Diction & Memory in The Armies
This visualization explores how memory and diction are combined to express potent memories through the analysis of the main character, Ismael, and his detailing of conflict in his past and his current town siege.
Through the most prominent words featured in the word cloud, “appeared”, “asks”, “trembles”, “fleeing”, and “kill”, a clear lack of agency is demonstrated throughout Ismael’s memory. Although the situations recorded for this word cloud span over time, they share two commonalities: the pervasiveness of phrases that suggest weakness and lack of agency, and their root in the Colombian armed conflict. Ismael’s repeated use of “appeared” illustrates how he may have felt powerless because he was not able to pinpoint the source of these memories/conflict, simply that conflict was not, and then it was. “Asks” and “Trembles” suggests powerlessness over one’s own fate and body itself, and “fleeing” powerlessness over location.
This visualization was constructed in Tagxedo, a word cloud software, through logging over 500 entries of verb, noun, and adjective usage throughout the novel. The word cloud software then analyzes the words, including grouping words with the same stems, and produces a cloud where words are emphasized in size based on recurring frequency.