71 quality maxim which requires him to say what he believes to be true, he has
flouted maxim of quality in this exchange. Aside from the examples above, there are still many other quality maxim
flouting by Northup in 12 Years a Slave movie. By using many ways, the quality maxim flouting is done by Northup. As a result, the second rank belongs to it.
c. Manner Maxim Flouting
This type of maxim flouting ranks as the third dominant maxim flouting happened in 12 Years a Slave movie. It reaches the number of 12 in its
occurrences, 16.22 of the total 74 maxims flouting. It happens more frequent than relevance maxim flouting. In this maxim flouting, Northup fails to fulfill the
maxim of manner that requires him to be clear, brief, and orderly in stating his utterances. By using some strategies, Northup has succeeded in conveying hidden
meanings through manner maxim flouting in the movie. Being perspicuous is the common indication of this maxim flouting.
Some examples of manner maxim flouting by Northup are presented below. As the first example, a conversation between Northup and Parker is taken. The
conversation takes a place at Parker’s shop when Northup still lives as a free man
with his family.
4: 07 Parker
: If you would sign our condolence book. My hope is to find a way to forward it to the Widow Harrison. Sad
days for the nation. Northup :
Yes, certainly. Poor Mrs. Harris and her children. I hope brighter times ahead.
Datum MN01OSCL In this conversation, Mr. Parker asks Northup to sign the condolence book
of the deceased President of the nation, William Henry Harrison. Agreeing the
72 offer, Northup flouts maxim of manner by saying something which is ambiguous.
His last statement, I hope brighter times ahead, contains ambiguity. It may be interpreted differently by the listener, Parker in this case. It is ambiguous whether
his hope of brighter times is for the nation or for Mrs. Harris and her children. Moreover, this ambiguity leads his statement to be obscure. Therefore, he also
breaks maxim of manner in terms of the requirement to avoid obscurity of expression. In general, manner maxim flouting happens in this exchange. Northup
uses it to express his deep sincerity of the matter discussed. Then, the next examples of manner maxim flouting by Northup are from the
time when he lives his life as a slave. The first example after he becomes a slave is taken from his conversation with Mistress Shaw. The conversation is between a
slave and a master. Northup is the slave and Mistress Shaw is the master. 4: 08
Mistress Shaw : Nothin Epps desire come outta concern. Northup :
I meant no disrespect.
Mistress Shaw : He aint heard you. Northup
: I meant no disrespect to you, Mistress.
Datum MN04USCL Here, Northup and Mistress Shaw talk about Master Epps, Northup’s
master. In the middle of talking, Northup flouts maxim of manner. His statement is difficult to understand so Mistress Shaw misunderstands it. Since Northup
breaks the maxim of manner which requires him to be perspicuous and avoid obscurity, he flouts maxim of manner. Again, he uses an ineffective sentence. He
is being obscure so that Mistress Shaw cannot understand his statement perfectly. Instead of saying “I meant no disrespect,” he may say it clearly that he respects
Mistress Shaw so there is no misunderstanding between them. Here, his obscurity
73 is the one that causes the misunderstanding. However, since he does not intend to
lead a misunderstanding, he flouts maxim of manner by expressing something obscure, not violates the maxim.
Another example of manner maxim flouting by Northup as a slave is in the following exchange. It is an exchange between Northup and Celeste who meet
each other at Turner’s plantation. Northup has explained to Celeste that he is actually a freeman. Celeste is curious about Northup’s plan to gain his freedom.
4: 09 Celeste
: Free heart means nothin ifn yo body gunna die a slave. Northup
: I will not. Celeste
: How? Celeste knows you aint gunna run. Celeste knows it aint your nature.
Northup : I have a plan. I have a letter.
Celeste : A letter? Howll yah mail da letter? Who yah trust to
post it? A nigger that can read and write is a nigger thatll hang.
Datum MN05USC In the exchange above, Northup also flouts maxim of manner. He says
something that is difficult to understand. Although he has explained to Celeste that he is actually a freeman before, Northup breaks the maxim intentionally
because he is still cautious about sharing his plan to Celeste. Here, as the previous examples, he again fails to fulfill maxim of manner which requires him to avoid
obscurity of expression. The obscurity of his expression is proved by Celeste’s response. If it is a clear expression, Celeste will not ask so many questions related
to his statement. To obey the maxim of manner, he should explain what his plan is and what he will do to the letter just as what is asked by Celeste. Since Northup
breaks the maxim of manner, he has done a manner maxim flouting in this exchange.
74 Finally, the discussion of the types of maxim flouting uttered by Northup in
12 Years a Slave movie has been completed. Although this subchapter is unable to comprise the entire analyzed data, it is a relief to be able to provide some
examples of the various types of maxim flouting in the movie. For further analysis, the completed data of maxim flouting by Northup is provided in the
appendices.
d. Relevance Maxim Flouting
Relevance maxim flouting breaks the third maxim of cooperative principle, maxim of relevance. Based on Grice’s theory, a maxim flouting is classified into
relevance maxim flouting if a speaker does not give relevant response in an exchange. The way to flout this maxim is simply by being irrelevant. In 12 Years
a Slave movie, this maxim is slightly under manner maxim flouting in its occurrences. It happens 9 times or 12.16 and belongs to the last position for the
dominance. For the further explanation, below is provided four examples of relevance
maxim flouting by Northup in 12 Years a Slave. The first example is taken from the time when Northup and his family come to Parker’s shop. Anne, his wife,
looks over some silks and fabrics. 4: 10 Parker
: A new cravat, Solomon? Pure silk by way of the French.
Northup : We are in need of a fresh carry all for the Mrss
travels. Parker
: A years passed? Off to Sandy Hill? Anne :
I am.
Datum RL01OSCM
