Exploring characters' interactions in Sam Shepard'strue west in terms of preference structure : a study in dramatic discourse structure

Abstract EN

This research focuses on Sam Shepard's True West from the perspective of preference organization.

It explores the conversational sequences of characters in a variety of situations and encounters, and to show how these characters organize their responses to actions of various sorts.

The conflicts in this play are shown by identifying and interpreting these responses, which are mostly dispreferred second parts.

The antagonistic qualities of Lee and Austin are made explicit via applying the preference structure analysis to their interactions.

The dispreferred responses, which outnumber the preferred ones in this play, provide clues to the characters' violent behaviour and intellectual aspects.