The words are all we have
The North Water“The words are all we have” is Patrick Sumner’s brief defense of language in a conversation with Otto. Set against Otto’s suggestion that mature people should give up words, the phrase makes speech not merely a tool for explanation but a boundary Sumner draws between human beings and beasts.
Context of the Exchange
Otto argues that the most important questions cannot be answered with words. He compares words to toys that amuse and educate for a time, but that people should relinquish on reaching adulthood. Sumner responds by shaking his head, marking his disagreement before he speaks.
Wording and Meaning
Sumner says, “The words are all we have,” and insists that abandoning them would leave people no better than beasts. The statement does not claim that language can answer every question; instead, it rejects Otto’s conclusion that its limits make it disposable. For Sumner, words remain humanity’s indispensable means of making sense of experience and distinguishing human life from mere animal existence.
Narrative Significance
The exchange leaves the disagreement unresolved. Otto smiles at what he regards as Sumner’s wrongheadedness, then tells him to find explanations on his own if that is what he truly believes. Sumner’s phrase therefore stands as a declaration of conviction rather than a shared conclusion: Otto emphasizes the failure of words before the hardest questions, while Sumner holds to their necessity despite that failure.
