Una exploración de la modalidad en "The Dumb Waiter" de H. Pinter

AN EXPLORATION OF MODALITY IN H. PINTER’S THE DUMB WAITER ÉLIDA LEÓN* Uni e sidad Pedagógica Expe imen al Libe ado , Ca acas, Venezuela ABSTRACT On he basis o a linguis ic app oach o he s udy o li e a u e, his pape in ends o p esen an analysis o he cha ac e s and hei ela ionship in Ha old Pin e ’s The Dumb Wai e . To do his, concep s and ideas abou he sys em o Modali y as p esen ed by Simpson (1993) and Fai clough (1994), a e p esen - ed. Following a p oposed amewo k, he cha ac e s’ linguis ic choices a e s udied so as o asce ain he ex en o which hei assump ions and pe spec- i es di e . The cha ac e s’ a i udes owa ds each o he as well as owa ds he e en s a e examined. Ben, he senio pa ne , appa en ly secu e, and Gus, appa en ly unce ain, ake he same ype o ole a he end o he play: bo h o hem become ic ims o an unseen and non-speaking pa icipan . I can be no iced ha bo h Ben and Gus’s linguis ic choices in e ms o modali y change as e en s de elop. In sho , he linguis ic model o modali y is p o ed o be use ul o he pu pose o unco e ing he de ices ha Pin e uses. KEY WORDS Modali y, ela ional modali y, exp essi e modali y, deon ic modali y, boulomaic modali y, epis emic modali y, pe cep ion modali y**. RESUMEN Con base en un en oque lingüís ico pa a el es udio de la li e a u a, es e abajo plan ea un análisis de los pe sonajes y sus elaciones en The Dumb Wai e . Con es e in, se p esen an concep os e ideas ace ca del sis ema de modalidad p opues o po Simpson (1993) y Fai clough (1994). Siguiendo el modelo p opues o, se es udian las elecciones lingüís icas de los pe sonajes CAUCE, Re is a de Filología y su Didác ica, nº 24, 2001 / págs. 259-268 259 * Élida León has a Mas e ’s Deg ee in he Teaching o Li e a u e in English as a Fo eign Language. Cu en ly eaches a he Uni e sidad Pedagógica Expe imen al Lib- e ado , whe e she eaches Sys emic Func ional G amma , a unde g adua e le el, and cou ses on S ylis ics a g adua e le el. I is in he ield o S ylis ics and he eaching o Li e a u e in EFL, ha she has ocused he la es esea ch. ** Los é minos lingüís icos u ilizados son ampliamen e conocidos en Inglés. Sin emba go no es amos comple amen e segu os de su uso en Español y F ancés, po lo que la designación de los mismos pod ía no se del odo ap opiada. ELIDA LEÓN 260 pa a de e mina el g ado en que di ie en sus p esunciones y pe spec i as. Se examinan ambién las ac i udes de un pe sonaje hacia o o, así como sus ac i- udes hacia los hechos. Ben, el supe io , apa en emen e segu o, y Gus, apa- en emen e insegu o, oman el mismo ipo de papel al inal de la ob a: ambos se con ie en en íc imas de un pa icipan e in isible y mudo pa a la audien- cia. Puede obse a se que, en é minos de modalidad, las elecciones lingüís- icas de ambos pe sonajes a ían a medida que se desa ollan los hechos. El modelo lingüís ico de modalidad ha esul ado una he amien a ú il pa a el p o- pósi o de descub i los ecu sos lingüís icos y li e a ios usados po Pin e en The Dumb Wai e . PALABRAS CLAVE Modalidad, modalidad elacional, modalidad exp esi a, modalidad deón- ica, modalidad bulomaica, modalidad epis émica, modalidad de pe cepción. RÉSUMÉ Basé su une app oche linguis ique pou l’é ude de la li é a u e, ce a- ail ai une analyse des pe sonnages e de leu s éla ions dans The Dumb Wai e . Pou ce ai e, on p ésen e des concep s e des idées conce nan le sys- ème de modali é p oposé pa Simpson (1993) e Fai clough (1994). D’ap ès le modèle p oposé, on é udie les choix linguis iques des pe sonnages a in de dé e mine jusqu’à quel poin leu s p ésupposés e leu s pe spec i es son di é en s. Égalemen , on é alue les ac i udes d’un pe sonnage en e s l’au e, ainsi que leu s a i udes en e s les ai s. Ben, le collègue supé ieu , appa em- men ès sû , e Gus, qui semble pas sû , p ennen le même ôle à la in dans l’oeu e; ous les deux on de eni des ic imes d’un pa icipan in isible e mue pou le publique. On peu oi que, en e mes de modali é, les choix linguis iques des deux pe sonnages a ien au u e à mesu e que les ai s se dé eloppen . Le modèle linguis ique de modali é es de enu un ou il u il pou décou i les essou ces linguis iques e li é ai es u ilisés pa Pin e dans The Dumb Wai e . MOTS-CLÉ Modali é, modali é éla ionnelle, modali é exp essi e, modali é déon ique, modali é boulomaique, modali é épis émique. Recen ends in he eaching o English as a Fo eign Language (EFL) emphasize he impo ance o au hen ic ma e ials o he de el- opmen o language skills and compe ence. Su p isingly enough, he endency o keep li e a y ex s ou o he game s ill pe sis s. Mos EFL eache s (a leas in ou coun y) a e, as McRae (1991) pu s i , “guil y o he es ic i e schema iza ion o language lea ning, which is dange - ously close o he ‘ ollow- he-cou se-book’ men ali y so o en p e alen among unad en u ous eache s” (p. 23). Fo he sake o space, he mul- AN EXPLORATION OF MODALITY IN H. PINTER’S THE DUMB WAITER 261 iple alues and bene i s o Li e a u e in EFL eaching and lea ning will no be exhaus i ely explained he e. Ins ead, a summa y o some o he mos ele an s a emen s will be p esen ed. Ca e (1997) a gues ha “in he eaching o English as a second o o eign language oppo uni ies should be sough o mo e ex ensi e and in eg a ed s udy o language and li e a u e han is commonly he case a p esen ” (p. 171). Li e a u e p o ides ex s which a e au hen ic ma e ials and he e o e oppo uni ies o he s uden s o expe ience lan- guage and cul u e. Exposu e o eal language will no only encou age de elopmen o language skills, bu also he de elopmen o a eeling o language as he s uden is guided in he comp ehension and enjoy- men o wha he eads, which in u n migh in luence in he de elop- men o eading habi s. Dealing wi h li e a u e may emb ace di e en objec i es. Ca e and Long (1992) s a e hese aims in e ms o : (a) he cul u al model; (b) he language model; and (c) he pe sonal g ow h model. Fo he pu pose o he p esen pape he ocus will be on he language model. I is ou belie ha “li e a u e is made om language and ha he mo e s uden s can ead in and h ough he language he be e able hey will be o come o e ms wi h a li e a y ex as li e a u e (p. 2). Expe s in he ield, like Ca e , McRae, Simpson, ha e p esen ed a a ie y o models by means o which di e en aspec s o language in li e a u e can be explo ed and de eloped in a consis en and sys em- a ic way, which migh be o pa icula conce n o he EFL lea ne as i is a de ice by which he unde s anding o ela i ely complex ex s can be achie ed. Among his a ie y o models, an in e es ing s udy o modal- i y, a i udinal ea u es o language, was ca ied ou by Simpson (1993). Taking his ideas as a s a ing poin , we a emp o conside he possi- bili ies o explo ing modali y in Ha old Pin e ’s “The Dumb Wai e ”. To do so, some basic ideas abou modali y as a sys em wi hin he in e - pe sonal unc ion o language, will be b ie ly p esen ed. Acco ding o Simpson (1993) “modali y e e s b oadly o he speak- e ’s a i ude owa ds, o opinion abou , he u h o a p oposi ion exp essed by a sen ence. I also ex ends o hei a i ude owa ds he si ua ion o e en desc ibed by a sen ence” (p. 47). Simpson iden i ies ou modal sys ems: •Deon ic Sys em: exp essing pe mission, obliga ion, equi emen . •Boulomaic Sys em: exp essions o desi e. ELIDA LEÓN 262 •Epis emic Sys em: speake ’s con idence, o lack o i , in he u h o he p oposi ion. •Pe cep ion Sys em (sub-sys em o epis emic modali y): some e - e ence o human pe cep ion, no mally isual. Also, Fai clough (1994) claims ha “modali y is o do wi h speak- e o w i e au ho i y” (p. 126). He iden i ies wo dimensions: •Rela ional modali y: au ho i y o one pa icipan in ela ion o o he s. •Exp essi e modali y: au ho i y ega ding he u h o p obabili y o an exp ession o eali y. I is wo h poin ing ou McCa hy’s (1997) indica ion ha modali y is o en hough o as he p o ince o he closed class o modal e bs (mus , can, will, may, e c.) … bu a la ge numbe o ‘lexical’ wo ds (nouns, e bs, adjec i es and ad e bs) ca y he same o simila mean- ings o he modal e bs” (p. 85). Acco ding o him, “all hese wo ds ca y impo an in o ma ion [and] a e conce ned wi h asse ion, en a i eness, commi men , de achmen