Speech Sounds

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1983

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Summary

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Quiz

Literary Devices

Point of View

Point of view (POV) refers to the perspective from which a story’s narration is written. “Speech Sounds” is written in the third-person limited point of view, meaning that the world and the story’s events are filtered through Rye’s perspective and are limited by what she knows. The POV adds to the mystery of the dystopian world, as there are several moments where the reader cannot be sure of something because Rye is not either. For example, when Rye sees the man chasing after the woman with a weapon in his hand, she is not entirely sure what it is at first: “He had something in his hand. Not a gun. A knife, perhaps” (Paragraph 82). Later, the narrative confirms it is a “long, slender boning knife” (Paragraph 87). The delay between the guess and the confirmation allows the reader to experience, in real time, Rye’s inability to make out the weapon while the man is running.

This limited POV also affects how the narration leads the reader to perceive various characters. Rye considers herself to be “less impaired.” We know this because she is left-handed: “She imitated his gesture, pointing toward the bus with her own left hand” (Paragraph 16). We also know this because she can speak and demonstrates more control over her emotions. But her position as a less severely impacted person leads her to perceive the more impaired negatively. Objectively, their characteristics are unfavorable—they are often loud and violent. But neither Rye nor the narration demonstrates any sympathy for them. The story begins with more-impaired characters engaged in a fistfight and ends with a more-impaired character murdering Obsidian.

Narrative Exposition

Narrative exposition refers to the practice of providing background context about the world in which a story takes place. The interaction between Obsidian and the bus driver is a prime example of narrative exposition. When Obsidian helps the driver out of the bus, the driver is upset: “The bearded man stepped back and watched the driver gesture threateningly, watching him shout in wordless anger” (Paragraph 22). As the two men stand face to face, they illustrate the new social structure in the world of “Speech Sounds.” Butler explains how their behavior reflects the general conduct of people like them: “The least impaired people tended to do this—stand back unless they were physically threatened and let those with less control scream and jump around” (Paragraph 23). Meanwhile, the bus driver’s perspective is an opportunity to describe how these two groups of people often clash: “This was an attitude of superiority and a that was the way people like the bus driver perceived it. Such ‘superiority’ was frequently punished by beatings, even by death” (Paragraph 23).

This exposition situates the story in a broader genre of dystopian fiction. Dystopian fiction, for example, tends to describe societies where people are overly categorized (i.e., The Giver, The Hunger Games, or The Handmaid’s Tale). We see these classifications, or taxonomies, in “Speech Sounds,” where certain characteristics belong to the least impaired (like left-handedness) and others belong to the more impaired (like shouting in wordless anger). This recalls the dystopian sub-genre of Zombie fiction, television shows, and other media that often depict variety in the qualities and capabilities of zombies and assign them unique names (like “runners” versus “clickers” in the video game The Last of Us).

Foil

A foil is a character who contrasts or emphasizes the strengths and weaknesses of a second character. Rye’s predatory neighbor is a foil for Obsidian. For instance, they make their sexual advances toward Rye in different ways. Obsidian places his hand on Rye’s thigh to ask for consent, and they communicate non-verbally about the experience. But the interaction with the neighbor is one-sided and cold: “He had made it clear that he wanted Rye to become his third woman” (Paragraph 37). Rye accepts Obsidian’s request but rejects the neighbor’s demand. Additionally, Obsidian “smelled good—male and good” (Paragraph 57); meanwhile, the neighbor “rarely washed since his bout with the illness” (Paragraph 37).

Their morals are also opposite. Obsidian is selfless, committed to protecting and serving as a vigilante police officer. The neighbor demonstrates selfishness, doing whatever he pleases and collecting women as sexual partners. He is also persistent and dangerous to the point where Rye imagines she might be forced to kill him. Obsidian offers Rye safety, and she is comfortable resting her head on his shoulder in the car. Having the neighbor as a foil for Obsidian illustrates all his positive characteristics and helps the reader understand why Rye chooses to continue her journey with him.

Simile & Metaphor

A simile compares two things using “like” or “as.” Metaphors also make comparisons by referring to something by mentioning something different that shares a quality that the writer is seeking to emphasize. Butler uses both simile and metaphor to convey how the illness has caused the world to be nothing like it used to be. When Rye thinks about children, she pities them because their possibilities are so limited. Previously, children read books and went to school, but these children burn books for fuel and play outside. Using a simile, Butler compares the kids to animals: “They ran through the streets chasing one another and hooting like chimpanzees” (Paragraph 63). This comparison shows how kids have changed and humanity has become more animalistic.

Butler also uses a metaphor when she writes about the children: “They would run through the downtown canyons with no real memory of what the buildings had been or even how they had come to be” (Paragraph 63). Here, Butler calls the buildings in Los Angeles “downtown canyons.” This metaphor illustrates how the buildings have completely lost their use and are only now fixtures in the environment. Because people can hardly remember what society used to be like, and the children cannot at all, the buildings may as well be naturally occurring land formations. Like natural canyons, no one living remembers how they came to be.