85
21. DIALOGUE NO.21 Context:
This dialogue takes place in the pharmacy in PPTH not the one Chase went to in Dialogue18. The case has been solved, Brandon’s condition was really colchicine
poisoning. House told everyone that he did not know and did not care how Brandon had ingested colchicine. He guessed that Brandon was using ecstasy
which Brandon admitted to be true and was cutting the drug with colchicine, but he declared that any other possibility via skin cream or contact lens solution
could be just as right. In the event of Dialogue 21, however, House is rampaging through the shelves of PPTH pharmacy, looking at bottles of medicine, when
Wilson came and asked him U21.1
Overview:
Dialogue 21 contains utterances in which maxim flouting actually does not append messages, but adds a certain feel to those utterances as subtle implicatures.
Context: 1 Wilson knows that House is a recreational drug user. 2 People often say ‘Big Weekend’ to refer to parties.
Implicature Analysis: U21.1 Big weekend? Flouts maxim of relevance and quantity
U21.1 immediately comes off as meaningless and irrelevant. What does a big weekend have anything to do with House rampaging through the pharmacy? The
context, however, delivers a rich implicature. U21.1 takes into account that House is a user of an addictive painkiller vicodin and has no qualms about using the
drug for fun. Wilson is therefore asking U21.1 to guess if House is rampaging
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
86
through the pharmacy to steal more vicodin for a personal ‘drug party’.
The short message, while flouting the maxim of quantity in the surface, is actually
perfectly acceptable if seen through the context of the situation.
U21.2 The fact that I know that it’s a gout medicine OD would seem to indicate that the case is already solved. Flouts maxim of quality and manner
In U21.2, the message delivered is essentially the same as what is spoken. The flouting, however, occurs as Wilson deliberately tones down the strength of his
utterance. The fact that Wilson knows the cause of Brandon’s illness not only “seems” to indicate that the case is solved – it IS an indication that the case is
solved. What Wilson does is deliberately blurring the lucidity of his own guess to convey the needlessness of what House was doing. The truth is, since the case is
already solved, and what House is doing “Trying to solve that kid’s case.” is
absurd. Toning down the strength of U21.2 actually gives subtlety to the bewilderment
that Wilson was feeling due to seeing House messing up the pharmacy trying to solve a case that is already solved.
U21.3 What about the fact that the kid is now, I believe the technical term is, not sick? Flouts maxim of quality, quantity and manner
Literally, U21.3 means the same as “What about the fact that the kid is not sick?”. The actual utterance is slightly too lengthy for such a straightforward message,
and was actually risking the clarity of the message. Wilson’s purpose seems to use the discrepancy between length and utterance to create humour. The maxim
PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
87 flouting also occurs when Wilson describes ‘not sick’ as a technical term – which
it is not. Ameliorating ‘not sick’ into a technical term also gives U21.3 a humorous twist
. The implicature: Brandon is well now so the case should already be solved. The maxim flouting in U21.3, therefore, only serves to add humour to
the message.
22. DIALOGUE 22 Context:
Kategori