My Thoughts on Babel by RF Kuang

According to Statistics Canada, for every dollar an average Canadian makes, a racialized individual earns only 81 cents (Statistics Canada, 2024). This fact is one among many concerning statistics surrounding racism and systemic discrimination. These realities have profound and lasting impacts that shape societies, identities, and an individual’s sense of belonging. The fantasy novel Babel by R.F. Kuang follows the protagonist, Robin, and his small group of friends as they navigate life in England as new students and immigrants during the 1830s. Although the novel explores ideas such as university life and imperialism, its central theme lies in the effects of systemic oppression and persistent racism. Through characters like Robin, Ramey, and Griffin, Kuang illustrates the dehumanizing effects of racism and its power to shape identity and attitudes toward one’s homeland. As Statistics Canada reports, people of colour in Canada continue to make less than non-racialized individuals, highlighting the pervasive nature of systemic inequality—a reality mirrored throughout Kuang’s novel. Though Babel is fictional, the characters’ experiences with racism are grounded in real historical and emotional truths. Through their stories, Kuang powerfully conveys the emotional and psychological consequences of racism, showing how it erodes self-perception and belonging.

One of the many reasons Babel is such a compelling read is Kuang’s ability to connect with readers through emotional authenticity. The theme of racism is central, and the experiences and frustrations of each character resonate across contexts. Regardless of social or economic status, many people of colour living in Western societies encounter some form of racism. Whether in the form of microaggressions or overt hostility, these acts—however small they may seem—carry lasting harm. As a foreigner, Robin Swift faces frequent and severe racism. One of the most prevalent examples comes in the form of verbal insults. As Sue et al. (271) explain, microaggressions such as racial slurs reinforce social hierarchies by demeaning individuals. At the university’s commemoration ball, a student named Pendennis mocks Robin: “‘Chink,’ he said in a very ugly voice. ‘You’re just a dressed-up Chinkee, you know that, Swift?’” (Kuang, 270). Pendennis reduces Robin to a slur, dehumanizing him and asserting racial dominance. Kuang’s depiction underscores how language functions as a weapon to strip away individuality, marking targets as inferior.

Another striking instance of dehumanization occurs when Robin realizes the extent of Griffin’s suffering. Kuang writes that “Griffin had been robbed of everything – a mother tongue, a motherland, a family” (Kuang, 207). Over time, Griffin’s experiences at Babel erase his cultural and personal identity. Through persistent racism, degradation, and alienation, he loses his sense of belonging and connection to his heritage. This experience speaks to a larger truth: systemic racism often leads to cultural erasure and disconnection, severing the ties between individuals and their histories. Kuang uses Griffin’s story to show how oppression extends beyond individual prejudice to dismantle language, culture, and identity itself. Similarly, Ramey’s words reveal the exhaustion that accompanies continual discrimination: “I hate it in this country. I hate the way they look at me, I hate being passed around at their wine parties like an animal on display” (Kuang, 311). His frustration encapsulates the emotional toll of constant racial objectification and exclusion. The novel captures how prolonged exposure to racism can lead to feelings of powerlessness and displacement—psychological states that echo across generations and geographies.

Kuang also explores how systemic oppression alters one’s relationship to both homeland and host nation. Continuous exposure to racial discrimination can distort self-image and complicate identity formation. In one pivotal exchange, Griffin tells Robin that he is “a ship adrift, searching for familiar shores” (Kuang, 245). This metaphor of a drifting ship vividly conveys the liminality of existence between cultures—the feeling of being trapped between two worlds, belonging fully to neither. When Griffin tells Robin that “there is no homeland. It’s gone” (Kuang, 245), it reinforces the devastating realization that colonialism and racism sever the possibility of return. Kuang’s use of liminality captures this in-between state, where the effects of colonialism and assimilation erode both cultural and personal grounding.

Later, when Robin finally returns to Canton, Kuang writes: “But nothing stirred in his chest. Standing on the deck, minutes from stepping foot in his motherland after a lifetime away, all Robin felt was empty” (Kuang, 321). The choice of the word “empty” rather than “sad” or “hurt” is deliberate. Sadness implies emotional connection; emptiness conveys detachment. The absence of feeling underscores the profound alienation caused by systemic racism and cultural loss. Kuang’s depiction reveals how, for many displaced or colonized individuals, both “home” and “abroad” become spaces of estrangement. This moment encapsulates the psychological aftermath of colonization—the loss of belonging not only in the adopted land but also in the homeland that has become unrecognizable.

Each character in Babel endures unique hardships that shape their motivations and identities. Yet the most significant influence on Robin, Ramey, and Griffin is the systemic and persistent racism they face, which inflicts lasting emotional and cultural damage. Kuang’s novel serves as a profound commentary on how racism dismantles identity and belonging. Although set in a dystopian 19th-century world, Babel remains a mirror of contemporary realities. The struggles of its characters—Robin’s disconnection from his homeland, Ramey’s exhaustion under constant prejudice, and Griffin’s total loss of cultural roots—collectively illustrate how systemic oppression isolates individuals and corrodes selfhood. Through these narratives, Kuang exposes the psychological cost of racism and the enduring sense of liminality it creates. Babel ultimately urges readers to confront the enduring legacies of colonialism and to recognize how deeply systemic discrimination continues to shape lives today.