Manipulation by Language in the MemorandumThe way one uses language to perpetuate certain images or perspectives can greatly influence the way people think. We can use language to manipulate the minds of others and subject them to some form of subjugation. In Vaclav Havel's The Memorandum, some characters use this manipulation tactic through various means involving language, and in doing so, they gain the authority or recognition they seek. Ballas promotes the new creation of the synthetic language, Ptydepe, which shrinks humans by mechanizing them with the goal of a more scientific and efficient communication system. Language is created so that people do not show any emotion or flaws when they speak. This system is analogous to the bureaucracy, which also uses its linguistic power to establish and maintain order in all aspects of Memorandum society. Havel illustrates how language is inherently omnipotent by illustrating the drastic effects it can have on people's rationality. Characters in the play who use language to their advantage gain power, and those who allow language to control them become victims of the cyclical struggle to systematize humanity. Ballas is a person who uses language to manipulate and tear down people, thereby exerting his power. Although subordinate to Gross by title at the beginning of the play, Ballas manages to convince Gross to sign the additional order for the official introduction of Ptydepe, even though Gross is opposed to the idea of ​​artificial language. He uses public opinion on the tampon affair to manipulate Gross into submitting to his demands. Ballas strategically attempts to tell Gross what he is... middle of paper ... and also sinks into self-alienation, unable to identify with who they are as humans. The characters in the play have become so involved in a systematic way of life that they keep in their desk drawers a knife and fork that they take with them every day to lunch "in a solemn procession, like a burial” (2.12). As long as people allow this oppression of humanity, the circle of power will never end. In the play, although Ptydepe was ultimately condemned as a failure, instead of ridding the organization of the system, Ballas implemented a new method of communication, Chorukor. Just as the play ends as it begins, the system that controls people's actions and thoughts will remain intact until a greater power can control the system.WORKS CITEDHavel, Vaclav. The memorandum in The Garden Party and other plays. Trans. Vera Blackwell. New York: Grove Press, 1993.