Analysis of Conflicts Caused by Non-Obervance of the Gricean Maxims in Desperate Housewives (Season 6).

iv

Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam tugas akhir ini, saya akan menganalisis pelanggaran bidal yang berujung pada konflik yang saya ambil dari film Desperate Housewives musim ke-6. Bidal merupakan bagian kajian dari pragmatik yang merupakan ilmu mengenai tuturan. Alasan saya mengambil film Desperate Housewives musim ke-6 ialah karena di dalamnya cukup banyak tokoh-tokoh yang melakukan pelanggaran bidal yang berujung pada konflik, sehingga layak untuk dijadikan bahan analisis. Pelanggaran bidal yang terjadi terdiri atas flouting the maxim of

quantity, flouting the maxim of quality, flouting the maxim of relation, flouting the maxim of manner, violating a maxim, infringing a maxim, opting out of a maxim, and suspending a maxim.

Salah satu temuan yang saya peroleh dari kajian saya ini ialah bahwa cukup banyak tokoh-tokoh di dalam film ini yang melakukan pelanggaran bidal

violating a maxim karena upaya para tokoh untuk menyembunyikan suatu

realita dengan cara memperdayai kerap kali gagal. Ini dikarenakan sebagian karakternya merupakan ibu rumah tangga yang suka bergosip sehingga cenderung paham atas situasi sekeliling mereka.

ii

Maranatha Christian University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...i

TABLE OF CONTENTS...ii

ABSTRACT...iv

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study ... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ... 4

1.3 Purpose of the Study ... 4

1.4 Methods of Research ... 5

1.5 Organization of the Thesis ... 5

CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Pragmatics ... 7

2.2 Gricean Cooperative Principles... 8

2.3 Non-Observance of Maxims ... 9

2.3.1 Flouting a Maxim ... 10

2.3.2 Violating a Maxim ... 13

2.3.3 Infringing a Maxim...14

2.3.4 Opting Out of a Maxim...14

2.3.5 Suspending a Maxim...15

2.4 Conflict ... 16

CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF CONFLICTS CAUSED BY NON-OBSERVANCE OF THE GRICEAN MAXIMS IN DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (SEASON 6) ... 17

iii

Maranatha Christian University CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ... 36 BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 41 APPENDICES ... 42

1

Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In daily lives, people deliver their thoughts and feelings with one another through conversation. According to Cambridge Online Dictionary, Conversation is “a talk between two or more people in which thoughts, feelings, and ideas are expressed, questions are asked and answered, or news and information is exchanged”. In a conversation, the speaker and the hearer have to cooperate with each other which aims to avoid misunderstanding between the speaker and the hearer by saying something explicitly. However, people do not always convey their thoughts and feelings directly but they tend to convey their intention implicitly. People sometimes mean the opposite of what they say and mean much more than their utterances. This can lead to misunderstanding between the speaker and the hearer. This can even lead to

2

Maranatha Christian University conflict which can be seen within people’s utterances. According to Harry

Shaw, conflict is “a struggle between man and man” (Shaw 91).

The topic of my thesis falls under the study of pragmatics which is a

branch of linguistics which concerns with the speaker’s utterances and the

speaker’s meaning in a particular context. According to George Yule,

“Pragmatics is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener (or reader)” (Yule 3).

In a conversation, sometimes there are times when people actually have more meaning than what their utterances mean. And there are times when people say something which is different from the lexical meanings of their words. Thus, there is a difference between what the speaker says and what the speaker means. What is contained in the speaker’s utterances sometimes does not only have one meaning, but could have several meanings apart from its overt meaning. Those meanings are called implicature. Therefore, if there is an

implicature within the speaker’s utterances, the hearer is required to understand

the actual meaning behind the speaker’s utterances. This aims to avoid misunderstanding between the speaker and the hearer.

Herbert Paul Grice, who is an English language philosopher, introduces

the Cooperative Principle, “Make your contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of talk exchange

in which you are engaged” (Thomas 61-62), to make a conversation run smoothly. And he also introduces four conversational maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner.

3

Maranatha Christian University People very often fail to observe the maxims for certain reasons when they are in a conversation. Sometimes people fail to observe the maxims because they do not want to hurt the interlocutors, they want to hide something from the interlocutors, they do not want to be involved in a conversation, and so forth. This communication performance is known as non-observance of the maxims as what Grice claims in Meaning in Interaction (1995) by Jenny Thomas. Furthermore, Grice indicates five types of failure in observing the maxims which are flouting, violating, infringing, opting out, and suspending a maxim. Those five kinds of non-observance of the maxims can lead to conflicts between the speaker and the hearer.

