In Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, Hoban depicts a post-apocalyptic society ravaged by nuclear war. Although he masterfully crafts the story to warn readers of the dangers of technology, the real achievement lies in the strange language, called Riddleyspeak, in which the book is written. As Ferdinand de Saussure states, language is the mechanism by which people derive their ideas. from the nebulous cloud of thought. One can only know what one can express, so language not only affects the way people think, but also serves as a framework on which to build community. Russell Hoban uses the modified Riddleyspeak in Riddley Walker as a mirror to the values ​​and psyche of the destroyed society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At a superficial level, new language is capable of changing the nuances, connotations, and even meaning of words. For example, diplomacy becomes "plomercy", indicating the shift of the very idea of ​​diplomacy towards something much more sinister with the new word for the idea encapsulating "mercy". In this sense, the new language is able to vividly capture the history and cultural change of this fictional society. Hoban is able to convey to the audience the representation of this society and its values ​​not only through the plot but also through the actual visual vehicle of the representation. This technique has the effect of adding another level of immersion for the audience. Another point Hoban made in creating Riddleyspeak is that society can only progress as far as language allows. As Goodparley notes: “Words! They will move things that you know they will do things. They will bring them back. Give something a name and you beckon” (122). It recognizes that words are the fundamental drivers and patterns that shape the ideas people think about. An example is given when Goodparley himself cannot understand the "Legend of St. Eustatius" because it is written in modern English and in fact he interprets it completely incorrectly, twisting it to make make the only version that can be accepted by the limits of the world. Riddley speaks the language. Writing the story in Riddleyspeak affects how readers can perceive Hoban's messages, not in the context of how modern readers think in the English model, but in the Riddleyspeak model. To convey these ideas, which can only be expressed in the situation of a world beset by post-nuclear war problems, Hoban needed a different framework, which he found in the language he created. Finding meaning in nothingness is a recurring theme in the novel, appearing in "The Lissener and the Other Voyce Owl of the Worl" in the story of the owl "saying the sylents" (85) and the day emerging from the "form of the night” in “Why the Dog Wont Show its Eyes” (18). This idea of ​​finding value in nothing and using nothing to define everything else is also important in the language itself. Riddleyspeak is full of missing parts compared to English: letters, apostrophes, contractions and words. Part of the reason nothingness is important is that it defines “something” by contrast. Without night, we could never truly understand what day is, and Riddley's society is defined by what it has lost. So we can understand how technology and advanced knowledge have the power to affect society. The missing parts in Ridleyspeak give..