Throughout the early stages of the novel, Coetzee shows that Friday is not able to speak and thus Susan dehumanizes him. Even though Coetzee never clarifies the true means by which Friday lost his tongue, it is obvious nonetheless that Friday is unable to speak. Susan's first thought about Friday's inability to speak was "that Friday was like a dog" (21). Susan is baffle

Language is a very important theme for Coetzee. In the end of the novel when discussing the concept of freedom, Foe says that "Freedom is a word like any word. It is a puff of air, seven letters on a slate. It is but the name we give to the desire you speak of, the desire to be free" (149). In a way, Foe, and thus Coetzee, emphasize the fact that words mean nothing, they are but a system of symbols, signs and signifiers. However, these words are given meaning and importance through the emotions that arise from them. Freedom as a word means actually nothing, but it is a signifier to the human emotions of a strong desire. Though Friday is unable to speak, he has the ability to connect with other people through music and other interaction. However because Susan speaks to no one, there is no one to affect with her words, and they become nothing but empty words, emptiness not unlike the void into which she speaks.

d by Friday's silence and compares him to a dog. Though Cruso believes Friday has no need for words, Susan attempts to communicate once they have escape from the island. Susan has trouble teaching Friday words such as "spoon" and decides that perhaps "after years of speechlessness the very notion of speech may be lost to him" (57). Susan has lost hope of teaching Friday to communicate, however she continues to talk to Friday to educate him out of his so called "darkness and silence," possibly because it gives her the satisfaction that she is making good on her less than ideal circumstances. Susan continues to doubt Friday and believes that "the unnatural years Friday spent with Cruso had deadened his heart, making him cold, incurious, like an animal wrapt entirely in itself" (70). Susan views Friday as animal-like not only because he lacks the ability to communicate, but also because in his silence he is trapped in helpless silence,

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1253
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)