Another submission by Komrad Semyon.

Witnessing the unprecedented changes in our language that affect people’s thought process, I thought of the book I read as a child and its remarkable resemblance to the current times. The book, ‘Gelsomino in the Land of Liars,’ was written by Italian children’s writer Gianni Rodari in 1957. Regrettably, I couldn't locate an English translation, but I wanted to share some of the points from this book with you all.

Trough an interesting chain of events, a boy named Gelsomino comes to the Land of Liars, where lie is truth. In the stationery store, they sell him food, and in the grocery store, ink and notebooks. He learns that many years prior, a pirate named Giacomone took over the country. To ensure nobody told the truth about him, he mandated a new dictionary where all words had opposite meanings.

“All words must be switched around,” he dictated. “For instance, the word “pirate” would mean “honest person. If anyone calls me a pirate, they will simply be saying that I am an honest man in our new language!” Those who dared to speak the truth were imprisoned. Animals were forced to lie, too, causing dogs to meow and cats to bark.

Giacomo continued, “Change the names of all objects, people, and animals. Let people wish each other good night instead of good morning. Thus, my loyal subjects will start each day with lies. At bedtime, it will be necessary to wish each other a good appetite.”

“That’s brilliant!," a minister exclaimed. “To compliment someone on his good looks, we would need to say, ‘What an ugly face you have!’”

When a new dictionary was printed and the Law of Obligatory Lying was enacted, an incredible confusion ensued. People went to the bakery for bread, forgetting that they now sell notebooks and pencils there, while bread was sold at stationery stores.

The chaos in schools was impossible to describe. Giacomone had all the numbers in the multiplication table reversed. To multiply, you had to divide, to add, you had to subtract. Teachers themselves couldn’t solve any more problems. Students, on the other hand, thrived, as the more mistakes they made, the better their grades.

Can you imagine the kind of essays the children composed with all the words mixed up? Here's an excerpt from an essay titled "Summer Day," which earned the student a counterfeit gold medal.

"Yesterday it rained. How pleasant it is to walk in the rain that pours as if from a bucket! People can finally leave their raincoats and umbrellas at home and walk outside without jackets! I hate the sunshine—you have to stay home to avoid getting wet, and spend all night watching the rainwater fill the roof tiles of the doors.” To correctly appreciate this work, you need to understand that "roof tiles" in the new language meant "windows".

In the Land of Liars, even animals had to learn to lie—dogs meowed, cats barked, horses mooed, and the lion at the zoo was obliged to squeak, because mice were now required to roar.

Fish and birds, however, didn’t comply with King Giacomo's laws. Fish, being silent their entire lives, couldn't be forced to lie, and birds flew high in the air, beyond the reach of the royal guard. They continued to sing in their own voices, oblivious to the changes. People envied the birds: "How lucky they are! They can't be fined or jailed..."

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It is amazing how this satire is so precise in its irony!

Red Square wrote: ↑

6/26/2023, 9:58 pm

It is amazing how this satire is so precise in its irony!

Agreed, and the story is far richer and generous in context than the nearest American equivalent, "Bizarro Superman," who merely represented a mirror world of opposites and only since 1959.