The reason why I choose to analyze non-observance of the maxims is because there is often a misunderstanding between the speaker and the hearer which comes from their utterances that can lead to a conflict.

For my analysis, I choose a television series Desperate Housewives Season 6 as a data source. While the topic of my thesis is Analysis of Conflicts

Caused by Non-Observance of the Gricean Maxims in Desperate Housewives Television Series Season 6.

Desperate Housewives film is about five women, Bree Van de Kamp,

Lynette Scavo, Gabrielle Solis, Susan Mayer, and Edie Britt, who live in a perfect suburban fantasy, in the town of Fairview, Wisteria Lane, which is filled by secrets behind every house. Wisteria Lane is a place where everyone knows each other. According to American Broadcasting Company, this film exposes “jealousy, lust, passion, and sometimes murder in every seemingly

4

Maranatha Christian University happy home”. I choose Desperate Housewives Season 6 as a data source of my analysis because this film has a lot of conflicts among the characters which are caused by non-observance of the maxims. In addition, there are a lot of implicatures within the utterances of each character.

This study will be very beneficial for students of the English Department, Faculty of Letters, Maranatha Christian University, because after reading my study, they will understand how to analyze the utterances of the speaker which contains non-observance of the maxims that can lead to conflict in a film. This is also beneficial for people outside the English Department because they will understand, that conflicts in their daily lives arise caused by non-observance of the maxims. Thus, they can avoid the conflicts by observing the maxims.

(779 words)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In this thesis, I would like to analyze the following problems: 1. What types of non-observance of the Gricean maxims are found in

Desperate Housewives television series season 6? 2. What implicature is generated?

3. How does the non-observance of the Gricean maxims lead to conflicts?

5

Maranatha Christian University The purposes of this study are as follows:

1. To know the types of non-observance of the Gricean maxims found in Desperate Housewives television series season 6.

2. To know the generated implicature.

3. To know how the non-observance of the Gricean maxims leads to conflicts.

1.4 Methods of Research

There are seven steps in doing this thesis. First, I collected the information and theory related to the topic of this thesis. Second, I chose the television series Desperate Housewives season 6 as my data source which is suitable for the topic. Third, I started to watch the television series. Fourth, I watched the television series for the second time and noted down the speaker’s utterances which contain non-observance of the Gricean maxims. Fifth, I analyzed the type of non-observance the Gricean maxims and the implicature

that generated within speaker’s utterance. Sixth, I analyzed the way the non -observance of the Gricean maxims leads to conflict. Finally, I wrote the research.

1.5 Organization of the Thesis

This thesis contains four chapters. Chapter One is Introduction. It provides the Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of the Study, Methods of Research, and Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two

6

Maranatha Christian University is Theoretical Framework. It presents the theories used in writing the analysis of Non-Observance of the Gricean Maxims. Chapter Three is the analysis of data taken from the television series Desperate Housewives season 6. The discussion on Non-Observance of the Gricean Maxims that leads to conflict will be elaborated in this chapter. Chapter Four is Conclusion. It consists of my personal comments and opinions about the research. And this thesis ends with Bibliography and Appendices.

36

Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, I would like to write a conclusion based on my analysis in the previous chapter. I have found twenty data of the non-observance of maxims in Desperate Housewives television series season 6, which can lead to misunderstanding or even a conflict between the characters in the film. In this chapter, I also want to count the points from the data that I have analyzed.

This study shows us the use of the non-observance of maxims in

Desperate Housewives television series season 6, which can lead to

misunderstanding or even a conflict between the characters in the film, and the reasons within their utterances. The characters in the film use some of the types of non-observance of maxims. Moreover, some of them appear more frequently than others. I will explain from the most common to the least common types of non-observance of maxims which lead to a conflict between the characters that appears in the film.

37

Maranatha Christian University The first major type of non-observance of maxims which leads to a conflict between the characters in Desperate Housewives season 6 is violating a maxim. Concealment of the truth is really effective when the maxim of violation is applied because by using it, the speaker can hide the truth and also the secret from the hearer. This can lead to a conflict between the characters if the speaker fails to mislead the hearer. In my data, almost all female characters are housewives who know each other. And many characters, as the speakers, fail to mislead the hearer because it is not easy to fool the hearer. It is because the hearer already knows the truth when the speaker tries to violate a maxim. After I have analyzed my data, I have found that the characters of the film violate a maxim at least twelve times in data 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, and 20.

