ENG3705
Assignment 3 | Due
September 2025
NO PLAGIARISM
[Pick the date]
[Type the company name]
, 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.
Essay Draft (~1500 words)
Introduction
In Chapter 32 of Babel (2022), R.F. Kuang presents one of the novel’s most emotionally charged
confrontations. Letty Price, standing apart from her companions, utters the plaintive wish: “I just
want things to go back to the way they were. We had a future together, all of us” (519). Her plea
crystallizes not only her own nostalgia but also the central tension of the novel: whether it is
possible to restore fractured relationships and social orders once betrayal, violence, and systemic
injustice have ruptured them. Chapter 32 forces each character to articulate their position on this
possibility, exposing irreconcilable worldviews. This essay argues that things cannot go back to
the way they were, both because of Letty’s personal betrayal and because the novel frames the
colonial order itself as irrevocably broken. While Letty yearns for a restoration of innocence, her
desire is revealed as both impossible and complicit in maintaining oppressive structures.
Examining Chapter 32 alongside the broader narrative demonstrates that attempts to return to a
prior state of harmony are illusory; once truth is revealed and power challenged, the past is lost,
and the only path forward is transformation.
Assignment 3 | Due
September 2025
NO PLAGIARISM
[Pick the date]
[Type the company name]
, 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.
Essay Draft (~1500 words)
Introduction
In Chapter 32 of Babel (2022), R.F. Kuang presents one of the novel’s most emotionally charged
confrontations. Letty Price, standing apart from her companions, utters the plaintive wish: “I just
want things to go back to the way they were. We had a future together, all of us” (519). Her plea
crystallizes not only her own nostalgia but also the central tension of the novel: whether it is
possible to restore fractured relationships and social orders once betrayal, violence, and systemic
injustice have ruptured them. Chapter 32 forces each character to articulate their position on this
possibility, exposing irreconcilable worldviews. This essay argues that things cannot go back to
the way they were, both because of Letty’s personal betrayal and because the novel frames the
colonial order itself as irrevocably broken. While Letty yearns for a restoration of innocence, her
desire is revealed as both impossible and complicit in maintaining oppressive structures.
Examining Chapter 32 alongside the broader narrative demonstrates that attempts to return to a
prior state of harmony are illusory; once truth is revealed and power challenged, the past is lost,
and the only path forward is transformation.
