Examples Of Non Verbal Cues In The Great Gatsby

Communication is an essential part of nature. Humans have adopted and became a custom to language as a part of our daily social lives. Verbal communication is used since day one; exchanging information as babies to our guardians when were in displeasure can even be a form of communicating. Being social is something that will never parish, thus being so important in our lives, it is nearly impossible to go a day without some sort of communication being shared. Even though everyone has different traits of the amount of socialness one might have, being shy and not being very social, can still give off certain communication cues that others can knowledge. There are non-verbal cues and visual aspects to help us communicate better and help us understand

each other more even if vocal transactions are/are not being used. One non-verbal gesture that can mean many different things is touch. Touch can serve many functions and can convey many different messages. Stated in chapter eight of Knapp, Hall, and Horgan (2014), “It is a crucial aspect of most human relationships... the act of touching is like any other message we communicate: It may elicit positive, neutral, or negative reactions, depending on the configuration of the touch, the people involved, and the circumstances” (pg. 231).
Different types of touching behavior and how these behaviors can differ with context and outside factors, are factors such as emotion, sex, and the context of the reason for the touching. The most common touching behaviors in Western culture are holding, shaking, patting, and embracing just to name a few. From personal experience, seeing how children and adults in different scenario decode certain messages can be different between the two. It seems as if children have a higher rate of showing emotions (positive and negative) than adults. As children grow, the more mature they become and the less likely of these behaviors are to happen. We can see positive touching behaviors such as hold hands more often, as well as hugging, embracing, and patting as stated before. We can also see negative touching behaviors more common in children as well, such as slapping, punching and kicking. As a child grows, the more likely they will outgrow these traits. Instead of holding hands with their companions, it can transform into more of an affectionate hand holding shared with a significant other. An example of a negative touch behavior, is how a child might throw a fit, start kicking and hitting the parent if they say “no” towards something the child wants. However, as they get older and more mature, the more accepted they might be when told the word “no” and not throw a fit. It’s interesting to see how these touching behaviors change over time within age groups.
We can also see another way in which touch can signify different meanings, is though literature. One novel for example, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows a few examples of this touching behavior, and how it can differ from different emotions. Written in chapter 3 of the novel, it states the following:
“When the Jazz History of the World was over, girls were putting their heads on men’s shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way, girls were swooning backward playfully into men’s arms, even into groups, knowing that someone would arrest their falls — but no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby’s shoulder, and no singing quartets were formed with Gatsby’s head for one link.” (Fitzgerald, 1995)
This chapter is about how a man named Gatsby, through a party to impress a woman named Daisy.

Since she did not come, he was upset and not in the typical party mood as everyone in the crowd feels. This sentence is stating how all the women are falling into men’s arms because they were in an aroused, and excited state after the song has finished. However, Gatsby was not, and no one dared to even touch his shoulder. Even though it’s stated in the novel, one can imagine and picture this scene. Gatsby’s non-verbal cues that we can picture, including an avoidance to a shoulder embrace; (pg.238) a half embrace is used in male–female romantic relationships as well as to signify buddies in male–male relationships (Knapp et al., 2014). We can also picture the guests non-verbal cues regarding to personal space, and how it’s being communicated between one another in this sentence as well. Since Gatsby lives in a high density city located in NYC, his parties and guests can reflect the nature of which these people are used to. This can also reflect within their interpersonal space. It seems to be that these guests are very close to each other, comfortably. It mentions in chapter five of Knapp, Hall, and Horgan (2014), it mentions how city dwellers are often exposed to an overload of information (pg. 131). Which can explain as to why these people are so close in their personal space, but unlike Gatsby, his non-verbal behavior signaled that he did not want to be close to

anyone.
Another time where one can witness touching behavior is though photographs. A common photograph can show someone with another person, or a group, who all have their hands around each other in a shoulder embrace. Stated on page 240, a friendship/warmth, embrace can be seen between friends, whereas a love/intimacy embrace can be seen through partners who are dating (Knapp et al., 2014). A photograph of some friends and myself, all have our arms around one another shoulders in a group formation facing the photographer. This can also show a positive affect because of what our features are stating; a genuine smile, relaxed posture, and close personal space. Another photograph that I saw, includes the opposite of the other picture mentioned before. Touching behaviors can not only be seen though people, but also towards an inanimate object. It’s a picture of my sister who is riding a rollercoaster and scared out of her mind. Her facial features that I can read is that she was very displeased, and frightened. She was holding onto the holding bar in front of her very tightly, unlike my brother who was sitting next to her, having his hands in the air. The holding onto the bar in this scenario can also display how touch can signify different emotions. In my sister’s case, she was frightened because she was holding onto the bar whereas my brother was not and indicated he was excited/happy.
Touching behaviors can indicate the state of emotion one can be in by giving off non-verbal cues. One can be angry, and their avoidance and ignoring of others touch signals can indicate so. Whereas someone can be happy or excited and their positive touch towards each other such as hugging, can indicate so as well. Touch can serve many functions and can convey many different messages