and o he c ucial aspec s o in e pe sonal meaning” (p. 85). On he basis o hese assump ions, we can a i m ha modali y, h ough exp essions o condi ion, obliga ion, possibili y and so on, migh help us asce ain he ype o ela ionship be ween cha ac e s depic ed by he au ho , hei deg ee o ce ain y o unce ain y, hei deg ee o powe o con ol o e o he cha ac e s and e en s. Fo he pu pose o ou explo a ion o modali y in “The Dumb Wai - e ” we will p esen a amewo k as shown below. As illus a ed in he schema, we a e o conside Modali y a sys em whose wo e ms a e in u n sys ems ha consis o o he e ms. These e ms, howe e , will no be ea ed as embedded sys ems. Ins ead, hey will be hough o as scales, since each o hem ep esen s a con inuum om low deg ee o high deg ee. I should also be bo ne in mind ha his model is use ul o desc ibe modalised p oposi ions. Ca ego ical asse - ions a e unmodalised; ha is o say, hey a e he exp ession o he basic p oposi ion wi h no explici use o modal ope a o s. No ice, o example They a e he e (unmodalised) as di e en om They mus be he e (modalised). Wi h hese ideas in mind, we will p oceed o explo e Pin e ’s “The Dumb Wai e ”. “The Dumb Wai e ” is a one-ac play ha easily lends i sel o an analysis o in e pe sonal ela ionships. The cha ac e s, wo hi men, wai AN EXPLORATION OF MODALITY IN H. PINTER’S THE DUMB WAITER 263 Rela ional Modali y Exp essi e Modali y High Deg ee Low Deg ee Desi e Medium Deg eeBoulomaic Re usal High Deg ee Low Deg ee Requi emen Medium Deg eeDeon ic Pe mission High Deg ee Low Deg ee Ce ain y Medium Deg ee Epis emic/ Pe cep ion Unce ain y in he basemen o a es au an o he inal ins uc ions o ca y ou a con ac killing. The play becomes especially sui able o a s udy o modali y since unce ain y plays an impo an ole in he de elopmen o he e en s. Fo a s a , unce ain y is con eyed in he i le. As s a ed by Billing- on (1996), he punning i le ca ies se e al laye s o meaning. I ob iously e e s o he an ique se ing-ha ch ha despa ches he mos g o esque o de s o ood o hese bicke ing gunmen, bu i also applies o Gus who, oubled by he na u e o he mission, ails o ealise he is he chosen a ge ; o indeed o Ben who, by his o al obedience o a highe au ho - i y ha o ces him o elimina e his pa ne , exposes his own ulne a- bili y (p. 89). We migh e en conside he possibili y o a e e ence o a hi d cha ac e , no p esen on he s age, who deli e s he o de s jus as any wai e would do and who migh in ac ep esen he “highe au ho i- y” men ioned by Billing on. A he end o he play, i is his in isible cha ac e ha shows powe and con ol no only o e he e en s bu also o e Ben. Billing on also sugges s ha he play is “abou he dynamics o powe and he na u e o pa ne ship. Ben and Gus a e bo h ic ims o some unseen au ho i y and a su oga e ma ied couple ELIDA LEÓN 264 qua elling, es ing, alking pas each o he and anking abou old imes” (p. 90). Based on he abo e s a emen ha unce ain y plays an impo an ole h oughou he play, he eade migh assume ha we will be deal- ing mos ly wi h he scale o epis emic modali y when s udying he na u e o Ben and Gus’s ela ionship. Ne e heless, e idence o all he e ms and scales o he p oposed amewo k will be shown du ing ou explo a ion. A i s eading o gene al meaning leads he eade ’s in ui ion o iden i y wo di e en ypes o cha ac e in he play. The eade migh easily desc ibe Ben as a powe ul pa icipan who ies o con ol and cons ain he ac ions o a less powe ul pa icipan , Gus. Ine i ably, he eade will be emp ed o es ablish some kind o compa ison be ween Ben and Gus in e ms o supe io i y and/o au ho i y. I sounds, o looks, as i he wo pa icipan s sha ed an ideology (unde s anding ide- ology om Fai clough’s (1994) pe spec i e: “‘common-sense’ assump- ions which a e implici in he con en ions acco ding o which people in e ac linguis ically, and o which people a e gene ally no consciously awa e” (p. 2). I is his sha ed ideology which leads Ben and Gus o ea hie a chy as na u al and, he e o e places Ben in he appa en posi- ion o de e mine wha is done and alked abou du ing he play. The eade may no ice a la ge amoun o impe a i e clauses