Babel-17 (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Samuel R. Delany
- First Published: 1966
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Language or languages, Self, Education or educators, Art or artists, Communication, Extrasensory perception or powers, Extraterrestrial life, Future, Linguistics or linguists, Marriage, Mistaken or secret identity, Other worlds, Science or scientists, Sin or Original sin, Space flight or travel, Space ships, stations, or vehicles, Twenty-first century
- Locales: Alliance, planets of the (fictive), Space
Babel-17, Delany's first novel to receive a Nebula Award, was also the first to address issues found in many of his later works. Part novel and part philosophical inquiry, Babel-17 explores the degree to which language shapes the perception of reality. Babel-17, the artificial language from which the novel receives its name, is described by Delany as lacking both first- and second-person pronouns. As a result, Delany suggests, speakers of this language would not have any ability to be “self-critical” to separate reality from what the language has “programmed” them...
[The entire page is 1244 words long]
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- Babel-17 (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
- Babel-17 (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
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- Babel-17 (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
- Babel-17 (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
See Also:
Samuel R. Delany (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Samuel R. Delany (Short Fiction)Samuel R. Delany (Long Fiction)Samuel R. Delany (Identities and Issues)
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