A dystopian society is often used in fictional stories in which the author creates the worst-case scenario when it comes to some kind of disorder in the government or society. What makes up a dystopian society ranges differently in the author’s style of writing. For example, a dystopian society often contains elements like totalitarian government, extreme surveillance, and restriction of citizens’ freedom or independent thoughts. Authors emphasize the powerless individuals who are facing the oppressive government run or the society’s expectations. In the bitter dystopian short story, “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler, the author creates a very disoriented society due to the lack of speech, language, and communication. She emphasizes the effect on the world where there is no verbal communication by using different the ways of expression, describing why knowledge can lead to jealousy and fights, and using an unique point of view.
Body language plays a big role in how they communicate. The term “illness” refers to some kind of plague or virus that “wiped out all humanities ability to communicate” (Butler 96) and as a result, language was severely impaired or completely destroyed. Due to this, people’s gestures and motions often trigger many outbreaks and lead other people to identify a character and draw out the negative or even inappropriate comments. In the beginning of the story, the setting takes place in a bus where Rye, the main character, witnesses multiple fights and arguments between the passengers. There are no dialogue or clear reason to why the fights are triggered but it seems like the grunting and gesturing at each other or the mock punches had might have caused it (Butler 89). These kinds of gestures are often used to express extreme hatred and bitterness towards someone without the usage of words. In addition, body language can often intentionally cause people to make obscene judgements. When Rye gestured the man who had grouped her and Obsidian together, it was her way to express disapproval and to indicate him to stop. However, instead, the man purposely gestured other men and accused her of having sex with Obsidian and even suggested that she accommodate the other men (Butler 95). Being defenseless, she was not able to do anything to the man and did not expect people around to help her.
In this society, having too knowledge arouses jealousy and violence. Obsidian is seen as someone “less impaired, more reasonable, and comprehending, less driven by frustration, confusion, and anger.” (Butler 92) Normally, police officers are often viewed as heroic and courageous, and they are well-respected. When Obsidian exposes his LAPD uniform and service revolver, most people, including Rye and the driver, perceived him as an arrogant, ordinary person. “She obeyed mainly out of curiosity. Cop or not, maybe he could do something to stop the stupid fighting” (Butler 92) Adding onto that, when Obsidian tried to help the driver get out of the bus, he “stepped back and watched the driver gesture threateningly, watched him shout in wordless anger.” (Butler 93) Because he was different, people viewed him as superior and condescending which brings out a lot of discrimination or aggression. The loss of language and speech has led to absence of order and social regulation which sends society into a chaotic state. Knowing the fact that Obsidian is able to read and write aggravates Rye. In the past, she was a literate and educated woman who taught history at UCLA. Ever since the illness hit, it has deeply affected her because it made her not remember what her books are about. This stirs up her rage and jealousy when she finds out that Obsidian is able to read and write and it got to one point where she had thoughts on murdering him.
The story centers around a character, Rye, but it is written in third person. This point of view allows the reader to see how she is reacting to what is happening around her and how she feels about it. Throughout the story, there is no dialogue between the characters but it all changes when Rye encounters two children after the deadly gunfight. “‘I’m Valerie Rye,’ she said, savoring the words. ‘It’s all right for you to talk to me.’” (Butler 110) This is the first time where pronouns are being used in the story although it is told in third person point of view. The author’s choice of writing this in third person emphasizes Rye’s isolation in a speechless, chaotic world. When Rye says “it’s all right for you to talk to me” she is finally seeing a spark of hope and freedom. To her, the children symbolizes hope for the next generation. Since they are not affected by the illness, she decides to be the guardian of those children and hopes that this will end the world of speech impairment.
In conclusion, the lack of verbal communication is the main reason why this society is disorganized and unstable. As a result of the illness, people are unable to write and speak so they have to use other forms like body language to communicate. This can lead to misinterpretation and violence and brutality can break out. Furthermore, Butler ties in how having knowledge or the ability to read can be dangerous and often trigger jealousy. This is shown in how Obsidian is treated in the bus and how Rye feels towards him when she finds out that he is able to read and write. Finally, the author writes in third person that centers around Rye which creates an interesting way to emphasizes the isolation that Rye is living.