A Pragmatic Analysis of Conversational Implicature in A Good Man is Hard to Find

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【Abstract】A Good Man is Hard to Find， one of the most well-known and the most absorbing works of Flannery O’Connor， the paper discusses the application of the four criteria of the cooperative principle in the novel， reflects its conversational meaning so as to better understand the characters and grasp the theme deeply.

【Key words】conversational implicature； conversations

I. Introduction

A good man is hard to find， one of the most well-known and the most absorbing works of Flannery O’Connor， has been attracting numerous scholars both at home and abroad. They mostly placed their emphasis upon the analysis of the theme， the stylistic， and the cultural factors of the fiction. The interpretive work of scholars often focuses on the controversial final scene. Seldom has been done on the conversations from the perspective of Grice’s conversational implicature theory.The notion of conversational implicature is one of the single most important ideas in pragmatics， the key ideas of which were proposed by Herbert Paul Grice. In Grice’s words， the cooperative principles is “to make your contribution such as is required， at the stage at which it occurs， by the accepted purpose of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.” Grice introduced four maxims： the maxim of quantity， the maxim of quality， the maxim of relation， and the maxim of manner.

II. the analysis of A Good Man is Hard to Find

A Good Man is Hard to Find is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953. The family has planned to go to Florida on holiday， but after knowing The Misfit has headed towards Florida， the grandmother proposes to go to east Tennessee， but on one seems to take her seriously. Finally they hit the road and begin their trip from Georgia to Florida. After half-day’s trip， the grandmother wants to go to a plantation where she often visited in the young. Therefore she persuades other family members to drive there. Unfortunately， they have an accident because of the dirt road. They request three people who passed by to help them. However， the grandmother recognizes one of them―The Misfit， who Finally killed all the family.

The conversations between the family members， at the superficial level―the level of what is said， they are uninformative or even meaningless. But at the deeper level， the level of what is implicated， they are informative and absorbing. The conversations not only help readers better to grasp the characteristics of the characters， and the main idea of the short novel， but also help them to get better understanding of the style of Flannery O’Connor.

This conversations in the beginning of the novel was started by the grandmother who is eager to change her children’ mind at the beginning of the short story. But she receives no answers from both Bailey and Bailey’s wife. They doesn’t take the grandmother’s proposition into consideration they answer with silence and ignorance. Obviously， the conversations violate the maxim of quantity. Bailey and his wife don’t make his contribution as informative as is required. Actually， a reticent and taciturn Bailey is represented who also is indifferent to family affection. While at the same time， a childish grandmother of no position is also vividly presented. The conversations， to certain degree indicate the tragic end of the family.

The word “queen” said by June Star who aims to describe her grandmother obviously lake evidence. The grandmother is self-believed to be graceful， good-manner， but normal old lady， she couldn’t， can not， and will not be the queen of the family. The reasons why writer designed the conversation one is to reveal June star and John Wesley’s rudeness towards their grandmother， they do not show required respected to their grandmother； the other one is to promote the development of the plot， making readers wander what would happen following， what would happen towards the family.

June Star are satirizing the grandmother at first. The grandmother doesn’t respond directly but reminds June Star of what she has always done for June Star―curling her hair. The conversation violates the maxim of relation， which implies that： I’m your grandmother， you are my grandchild， how can you say that intolerable words towards me.

III. conclusion

In this short story， the style of writing is succinct and vivid， and the story is intricate in detail and fast developing. In Understanding Fiction， tricks of plot do not make a story， a surprising ending may appear in good story， but only if the surprise has been carefully prepared for， so that， upon a second thought， the reader realizes that it is a logical and meaningful developing from what has gone before. The short novel exactly reveal this sentence. The ending is not a surprise， the conversation to certain degree indicate the destiny of the family.

References：

[1]Hu，Zhuanglin，Linguistics：A Course Book 4th ed.Beijing： Peking University Press，2011.3.