ENG3705
Assignment 3 2025
Unique #:
Due Date: September 2025
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, CHАРTЕR 32 ОF BАBЕL,
In Chapter 32 of Babel (2022: 516–526), Letty Price cries out in despair, “I just want
things to go back to the way they were. We had a future together, all of us.” Her plea
captures the tragic tension between longing for a lost order and recognising that
history cannot be reversed. The events of Chapter 32 place the characters at an
irreparable breaking point: Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty confront the devastating
consequences of their rebellion against colonial power and against one another. The
question of whether things can go back to how they were is not only Letty’s
desperate wish but also the thematic core of the novel. The answer is ultimately no;
once violence, betrayal, and political awakening occur, the old order cannot return.
This essay will argue that things cannot go back to the way they were because
betrayal has destroyed trust, because the colonial structures that shaped their
friendships are irreversibly exposed, and because revolutionary struggle transforms
individuals in ways that cannot be undone. At the same time, the chapter reveals the
tragic human longing for reconciliation and stability, showing why Letty’s words
resonate despite their impossibility.
The Irreversibility of Betrayal
Letty’s outburst comes immediately after her betrayal of Robin and the others. She
alerts the authorities, leading to the confrontation that escalates fatally. This act
severs the trust that once bound the four students together at Babel. Before this,
their friendship was fragile but intact; they shared meals, studies, and moments of
solidarity. After her betrayal, however, nothing remains of that earlier intimacy. Letty
insists she did what she did out of fear and loyalty to her own survival, but Robin and
Victoire see it as an unforgivable act. Trust, once broken in such a profound way,
cannot be restored.
The dialogue in Chapter 32 makes this finality clear. Robin accuses Letty of
cowardice, of clinging to privilege while pretending to value friendship. Victoire also
rejects Letty’s plea, recognising that her actions were motivated not by
misunderstanding but by a refusal to confront her complicity in colonial violence.
Letty’s longing for things to return to normal ignores the reality that betrayal creates a
rupture. Once trust is destroyed, there is no path back to innocence. The very act of
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
Assignment 3 2025
Unique #:
Due Date: September 2025
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, CHАРTЕR 32 ОF BАBЕL,
In Chapter 32 of Babel (2022: 516–526), Letty Price cries out in despair, “I just want
things to go back to the way they were. We had a future together, all of us.” Her plea
captures the tragic tension between longing for a lost order and recognising that
history cannot be reversed. The events of Chapter 32 place the characters at an
irreparable breaking point: Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty confront the devastating
consequences of their rebellion against colonial power and against one another. The
question of whether things can go back to how they were is not only Letty’s
desperate wish but also the thematic core of the novel. The answer is ultimately no;
once violence, betrayal, and political awakening occur, the old order cannot return.
This essay will argue that things cannot go back to the way they were because
betrayal has destroyed trust, because the colonial structures that shaped their
friendships are irreversibly exposed, and because revolutionary struggle transforms
individuals in ways that cannot be undone. At the same time, the chapter reveals the
tragic human longing for reconciliation and stability, showing why Letty’s words
resonate despite their impossibility.
The Irreversibility of Betrayal
Letty’s outburst comes immediately after her betrayal of Robin and the others. She
alerts the authorities, leading to the confrontation that escalates fatally. This act
severs the trust that once bound the four students together at Babel. Before this,
their friendship was fragile but intact; they shared meals, studies, and moments of
solidarity. After her betrayal, however, nothing remains of that earlier intimacy. Letty
insists she did what she did out of fear and loyalty to her own survival, but Robin and
Victoire see it as an unforgivable act. Trust, once broken in such a profound way,
cannot be restored.
The dialogue in Chapter 32 makes this finality clear. Robin accuses Letty of
cowardice, of clinging to privilege while pretending to value friendship. Victoire also
rejects Letty’s plea, recognising that her actions were motivated not by
misunderstanding but by a refusal to confront her complicity in colonial violence.
Letty’s longing for things to return to normal ignores the reality that betrayal creates a
rupture. Once trust is destroyed, there is no path back to innocence. The very act of
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
