Draft of Eassy #2: Sula

Introduction to ambiguity in language, and communication. Who are you? The simplicity of this question belies its complexity, the ambiguity inherent in all of communication and language, and by extension, literature. This simple example illustrates the interwoven relationships between the requester, the respondent, their shared environment and even their separate histories. Again, consider “Who are you,” the question itself can only come forth if sufficient motivation is achieved within the person who asks. What ideas, concerns, or knowledge, could promote such an inquiry? Once the question has been put forth, it is subject to interpretation by the respondent, from the literal to the conceptual, and as a result the answer can vary from, “I am Patrick Masson,” to “I am with you.” Beyond this introduction, both the motivation for the question and its interpretation, lies the potential, or, how any of the possible responses may be interpreted by the inquisitor. A relevant response to “Who are you?” can not be provided unless one considers the context in which this question is asked. Where am I? What is my relationship to the person requesting the information? What will my response illicit in return? These are just some of the considerations one must ponder in order to collaboration through language. For example, upon entering a room I would not at all be surprised to hear “Who are you?” from a person standing in front of others, especially if this where a classroom. But what if, rather than a class, I had entered a bank with a robbery underway? How might I respond if I were a mere citizen, a uniformed police officer or a psychiatrist. And from the opposite perspective, how would the response I provide change if the question came from the bank robber, a an injured victim or perhaps a police officer? My assessment of the questioner, my interpretation of the question, the response I might give and my expectations for the future would surely be different. As Rita Bergenholtz points out, referencing Belsey and McLaughlin, “The members of a society implicitly agree “to attach a specific signified to a specific signifier’ (Belsey 41)” (89). As cultural and interpersonal norms are established, a community assigns meanings and even context, often despite the literal translation of the words or the specific situation those in discussion may find themselves. To my point, consider another common question, “How are you?” Are we always as “fine” as we say we are in response, or do we (have we come to) understand this question and its response as salutations?