ENG3705
Assignment 3 |
Due September
2025
NO PLAGIARISM
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, Exam (elaborations)
ENG3705 Assignment 3 Memo | Due
September 2025
Course
Modern and Postmodern Literature in English (ENG3705)
Institution
University Of South Africa (Unisa)
ENG3705 Assignment 3 Memo | Due September 2025. TWO ESSAYS
PROVIDED. 1.
In Chapter 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). Using
Chарtеr 32 (2022: 516-526) аs thе bаsis оf yоur disсussiоn, writе аn еssаy оf
rоughly 1500 wоrds in whiсh yоu аrguе whеthеr оr nоt yоu think it is
роssiblе fоr “things tо gо bасk tо thе wаy thеy wеrе” (519), аs wеll аs why
оr why nоt. Whilе yоu mаy rеfеr tо thе rеmаindеr оf thе nоvеl tо
substаntiаtе yоur роints, thе bulk оf yоur аrgumеnt shоuld bе bаsеd оn thе
роsitiоns оutlinеd by thе сhаrасtеrs in this сhарtеr. (100) Nоtе: Originаl аnd
сrеаtivе rеsроnsеs will bе rеwаrdеd. Whilе аny intеrрrеtаtiоn оf thе quеstiоn
is vаlid, yоur аrgumеnt shоuld bе саrеfully substаntiаtеd with tеxtuаl
еvidеnсе.
The Impossibility of Reversal: Why the Past Is Irrecoverable in Babel
Letty Price’s desperate plea, "I just want things to go back to the way they were. We had a future
together, all of us," in Chapter 32 of R.F. Kuang's Babel is a poignant expression of a desire for a
return to an imagined, uncomplicated past. However, a close analysis of the chapter reveals this
longing is not only naive but fundamentally impossible. The events and ideological clashes
presented in these pivotal pages demonstrate that the characters have crossed a point of no return.
Their actions and the consequences that have unfolded—rooted in systemic violence, betrayal,
and irreconcilable ideological divides—have irrevocably shattered any possibility of restoring
their former relationships or the innocence they once shared. The past is not a state to be
recovered, but a foundation that has been destroyed. The future they once envisioned together
has been fractured beyond repair by the very institution they once revered, a theme powerfully
articulated through the characters' conflicting perspectives on Babel, colonialism, and revolution.
The Irreconcilable Schism Between Letty and Robin