employed by Ben, as well as his eage ness o show some supe io i y as indica ed by exp essions such as: I know how o occupy my ime; Who ook he call, me o you?; and he mos e iden Who’s he senio pa ne , me o you?. Also, he e a e some s age di ec ions ha desc ibe Ben’s a i udes when in e ac ing wi h Gus: onelessly; powe ully; menacing. On he o he hand, we ind Gus, who is oubled, unce ain, au , always asking ques ions and obeying Ben’s commands. Exp essions like I wan ed o ask you some hing, o simila , a e o en epea ed by Gus. These seem o be ob ious conclusions o be eached om a i s eading wi hou neces- sa ily ca ying ou u he analysis. Tha , howe e , would be an o e - simpli ied no ion. A close look will lead us in o a deepe knowledge and in e p e a ion o he play. In wha o he ways do Ben and Gus di - e ?; Is i o ally ue ha Ben is he powe ul pa icipan ?; Wha makes Gus seem weake han Ben?; To sum up, wha de ices a e used by Ha old Pin e in o de o con ey he idea ha , despi e he ac ha Ben imposes some con ol o powe o e Gus, bo h o hem a e ic ims o a supe io o ce?. De ini ely, any a emp o gi e answe s o hese ques- ions will equi e o close examina ion o he language in he play. AN EXPLORATION OF MODALITY IN H. PINTER’S THE DUMB WAITER 265 When compa ing Gus o Ben one encoun e s impo an di e ences. Fi s o all, i was al eady men ioned, he e is he ques ion o au ho i- y by expe ise: Ben is he senio pa ne , he e o e i is common sense o expec p ominence o impe a i e o ms and o eg ounded ela ion- al modali y ealised h ough deon ic exp essions, such as You’d be e ea hem quick; You’ e go a job o do; You’ll ha e o wai ; You’ll ha e o do wi hou i ; You’d be e ge eady anyway; You shouldn’ shou like ha ; and so on. I is e iden , hen, ha Gus is subo dina e o Ben. Bu a mo e in e es ing di e ence is hei iew and a i ude owa ds he job hey a e abou o ca y ou . Ben is appa en ly secu e in his knowledge ha he mission will be h ough as usual. Fo him, i is only ano he job o be pe o med. Gus on he con a y, is puzzled and hesi an . Exp essi e modali y ealised h ough high boulomaic exp essions like I wan o ask you some hing occu a leas eigh imes in he i s hal o he play. Some o he imes Gus da es o ask ques ions s aigh o - wa d: Wha ime is he ge ing in ouch?; Why did you s op he ca his mo ning in he middle o ha oad?; Who i ’s going o be onigh ?; Who’s go i now?; I hey mo ed ou , who’s mo ed in?; Ben deals wi h Gus’s wa iness e asi ely, as i eluc an o espond o alk abou he mission. To Gus’s ques ions Ben s a es o he ques ions such as: Wha ’s he ma - e wi h you?; Wha do you mean…?; o an in imida ing Wha ? ha o ces Gus o change he cou se o he con e sa ion and alk abou unimpo an hings like he c ocke y, he la a o y, he bed shee s, e c. While Gus’s cu iosi y makes him ques ion and wonde abou Wilson ( he unseen au ho i y) all he ime, Ben is a he simplis ic. This becomes ob ious h ough he la ge amoun o medium-low epis emic exp essions on Gus’s pa ealised chie ly h ough modal auxilia ies: could, migh , mus , would; ad e bs: maybe, pe haps, p obably; e bs: wonde , know (wi h nega i e pola i y); suppose; hink; and he pe cep- ion e b seem. I is p ecisely his p ominence o epis emic modali y, a i s medium o low deg ees, which con eys he idea o Gus as a weak cha ac e , one who is unce ain abou he e en s and he e o e one wi h a diminished au ho i y ega ding he u h o p obabili y o exp ession o eali y. Seldom does Ben use modalised epis emic exp es- sions: i could be any ime; hey mus ha e been p e y quick; he’s p ob- ably only en ed i . F om his we migh be emp ed o assume Ben’s almos comple e knowledge o he eali y a ound him. Howe e , only wice does he employ high epis emic exp essions: We’ll be on he job any minu e; I ’ll be any minu e now; This means ha Ben is no he “all-knowing” pa icipan as we migh belie e a i s sigh . Ins ead, his ELIDA LEÓN 266 pe spec i e is one pe ec ly de ined in: S op wonde ing. You’ e go a job o do. Why don’ you jus do i and shu up?