Miscommunication In The Joy Luck Club And Drowning

Miscommunication is a struggle that lives within the world everyday. Being able to understand what another person is trying to convey is an essential part of the way humans interact with one another. When a message is not translated correctly from person to person conflict arises and heated battles rage within a relationship; whether it is a mother and daughter, or two quarreling lovers, or strangers upon the street. All humans are created differently, with diverse upbringings, perspectives, and mindsets. Particular forms of communications may mean different things to various people. When talking about the concept of miscommunications, one must also address the concept of communication itself.

Emotions and communication go hand in hand. That

being said, emotions are the true concept of communication to begin with. To convey an emotion and idea to another person is one of the definitions of communication. Even just a single word or phrase can spark thousands of reactions depending on the person and the hardships they have been through. Within the military, words and phrases are changed to take out that human emotion. Soldiers refer to other humans who they are trained to kill as “it” or “the enemy” (Lakoff). People who have not gone through the military would pronounce the names and the cruelty behind the killing of other living beings. It is also the power of emotion that drives people not to speak out at all, causing confusion throughout a whole community for the miscommunication. On March 14th, 1964, Catherine, also known as Kitty, Genovese was murdered and her neighbors failed to respond to her cries for help. It took three separate tries for the attacker to kill the woman, and not a single apartment neighbor called the police; giving the excuses: “I didn’t want to get involved,” “We were afraid,” and “I was tired, I went back to bed,” (Gansberg). Because of the individual emotions running through the apartment dwellers, not one person saved the young lady's life.
Being that there is an immense number of languages on the planet earth, the translations between language to language may become misconstrued.

Whenever an immigrant must first learn English when coming to America, it is always a challenge. This is due to the fact that English is one of the hardest languages to learn, especially in the verbal sense. The term “Broken English” strives from the lack of certain placement and filler words within the language. For example, instead of saying “Let us not waste money that way” immigrants will say “Not waste money that way” (Tan). Tan, who is the famous author of The Joy Luck Club and Saving Fish from Drowning, and whose mother was a Chinese immigrant, never liked the term “Broken English” since it has a negative context or seems unwholesome. When referring to “Broken English” and the heavy accents that come from the immigrant's native country, native English speakers claim to never understand what the other person is saying. As a child, Tan had to pretend to be her own mother to speak to formal officials; such as, stock brokers and advisers. This is because they claimed that they could not understand a single word of English she spoke (Tan). Not being able to understand what another person is trying to say is a direct form of

miscommunication.
Just how there is verbal communication, there is also the written language that even native speakers have trouble producing. The term illiterate refers to when a person does not have the capability to read or write a language. When these native speakers completely miss out on one of the most vital elements of a how society is run, every single day is filled with miscommunication and the constant struggle of uncertainty. When someone is illiterate they cannot fathom how to perform daily functions; such as, operating a car, opening a bank account, or signing leases (Kozol). Illiterate parents lose important connections with their children in school, who are learning how to read, by not being able to support them throughout their studies.
Miscommunication is a struggle that is inevitable as long as humans are indeed communicating with one another; which can include verbal, written, and body languages. What truly affects a relationship is how those miscommunications are handled within a disagreement. Shouting, cursing, and snarling are all harmful ways to deal with the frustrations of miscommunication. Instead, taking civil, precise, and appropriate forms of communication is the key to developing a strong relationship with another human.