Speeches. Stories. Books. Advertisement. Through language we are able to communicate are every thought, feeling and experience to other people. In some cases language and how we use it can influence the way we see things and teach us things we never thought possible. Real life and the world in which the Maddaddam trilogy is based has taught us this.
History has seen some of the most influential speakers have a big impact on entire countries through their words. Although their influence is not always a good one, it is an influence nonetheless and shows how much words can change people. In the trilogy, people are practically being constantly manipulated by other people through what they are told. Advertisement tells them they want to remain young and pretty, Adam One tells the Gods Gardeners what to believe in and Toby tells Crake all about how they came to be.
In our world, we have people like Hitler who was able to take advantage of people’s weaknesses to convince them that his every word was truth. I don’t think I need to mention what that lead to… On the other hand,
we have very important people who were able to use language for good and to fight for good causes. From Martin Luther King Jr. who fought for equality to John F. Kennedy who gav
e people hope after a time of war, in these cases speeches were used to make a difference in the world.
Another interesting note is how words can be manipulated to suit the persons needs. In Maddaddam, Toby tells the Crakers stories about their origins and “real” life but tends to leave out important details that might make her life more complicated if she tells them considering how many questions they ask.
Language can be a beautiful thing that does a lot of good and some people have a way with words that can really touch people who is a quality that can be good or bad. When a person that can use Language easily to influence others makes up lies it can create wars and change the world in a terrible way. But, like we saw with Toby and the Crakers, sometimes telling a story that isn’t entirely the truth is the only way to go because in who knows how the Crakers would take knowing everything about the real world when they cry when they find out the painballers are bad guys.
Now that you’ve seen how confusing language can be, have you ever found a speech really inspiring ? And if so how can you be so sure it is all truth ? I am the kind of person who believes language can be used as a sort of weapon and should not be taken lightly, do you agree ?
Works Cited:
Macias, Amanda. “Why Hitler was such a Successful Orator”. Business Insider, 13 May,2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-hitler-was-such-a-successful-orator-2015-5. Accessed 5 April,2017.
Pegg, David. “25 Speeches that Change the World”. List 25, 4 April,2017. http://list25.com/25-speeches-that-changed-the-world/. Accessed 5 April, 2017.
Bourne, Lynda. “The Role of Oration in Communication- a Lost Art ?” Moisaicproject’s Blog, Worpress, 30 October, 2012. https://mosaicprojects.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/the-role-of-oration-in-communication-a-lost-art/. Accessed 5 April, 2017.
Pleeblandia 
April 10, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Good points. I agree that language is powerful tool for communication. Sometimes people don’t use their voice to speak about important matters. After World War II, the genocide had a lasting effect on the entire globe and it still does. It took the world a couple of years to see what what was happening in Europe and for them to take action to stop the genocide, but fast forward to 1992, 47 years after WWII. After WWII, the world could learn from their mistakes by not letting it happen again and take preventative measures. However, in 1992 it happened all over again. Their was an ongoing genocide in Rwanda and around 1 174 000 people dies and 800 000 were Tutsis in 100 days. The UN and France were said to not have done much to stop the killing and other countries such as the US refused to take part in the conflict. Canada sent in Romeo Dallaire whom had little support from Canada to carry out his mission in Rwanda. The global community reported the genocide, but little help was given to stop the genocide. The RPF ultimately put an end to the massacre. The world did not use their voice to speak about the genocide and how there is an inequality of treatment. How come the world helped stop the genocide in Europe but not in Rwanda? People need to use their voice to end such matters and influence people to make a change. I think the post presents powerful points about language/voice should be use proactively.
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