'Listening' to the Neanderthals in William Golding's The Inheritors: A sociopragmatic approach to fictional dialogue. (June 2018)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- 'Listening' to the Neanderthals in William Golding's The Inheritors: A sociopragmatic approach to fictional dialogue. (June 2018)
- Main Title:
- 'Listening' to the Neanderthals in William Golding's The Inheritors: A sociopragmatic approach to fictional dialogue
- Authors:
- Mandala, Susan
- Abstract:
- Highlights: A sociopragmatic analysis of the Neanderthal dialogue in The Inheritors . The analysis shows that the Neanderthal characters make complex inferences. The analysis shows the Neanderthal characters have theory of mind. The analysis shows the Neanderthal characters show higher orders of intentionality. Abstract: In their work on William Golding's fiction, Kinkead-Weekes and Gregor (1967) claim that The Inheritors, more concerned with matters of mythic significance, forfeited "most of the possibilities of the dialogue" (71). While in-depth treatments of language in Golding's The Inheritors have since been offered (Halliday, 1971; Hoover, 1999; Clark, 2009), the "possibilities of the dialogue, " in particular the conversational register of the Neanderthal characters, remain largely neglected. In this sociopragmatic re-reading of The Inheritors, I employ theory of mind and intentionality (as outlined in Dunbar (2004) as analytical tools in order to 'listen' more closely to the Neanderthals in Golding's text. Paying particular attention to these characters as they express their religious beliefs, engage in storytelling, and work through interpersonal conflicts, I argue that readers are invited to infer that the Neanderthal characters are themselves inferring beings, and further demonstrate that this interpretation has implications not only for how individuals approach the novel, but for the way The Inheritors as a cultural text can be understood to participate inHighlights: A sociopragmatic analysis of the Neanderthal dialogue in The Inheritors . The analysis shows that the Neanderthal characters make complex inferences. The analysis shows the Neanderthal characters have theory of mind. The analysis shows the Neanderthal characters show higher orders of intentionality. Abstract: In their work on William Golding's fiction, Kinkead-Weekes and Gregor (1967) claim that The Inheritors, more concerned with matters of mythic significance, forfeited "most of the possibilities of the dialogue" (71). While in-depth treatments of language in Golding's The Inheritors have since been offered (Halliday, 1971; Hoover, 1999; Clark, 2009), the "possibilities of the dialogue, " in particular the conversational register of the Neanderthal characters, remain largely neglected. In this sociopragmatic re-reading of The Inheritors, I employ theory of mind and intentionality (as outlined in Dunbar (2004) as analytical tools in order to 'listen' more closely to the Neanderthals in Golding's text. Paying particular attention to these characters as they express their religious beliefs, engage in storytelling, and work through interpersonal conflicts, I argue that readers are invited to infer that the Neanderthal characters are themselves inferring beings, and further demonstrate that this interpretation has implications not only for how individuals approach the novel, but for the way The Inheritors as a cultural text can be understood to participate in discursively mediating our relationship with the figure of the Neanderthal. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Discourse, context & media. Volume 23(2018)
- Journal:
- Discourse, context & media
- Issue:
- Volume 23(2018)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 23, Issue 2018 (2018)
- Year:
- 2018
- Volume:
- 23
- Issue:
- 2018
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2018-0023-2018-0000
- Page Start:
- 62
- Page End:
- 69
- Publication Date:
- 2018-06
- Subjects:
- The Inheritors -- Neanderthal -- Sociopragmatic -- Pragmatic stylistics -- Theory of mind -- Intentionality
Discourse analysis -- Periodicals
Digital media -- Periodicals
Mass media and language -- Periodicals
Communication -- Periodicals
Communication
Digital media
Discourse analysis
Mass media and language
Periodicals
401.4105 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22116958 ↗
http://www.sciencedirect.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.dcm.2017.05.006 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 2211-6958
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 6567.xml