Exploring impoliteness strategies in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman : a stylistic study

Abstract EN

The current study is mainly intended to explore linguistic realizations of impoliteness strategies employed in speeches uttered by the characters in Death of a Salesman written by the American playwright, Arthur Miller.

Occurrences of impoliteness strategies in the data are searched for and then quantitatively counted.

Ninety-five impolite speeches are extracted as the data and analysed in terms of Culpeper’s model (1996) so as to unwrap the aesthetic function of language.

The analysis reveals that the most dominant impolite speeches are mirrored by positive impoliteness (utilizing taboo words) which constitute 37% followed by bald impoliteness constituting 21%, negative impoliteness (invading the other’s space) constituting 9.5%, sarcasm or mock impoliteness constituting 6.32%, negative impoliteness (scorn or ridiculous) constituting 6.32%, negative impoliteness (associating the other with a negative aspect explicitly) constituting 5.3%, positive impoliteness (calling the other names) constituting 4.22%, positive impoliteness (inappropriate identity markers) and (disassociating from the others) constituting 3.17% and withhold politeness (being silent) and (failing to thank) constituting 1%, respectively.

The findings show a manifestation of lack of edification and morality during the characters’ interaction.

The characters’ disharmony and mutiny move the plot of the drama forward and tandem evoke the interest of the audience.

Accordingly, the study significantly concludes that such characters’ unfriendly interaction, profanity and disequilibrium reflect the domestic and social severity of life and the psychological persecution due to the middle-class anxieties during the postwar II period in America which are liable to be highlighted via a thought-provoking dramatic embodiment.