The second major type of non-observance of maxims which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film is flouting the maxim of manner. Prolonging the answer to avoid certain topics is effective to be done by flouting the maxim of manner because the hearer can conceal the truth from the hearer. This can lead to a conflict if the hearer knows that there is something which is hidden by the speaker. In my data, there are some characters who try to flout the maxim of manner by giving such a convoluted response with many words. However, he or she fails to flout the maxim of manner because the hearer already knows the truth which creates a conflict between the characters. It is found that flouting the maxim of manner occurs five times in data 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9.

38

Maranatha Christian University The third type of non-observance of maxims which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film is opting out of a maxim. Interestingly, if it is related to the concealment which is identical with opting out of a maxim, sometimes the speaker will refuse to be involved in a conversation. It can lead to a conflict if the hearer tries hard to talk about something that we do not want to talk. Although the definition of opting out of a maxim is identical with rejection, the number is not as many as violating a maxim. There is one time when the characters of the film opt out of a maxim. It can be seen in data 7.

Flouting the maxim of quantity also happens to be the third type of non-observance of maxim which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film. Efforts to cover the entire truth is the reason why flouting the maxim of quantity is used. In my data, the characters conceal the truth by giving less information. In other words, they will give the unfinished sentence to the hearer because they do not want to be asked more deeply. It can lead to a conflict if the speaker fails to flout the maxim of quantity. It is because the hearer already knows the hidden truth. From the data that have been analyzed, I find that there is one time when the characters of the film are flouting the maxim of quantity. It can be seen in data 15.

Lastly, flouting the maxim of relation also happens to be the fifth type of non-observance of maxim which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film. Avoidance of discussing a certain issue that leads to a conflict is really effective when flouting the maxim of relation, and it is applied because the speaker can change the subject in conversation. However, the speaker fails because the hearer already knows the truth. From my data in the

39

Maranatha Christian University previous chapter, flouting the maxim of relation occurs one time. It is the same number as opting out of a maxim and flouting the maxim of quantity. It can be seen in data 16.

The essence of using all of those maxims are concealment of truth. However, many of the characters in the film fail because their intention or the truth is already known by the hearer.

There is not any infringing a maxim in my data because in Desperate

Housewives season 6, there is only a native speaker which has a perfect

linguistic performance. Another non-observance of maxims is suspending a maxim is also not found in my data because there is no taboo things that is caused by culture. Lastly, flouting the maxim of quality also does not appear in my data, it is because in my data, the speaker says untrue with his or her intention to mislead the hearer, while there is no intention to mislead in flouting the maxim of quality.

This study has shown us the conflicts caused by non-observance of the maxims in Desperate Housewives television series season 6. The characters in the film use some types of non-observance of the maxims in their utterance for their own reasons. Besides conflict, in the film, I find that humor can also be analyzed by using non-observance of the maxims. And humor can be taken as a topic for the next researches because there are plenty of examples.

I have analyzed the season 6 of Desperate Housewives television series, and violating a maxim is as the most non-observance of maxim that occurs. If season 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 is being analyzed, the result may be different. I use Gricean maxims as a theory of my study. And it also can be analyzed if we use

40

Maranatha Christian University different topic or the conflict which is triggered by miscalculation of the politeness strategies.

41

Maranatha Christian University

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text

Desperate Housewives Season Six. Dir. John David Coles, Fred Gerber, and

David Grossman. ABC, 2004. DVD.

References

“Conversation.” Cambridge Online Dictionary. Cambridge Dictionaries Online, 2015. Web. 20 March 2015.

“Desperate Housewives.” American Broadcasting Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 2

May 2014.

Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1972. Print. Thomas, Jenny. Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics.

Longman, 1995. Print.

36

Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, I would like to write a conclusion based on my analysis in the previous chapter. I have found twenty data of the non-observance of maxims in Desperate Housewives television series season 6, which can lead to misunderstanding or even a conflict between the characters in the film. In this chapter, I also want to count the points from the data that I have analyzed.

This study shows us the use of the non-observance of maxims in

Desperate Housewives television series season 6, which can lead to

misunderstanding or even a conflict between the characters in the film, and the reasons within their utterances. The characters in the film use some of the types of non-observance of maxims. Moreover, some of them appear more frequently than others. I will explain from the most common to the least common types of non-observance of maxims which lead to a conflict between the characters that appears in the film.

