beginning of the story: “Three more young men roared in excitement and gestured wildly. Then somehow, a second dispute broke out between two of these three --- probably because one inadvertently touched or hit the other” (Butler 246). This is just one example of a misunderstanding ending in a fight. The inability to make transactions, discuss things, apologize, or just converse with one another, on top of being generally frustrating, leads to disputes, fights, and overall distrust.
Obsidian. Butler shows how humans can even ignore those who are weakest when it comes to their own survival. The children would have slowed Rye down and possibly made her a target. However, Rye ends up forgetting her grief and seemingly throwing her own needs away when she realizes that the kids can speak. However, this can also be interpreted as a selfish act. Rye, in her need for companionship, adopts the children so she won't have to go through her grief alone. While the story may seem to be purely a social critique on humankind and society, there are some very positive undertones to the story. Butler subtly emphasizes the driving force behind everyone's actions as that of needing companionship. Everyone from Rye's repugnant neighbor (Butler 249) to Rye's love interest Obsidian, seems to have a deep-seeded need to be with someone, even when distrust and selfishness runs rampant through society. Butler tells us through Rye that humans will have compassion even in the most extreme situations. Rye wished to be with Obsidian, the vulgar neighbor wished to be with anyone, and the children at the end of the story wished to stay together.
This story, while at times very sad, was an accurate representation of the human condition. Humans would become desperate, barbaric animals who seem to only care for themselves, but have an instinctual need to be paired up, and be able to share their experiences and struggles with someone. Butler shows this through her concise writing, which makes it seem as if the story was much longer than ten pages. She ends the story with note of hope for the people in her universe, and it is uplifting to see positive characteristics exhibited in such a barren wasteland. If humankind were to experience a plague which crippled our capabilities of
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