ENGL 4310

When we discussed "Noon Wine" in class (I know - journey back to that day), there was a brief foray into regional dynamics of conversation. Todd, coming from North Plains people, talked about the whole "not talking" thing that we can see exhibited in Mr. Helton (from North Dakota, I believe) and how it's pretty characteristic of that whole area. We then touched on our perceptions of conversational dynamics in the South, mostly as formed by the stories of Porter and O'Connor, and the term I settled on in my notes was "chewing the fat." I think of the Grandmother and Red Sam in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," sitting around talking. There's also the doctor's office exchanges in "Revelation" and the city bus exchanges in "Everything That Rises Must Converge." It seems to be a part of having good manners - you say pleasant things to people for as long as you are in their presence. In "Noon Wine," Helton's lack of conversational delicacy is a concern for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, as you recall.

I wrote down a question in the margins of the classroom notes: "Utah dynamic?" I've thought about it a little since then, and it's hard for me to pin down if there's a code of well-mannered conversation in southern Utah (or Utah at large - but I've never lived in northern Utah, and I don't feel as qualified to comment on that area). A few things I've thought about: (1) When I sit in a doctor's or a dentist's office, I don't make small talk and I don't often find myself a part of the small talk initiated by another. (2) It may be a generational thing, because, in my extended family, my dad's generation and my grandpa's generation are very sociable people, the kind who do make small talk at grocery stores or on airplanes, but I'm certainly not that way, and neither are most of my cousins (even with each other). (3) For the last three days, I've spent time in the Sharwan Smith center trying to sell Valentines for Sigma Tau Delta. I think the responses have been pretty fairly split between people who ignore me outright (even when I make a greeting) and people who smile politely and respond. Clearly, most of the people I saw were students between the ages of 18 and 24 (guesstimate), and my obvious role as someone who was trying to sell them something may have had a lot to do with being ignored when I was. Still, though, I found myself thinking, "Hey, I'm not that social either, but if someone says 'hi' to you, you say 'hi' back. That's just how this works." So it's not much, but maybe there's something of a conversational expectation.

Anyway, the whole idea of regionally determined conversation styles/patterns/expectations is fascinating to me, and it's one of the things I'm considering as a final presentation topic. Basically, any comments you can give - insights into relevant readings or into different regional codes you're familiar with - would be mucho appreciated.