ISSN : 2663-2187

Unveiling the Unspoken: Exploring the Communication Dynamics and Disability Discourse in To Kill a Mockingbird through Grice’s Maxims

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N. Pargavi, Dr. K. Abirami
» doi: 10.48047/AFJBS.6.12.2024.2732-2740

Abstract

Language has always been one of the potent tools for exploring meanings and contexts, both in comprehending situational experiences and elucidating the existential predicaments of individuals. Through the intricacies of language, individuals make meanings of umpteen otherwise complicated ideas- sometimes discursive and, in certain cases, societal. Various literary texts have tried to elucidate the nuances associated with what can be considered as a "dis-abled body" as opposed to something as the 'abled body.’ Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird acts as one of the foundational texts encompassing the ramifications of disability of the character Boo Radley. That stated, it is language and its subtle overtones which make the aspect of disability prominent throughout the narrative for the readers, as there are innumerable gossips and murmurs which validate the subordinate position of the disabled, Boo Radley. By hinging on the theory of maxims by H.P. Grice, this paper critically attempts to postulate the myriad complexities associated with the communication of various characters in the text, which reiterate the disability of Boo Radley. In doing so, the paper also aims to depict the general tenets of communication, which further situate language as a decisive means of unfurling a given context. The research will follow a qualitative design in that it will make an effort to critically explain the dynamics of communication seen in the text, thereby paving the way for the surfacing of Boo Radley's disability.

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