Another example of this strategy is presented below. 4:19 Nancy Cowan
: Well we thank you. Really.
Penelope Longstreet : I dont think we have to thank each other. At
least some of us still have a sense of community, right?
PPC004 Alan and Nancy Cowan were ready to go out of
the Longstreets’ house. Before leaving, Nancy delivered her gratitude toward the Longstreets who had
served them well as their guests. In replying to Nancy’s statement, Penelope
said that they did not need to thank each other. Then, Penelope raised a small talk that included the hearers into the discussion by using the pronoun
“we”. She said that some of people still had sense of community. She used the
strategy of presupposing, raising, asserting common ground. Datum PPC051 below is also an example of presupposing, raising,
asserting common ground strategy. 4:20 Michael Longstreet
: Well, you’ve certainly perked up since you tossed your cookies.
Nancy Cowan : Do you realize how crude that is?
Michael Longstreet : Listen.
We’re all decent people. All four of us. How do we get all carried away, losing our
tempers? PPC051
In this conversation, Michael was arguing with Nancy. He said that Nancy had certainly perked up since she vomited. Then, Nancy thought that
Michael’s statement was very crude. Therefore, Michael tried to make the situation better by using one of positive politeness strategies named
presupposing, raising, and asserting common ground strategy. It is indicated by the use of pronoun
“we” in Michael’s opinion. He said that all four of them,
Michael, Alan, Penelope and Nancy were decent people and they should not lose their tempers. He showed this strategy to save
the hearers’ positive face.
h. Joking to put the hearer at ease
The phenomenon of joking to put the hearer at ease strategy in Carnage movie appears in 3 out of 67 times of occurrences with the percentage 3.95 .
An example of this strategy is presented below. 4:21 Penelope Longstreet: She has to have an operation, poor thing.
Nancy Cowan : Yeah? What for?
Michael Longstreet : She’s gonna get a polyethylene and metallic
prosthesis.
And she’s all worried about what’s gonna be left of it after the cremation.
PPC021 In this example,
Penelope said that Michael’s mother had to have an operation. When Nancy asked Michael why his mother had to have the
operation, Michael answered by telling a joke. He said that she was going to get a polyethylene and metallic prosthesis. The joke was indicated by the
sentence “And she’s worried about what will be left of it after her cremation.”
In other word, when she died and were cremated, there would be something left. Michael showed this strategy to put the hearers, Alan and Nancy Cowan,
at ease. Therefore, Al an and Nancy’s positive face had been satisfied by
Michael. The following conversation is also an example of the strategy of
positive politeness.
4:22 Michael Longstreet: She wants to be cremated and put upstate... next to her mother whos all alone. Couple of urns
jabbering away on the shores of Lake Sebago. Ha ha
PPC022
Michael’s utterances in the previous dialogue shows that after her mother died, she wanted to be cremated and put upstate next to her mother who
was always alone. Then, he made a joke about this topic. He said that couple of urns of his mother and his grandmother would jabber away on the shores of
Lake Sebago. He showed this strategy to put Alan and Nancy Cowan at ease. He applied the strategy of joking to put the hearer at ease
to safe the hearers’ positive face.
Another example of this strategy experienced by a character in Carnage is shown in the datum below.
4:23 Penelope Longstreet : My husband has spent the entire afternoon drying things
Nancy Cowan : Ha, ha, ha
PPC022 Nancy was angry to Michael because he was too busy with his cell.
Thus, Nancy grabbed his cell and put it into a vase full of water. Then, Michael tried to help Alan by using a hairdryer to dry his cell. Penelope made a joke
about this situation. She told that Michael had spent the entire afternoon drying things, those we
re Penelope’s books and Alan’s cell. She told this joke to make the hearers felt good and laughed at her joke. Thus, Penelope had saved the
hearers’ positive face by employing the strategy of joking to put the hearer at ease.
i. Asserting or presupposing knowledge of and concern for hearer’s want
Besides the strategy of giving or asking for reasons, the strategy of asserting or presupposing knowledge of and co
ncerning for hearer’s want has
