, ENG3705 Assignment 3 (COMPLETE ANSWERS)
Semester 2 2025 - DUE September 2025; 100%
TRUSTED Complete, trusted solutions and
explanations.
In Chарtеr 32 оf Bаbеl, Lеtty Priсе рlеаds: “I just wаnt things tо gо
bасk tо thе wаy thеy wеrе. Wе hаd а futurе tоgеthеr, аll оf us”
(2022: 519).
Can Things Ever “Go Back to the Way They Were”?
An Analysis of Chapter 32 of Babel
In Chapter 32 of R.F. Kuang’s Babel (pp. 516–526), Letty Price
articulates one of the most emotionally fraught questions of the novel: ―I
just want things to go back to the way they were. We had a future
together, all of us‖ (519). Letty’s plea occurs at a breaking point, where
the fragile bonds between the novel’s central characters—Robin, Ramy,
Victoire, and Letty—collapse under the weight of political conflict,
betrayal, and divergent visions of the future. This statement raises a
crucial question not only for the characters but also for the reader: is it
ever possible for things to return to ―the way they were,‖ whether in
personal relationships or within broader social structures?
My argument is that it is not possible for things to return to their earlier
state, neither in the microcosm of the quartet’s friendship nor in the
macrocosm of the colonial order that frames the novel. Letty’s longing
for the past is not simply nostalgia—it is a refusal to reckon with how
historical violence, systemic oppression, and personal choices have
permanently altered the conditions of life. Drawing primarily on Chapter
32, I will show how each character’s position demonstrates the
impossibility of restoration: Robin and Ramy insist that the colonial
machine makes any return to innocence impossible;
Semester 2 2025 - DUE September 2025; 100%
TRUSTED Complete, trusted solutions and
explanations.
In Chарtеr 32 оf Bаbеl, Lеtty Priсе рlеаds: “I just wаnt things tо gо
bасk tо thе wаy thеy wеrе. Wе hаd а futurе tоgеthеr, аll оf us”
(2022: 519).
Can Things Ever “Go Back to the Way They Were”?
An Analysis of Chapter 32 of Babel
In Chapter 32 of R.F. Kuang’s Babel (pp. 516–526), Letty Price
articulates one of the most emotionally fraught questions of the novel: ―I
just want things to go back to the way they were. We had a future
together, all of us‖ (519). Letty’s plea occurs at a breaking point, where
the fragile bonds between the novel’s central characters—Robin, Ramy,
Victoire, and Letty—collapse under the weight of political conflict,
betrayal, and divergent visions of the future. This statement raises a
crucial question not only for the characters but also for the reader: is it
ever possible for things to return to ―the way they were,‖ whether in
personal relationships or within broader social structures?
My argument is that it is not possible for things to return to their earlier
state, neither in the microcosm of the quartet’s friendship nor in the
macrocosm of the colonial order that frames the novel. Letty’s longing
for the past is not simply nostalgia—it is a refusal to reckon with how
historical violence, systemic oppression, and personal choices have
permanently altered the conditions of life. Drawing primarily on Chapter
32, I will show how each character’s position demonstrates the
impossibility of restoration: Robin and Ramy insist that the colonial
machine makes any return to innocence impossible;
