Maxim of Quality Violated Maxim
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Figure 4.4. Datum 2p.7. Example of quality maxim violation.
Page 7 Gluteus Maximus : “First, a bit of sprinting - Im the fastest man in the
world. One Two One Two”
Obelix : “Whats the matter with that Roman?”
Asterix : “I havent a clue. Perhaps someones after him.”
Obelix : ”Ill go and ask him.”
Gluteus Maximus : “One Two Im the fastest One …” Obelix
: “Is someone after you?” Asterix
: “Obelix, leave that Roman alone... and lets go and find some boars.”
Obelix : “All right.”
Gluteus Maximus : “They overtook me Both of them b Anyway, when it comes to throwing the javelin, Im the greatest”
Gluteus Maximus is an athlete from Rome. Everyone in Rome believes that he is the best athlete in Rome. That makes him so proud of himself. Chief
Gaius Veriambitius wants to send him to the Olympic Games. Gluteus Maximus is very confidence that he can join the Olympic Games and will win the games.
When he does the exercise, he states that he is the fastest man in the world. By saying this, Gluteus Maximus does not tell the truth since Asterix and Obelix are
faster than him. Since Gluteus Maximus does not tell the truth, he violates maxim of quality.
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However, the humor of this scene is mostly contributed by the illustration. The illustration shows that Gluteus Maximus pulls a small tree and throw it as if
he is practicing javelin. He throws the small tree to the direction where Obelix and Asterix go. Unexpectedly, the small tree hits Obelix. As the return, Obelix throws
a very big tree to Gluteus Maximus right to his face.
The second violation of quality maxim is found in page 9. It is when Gluteus Maximus challenge Obelix in some athletic contest. When he challenges
Obelix, he addresses Obelix as fatty. It makes Obelix angry because he thinks that he is not fat. Obelix feels offended and hits Maximus. It makes Maximus
unexpectedly lay down on the tree. The humor comes up when we read and see the illustration. The illustration and conversation are as follow:
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Figure 4.5. Datum 2p.7. Example of quality maxim violation.
Page 9: Asterix
: “Don’t take any notice of my friend, Roman. Obelix Why did you do that? He wasn’t bothering us.”
Obelix : “What dyou mean? He threw that bit of wood at my
head, so I threw one back at him. Were quits now.” Gluteus Maximus: “Youre not going to get away with this By Jupiter
You, fatty, Ill take you on at ordinary wrestling, all-in wrestling, boxing Ill wallop you at those Im the
greatest Im …”
Obelix : “Im not fat” to Gluteus Maximus.
From the conversation, it can be seen that Obelix does not give appropriate information. It is because he said that he is not fat. However, the fact is that
Obelix is fat. It seems that Obelix does not like if he is addressed as ‘fatty’. By stating that he is not fat, Obelix violates maxim of quality.
The next violation of quality maxim is in page 16. The conversation is as follow:
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Figure 4.6. Datum 7p.16. Example of quality maxim violation.
Page 16 Geriatrix
: “THE OLDEST INHABITANT SHOULD REPRESENT THE VILLAGE”
Fulliautomatix: “No, I shall go to the games” Obelix
: “Huh Might just as well send Dogmatix. Hes better than you
” Fulliautomatix: “BETTER THAN ME?”
Obelix : “Well, can you scratch your ear with your hind leg?”
Getafix : “Order Order The Olympic Committee has chosen our
team. Asterix. Because he is the most intelligent and because without him we wouldnt be competing in the games
at all. And Obelix because the potion had a permanent effect on him.”
Obelix : “Exactly I feel in when I was a baby”
Geriatrix : “Get away Do tell me all about it …”
Chief Vitalstatistix: “And now, Ive got a surprise for you We shall all accompany our team to olympia to cheer them on”
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The Gaulish people: “Good old Vitalstatistix Good old Asterix Good old Obelix”
Fulliautomatix: “Obejction I don’t agree Look” behave like Dogmatix Obelix’s perception about the meaning of ‘strong’ seems to be different
from the other people’s perception. In general, we interpret that ‘strong’ means someone’s ability to lift something heavy or how tough someone to face a hard
situation. However, in Obelix’s perception, ‘strong’ means something that cannot be done with someone else. Since Dogmatix can scratch his ear with his hind leg,
and Obelix cannot do it, he considers that Dogmatix is strong. However, it can be seen in the illustration that Dogmatix is a small dog, while Fulliautomatix is a
very big man. So, it is impossible that Dogmatix is stronger than Fulliautomatix. By saying to Fulliautomatix that Dogmatix is stronger than him, Obelix tells
something which is not based on fact. It means that Obelix violates maxim of quality.