(ou emphasis). Gus on he o he hand is wa y and uneasy. Such uneasiness is shown h ough high boulomaic modali y in: I hope he’s go a shilling, anyway, i he comes; I’ll be glad when i ’s o e onigh ; I hope he bloke’s no going o ge exi ed onigh o any hing; ha ’s wha I wan o know. As p e iously sugges ed, Ben’s sca ce use o high epis emic modal- i y is no a sign o o al command o knowledge o he e en s. His de - e ence o a hi d unseen pa icipan , explici ly indica ed in s age di ec- ions, is also shown h ough his use o some deon ic exp essions, his ime using he p onoun “we” as i admi ing he is no longe he boss: We’d be e ell hem; We should ha e used i be o e; …we’d be e le you know…; Ben’s submission o a hi d mo e powe ul pa icipan is made clea he e as well as in he end: BEN. Yes To ea . He lis ens. To mou h S aigh away. Righ . To ea . He lis ens. To mou h Su e we’ e eady To ea . He lis ens. To mou h Unde s ood. Repea . He has a i ed and will be coming in s aigh away. The no mal me hod o be employed. Unde s ood. To ea . He lis ens. To mou h Su e we’ e eady Su e we’ e eady, wi h high epis emic modali y, is u e ed wice. Besides ha , om his ex ac we can in e ha o de s a e gi en o Ben, who accep s and epea s hem in a mos ly mechanical way. This no ion o mechanisa ion in Ben’s beha iou is also shown in he exce p whe e he gi es he ins uc ions o Gus and makes him epea hem one by one. Bu Ben misses one s ep and Gus makes him no ice i . Ben’s answe is I know. Wha ?. The use o high epis emic modali y he e deno es, again, Ben’s a i ude o supe io i y o e Gus. Howe e , he co- occu ence o Wha ? indica es Ben’s con usion due o an in e up ion o he epe i ion ou ine. Ano he clue o Ben’s mechanical beha iou is he way he in oduces con e sa ion abou he news in he pape . This e en occu s h ee imes du ing he play, and he h ee imes he exchange is almos iden ical. All o his leads us o conclude ha Ben is in ol ed in a si ua ion in which he is a ic im, a he han he pow- e ul pa icipan . His “jus -do-i -and-shu -up” policy, his mechanisa ion and his submissi eness make Ben he pe ec hi man and pa adoxical- AN EXPLORATION OF MODALITY IN H. PINTER’S THE DUMB WAITER 267 ly he pe ec ic im o an o ganisa ion ha o ces him o be ay and kill his pa ne . Gus, on he o he hand, wi h his language loaded wi h unce ain y and hesi a ion p obes asse i e a he end, when we come o ealise ha he was igh o ques ion and suspec ha some hing was w ong. His boulomaic modali y in I wan ed o ask you some hing and his low epis emic exp essions such as I hough pe haps you migh know some hing a e changed in o ca ego ical asse ions, as i gaining some con ol: GUS I asked you a ques ion. BEN Enough! GUS (wi h g owing agi a ion). I asked you be o e. Who mo ed in? You said he people who had i be o e mo ed ou . Well, who mo ed in? BEN (hunched). Shu up GUS I old you, didn’ I? BEN (s anding). Shu up! GUS ( e e ishly). I old you be o e who owned his place, didn’ I? I old you BEN hi s him iciously on he shoulde . I old you who an his place, didn’ I? BEN hi s him iciously on he shoulde . I is clea he e ha Gus is no longe he unce ain and obedien pa ne . The epe i ion o his asse ion I old you, seem o place him in a posi ion o au ho i y o e Ben. Bu s ill, he ails o unde s and ha he is he one o be killed. The abo e examina ion o Pin e ’s play migh lead o u he s udy and analysis. We make no claim o o iginali y. Nei he do we consid- e his explo a ion o be exhaus i e. Ins ead, i is hoped his s udy may se e as a s a ing poin o aise some in e es among EFL eache s and lea ne s. Wi h his in mind, some pedagogical conside a ions could be made. Li e a y ex s p o ide use ul ools in he EFL class oom as s uden s de elop an awa eness o how language unc ions. Dealing wi h lin- guis ic aspec s o he ex migh become in e es ing and enjoyable by he EFL lea ne . Wo kshops can be designed d awing insigh s om lin- guis ic models and inco po a ing ac i i ies o he same kind used when de eloping any language session, i.e.: skimming, scanning, p edic ion, e c. In he case o The Dumb Wai e , special wo kshee s can be p e- pa ed whe e he use o modal ope a o s is o eg ounded o whe e hei use is compa ed when u e ed by Ben o by Gus h oughou he play.