POINTS OF DEPARTURE
What does it mean to communicate? Usually, when we think about “communication” we think of speaking and writing – that is of using words. Human interaction, however, involves much more than words. Before reading the short story, look at the following list of body signals which you may observe when talking to different people. What sort of things might they reveal about that person? – – – – – – – – – –
The person will not look you in the eye The person sits close to you The person sits half-turned away from you The person sits well back in her chair with her head up The person looks down and twists her hands while talking The person has his arms folded and legs crossed The person frequently shrugs his shoulders The person laughs in a high-pitched voice The person yawns The person winks at you
These are all examples of what we call body language. How effective are they in communicating a message? The story that you are going to read is set in Jamaica more than half a century ago. In it you will see that the most important messages are never spoken out loud. As you read, try to discover what these messages are.
Blackout by Roger Mais The city was in partial blackout; the street lights had not been turned on, because of the wartime policy of conserving electricity; and the houses behind their discreet aurelia hedges were wrapped in an atmosphere of exclusive respectability. The young woman waiting at the bus stop was not in the least nervous, in spite of the wave of panic that had been sweeping the city about bands of hooligans roaming the streets after dark and assaulting unprotected women. She was a sensible young woman to begin with, who realised that one good scream would be sufficient to bring her a score of respectable suburban householders running to her assistance. On the other hand she was an American, and fully conscious of the tradition of
blackout strømstans/ straumstans partial delvis conserve spare aurelia hedge aureliahekk (busk) roam the streets slenge gatelangs assault antaste, angripe / overfalle, angripe sufficient nok, tilstrekkelig / nok, tilstrekkeleg a score of en haug med, mange / ein haug med, mange
Chapter 3 THORNS AND ROSES
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