The Memorandum

The Memorandum

"The Memorandum" is a play by Václav Havel.

Characters

Josef Gross

Jan Ballas

George

Maria

Ferdinand

Thomas

Plot

Josef Gross, a director of an unnamed organization, receives a memorandum written in Ptydepe, a constructed language about an audit. He finds out that Ptydepe was created to get rid of similarities between words, such as fox and box and emotional connexions. He gradually becomes opposed to the use of it whilst trying to get someone to translate the memorandum for him. Gross finally finds a reluctant secretary named Maria, who explains that while she can translate the memorandum, she does not have a permit to do so yet.

The next day, his deputy Jan Ballas takes over Gross's job. Gross becomes a "staff watcher", someone who spies on the workers of the unnamed organization. Meanwhile, Maria gets fired for translating Gross's memorandum. The last few Ptydepe learners in the organization give up learning. After a while, Ballas gives his job back to Gross. Ptydepe is replaced with another language, one with very extreme similarities between words so as to make learning it easier. The play ends up most of the characters going to lunch. Havel, Václav. The Memorandum. Faber and Faber, 1989. ]

References

ee Also

* Ptydepe


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Blue Eagle At Work — The Blue Eagle At Work: Reclaiming Democratic Rights in the American Workplace is a legal treatise written by Charles J. Morris which analyzes collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the federal statute governing most …   Wikipedia

  • Memorandum of association — The memorandum of association of a company, often simply called the memorandum (and then often capitalised as an abbreviation for the official name, which is a proper noun and usually includes other words), is the document that governs the… …   Wikipedia

  • Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts — Created September 1986 Location Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Authors Kosta Mihailović, Mihailo Markovi …   Wikipedia

  • memorandum of association — The Memorandum of Association is the first constitutional document of a company containing fundamentals such as the name, the company s objects and powers, and its original share capital. In the past companies could avoid activities which fell… …   Law dictionary

  • Memorandum of Points and Authorities — A document that cites (refers to) legal authorities such as statutes and court cases, and explains how those authorities support the position advocated by the party who wrote the memorandum. Often written to support a motion. Category: Small… …   Law dictionary

  • The Bollandists —     The Bollandists     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Bollandists     An association of ecclesiastical scholars engaged in editing the Acta Sanctorum. This work is a great hagiographical collection begun during the first years of the seventeenth… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • memorandum — /memaraendam/ To be remembered; be it remembered. A formal word with which the body of a record in the Court of King s Bench anciently commenced. An informal record, note or instrument embodying something that the parties desire to fix in memory… …   Black's law dictionary

  • memorandum — /memaraendam/ To be remembered; be it remembered. A formal word with which the body of a record in the Court of King s Bench anciently commenced. An informal record, note or instrument embodying something that the parties desire to fix in memory… …   Black's law dictionary

  • memorandum — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ internal ▪ confidential, private, secret ▪ leaked ▪ detailed ▪ explanatory …   Collocations dictionary

  • Memorandum of understanding — A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”