The List

The term “desecration” means to defile or disrespect something venerable or sacred. Naming his enemies this way is a key part of Noa’s plan. To Noa and his followers, the Desecrators symbolize not simply rebellion, but sacrilege, given that Noa defines art, language, and self-expression as blasphemous. Letta “knew how Desecrator was defined: Rebel. Creator of art. Enemy of New World” (45). This definition is unequivocal in its condemnation. The term Desecrators represents The Power of Language as well as the power of Censorship and Control. Letta cannot conceive of the Desecrator as anything other than an enemy until she meets Marlo and begins to learn that she is wrong.

To Marlo and Finn, who refer to themselves as Creators, the term Desecrators represents Noa’s hypocrisy, as well as his own willingness to twist language to his own ends. Something cannot be desecrated unless something is first sacred. For Marlo and Finn, List acts as a desecration of something that is sacred to them: freedom. So, in some ways the term “desecrator” is accurate in that the rebels are trying to unmake the sacredness of list.