How to live without talking? The phenomenon of social and communicative isolation in the novel “Stone upon stone” by Wiesław Myśliwski

Abstract

One of the protagonists of the novel “Stone Upon Stone” by Wiesław Myśliwski is Michał Pietruszka. After the dramatic end of his career, Michał returns to the village where he once lived. He becomes nobody due to a mental illness and the loss of social position. He stops talking and communicating with the outside world. The article aims to show that language helps to merge the human self. Besides language, man is nobody and does not exist.