37

Maranatha Christian University The first major type of non-observance of maxims which leads to a conflict between the characters in Desperate Housewives season 6 is violating a maxim. Concealment of the truth is really effective when the maxim of violation is applied because by using it, the speaker can hide the truth and also the secret from the hearer. This can lead to a conflict between the characters if the speaker fails to mislead the hearer. In my data, almost all female characters are housewives who know each other. And many characters, as the speakers, fail to mislead the hearer because it is not easy to fool the hearer. It is because the hearer already knows the truth when the speaker tries to violate a maxim. After I have analyzed my data, I have found that the characters of the film violate a maxim at least twelve times in data 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, and 20.

The second major type of non-observance of maxims which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film is flouting the maxim of manner. Prolonging the answer to avoid certain topics is effective to be done by flouting the maxim of manner because the hearer can conceal the truth from the hearer. This can lead to a conflict if the hearer knows that there is something which is hidden by the speaker. In my data, there are some characters who try to flout the maxim of manner by giving such a convoluted response with many words. However, he or she fails to flout the maxim of manner because the hearer already knows the truth which creates a conflict between the characters. It is found that flouting the maxim of manner occurs five times in data 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9.

38

Maranatha Christian University The third type of non-observance of maxims which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film is opting out of a maxim. Interestingly, if it is related to the concealment which is identical with opting out of a maxim, sometimes the speaker will refuse to be involved in a conversation. It can lead to a conflict if the hearer tries hard to talk about something that we do not want to talk. Although the definition of opting out of a maxim is identical with rejection, the number is not as many as violating a maxim. There is one time when the characters of the film opt out of a maxim. It can be seen in data 7.

Flouting the maxim of quantity also happens to be the third type of non-observance of maxim which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film. Efforts to cover the entire truth is the reason why flouting the maxim of quantity is used. In my data, the characters conceal the truth by giving less information. In other words, they will give the unfinished sentence to the hearer because they do not want to be asked more deeply. It can lead to a conflict if the speaker fails to flout the maxim of quantity. It is because the hearer already knows the hidden truth. From the data that have been analyzed, I find that there is one time when the characters of the film are flouting the maxim of quantity. It can be seen in data 15.

Lastly, flouting the maxim of relation also happens to be the fifth type of non-observance of maxim which leads to a conflict between the characters in the film. Avoidance of discussing a certain issue that leads to a conflict is really effective when flouting the maxim of relation, and it is applied because the speaker can change the subject in conversation. However, the speaker fails because the hearer already knows the truth. From my data in the

39

Maranatha Christian University previous chapter, flouting the maxim of relation occurs one time. It is the same number as opting out of a maxim and flouting the maxim of quantity. It can be seen in data 16.

The essence of using all of those maxims are concealment of truth. However, many of the characters in the film fail because their intention or the truth is already known by the hearer.

There is not any infringing a maxim in my data because in Desperate

Housewives season 6, there is only a native speaker which has a perfect

linguistic performance. Another non-observance of maxims is suspending a maxim is also not found in my data because there is no taboo things that is caused by culture. Lastly, flouting the maxim of quality also does not appear in my data, it is because in my data, the speaker says untrue with his or her intention to mislead the hearer, while there is no intention to mislead in flouting the maxim of quality.

This study has shown us the conflicts caused by non-observance of the maxims in Desperate Housewives television series season 6. The characters in the film use some types of non-observance of the maxims in their utterance for their own reasons. Besides conflict, in the film, I find that humor can also be analyzed by using non-observance of the maxims. And humor can be taken as a topic for the next researches because there are plenty of examples.

I have analyzed the season 6 of Desperate Housewives television series, and violating a maxim is as the most non-observance of maxim that occurs. If season 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 is being analyzed, the result may be different. I use Gricean maxims as a theory of my study. And it also can be analyzed if we use

40

Maranatha Christian University different topic or the conflict which is triggered by miscalculation of the politeness strategies.

41

Maranatha Christian University

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Text

Desperate Housewives Season Six. Dir. John David Coles, Fred Gerber, and

David Grossman. ABC, 2004. DVD.

References

“Conversation.” Cambridge Online Dictionary. Cambridge Dictionaries Online,

2015. Web. 20 March 2015.

“Desperate Housewives.” American Broadcasting Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 2

May 2014.

Shaw, Harry. Dictionary of Literary Terms. New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1972. Print. Thomas, Jenny. Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics.

Longman, 1995. Print.