Reaching Understanding through Non-Verbal Communication in Timothy Find

Reaching Understanding through Non-Verbal Communication in herds grass Findleys War and About Effie The two stories War and About Effie from Timothy Findleys Dinner Along the Amazon are both told by the same child narrator, Neil. In each of the stories Neil attempts to make sense of a mystery story of the adult world. In War Neil tries to understand the adult world of war, and explain why it seems that his father has betrayed him, and in About Effie Neil tries to understand the mystery of Effies unnamed need to wait for a man in a thunderstorm. Neil reaches an understanding of each of these mysteries in a similar way through observation of non-verbal clues from adults. However, Neils own attempts to transport non-verbally through his behaviour are unsuccessful. Taken as a whole, these two stories show how very important non-verbal communication is in child-adult relationships. In About Effie Neils most significant impression of Effie is created when she att ends at him. Neil tells how when he first meets the new maid, she escorts at him with such(prenominal) meaning that it scares him . . .the way youll know her is this shell look at you as if she thought you were someone she was waiting for, and it will probably scare you. It did me (82). Neil describes the first time he meets Effie in terms of the way they look at each other, saying The first time I saw her, she saw me first (82). Neil is shocked by this new maid, not only because she gives him such a profound look, but also because she bursts into tears upon seeing him. Neil tries to make sense of why Effie would become so emotional upon seeing him, and tries to discover more(prenominal) about this mysterious person for whom she is waiting... ...her captures both Neils naivete at the time and the sadness of his fathers war obligation. Through looking at this photograph Neil realizes and accepts that the incident was truly not his fathers fault. The non-verbal image co ntained in the photograph provides the key to Neils understanding. In War Neils attempts to communicate non-verbally through his behaviour are ineffective. However, in both stories Neil reaches understanding through powers of observation, even when the adults are un able-bodied to communicate through words. In reaching understanding, Neil takes a step towards adulthood himself. Through the process of looking at Effies smiles and looking at his fathers wounded face in the photograph, Neil is able to decode the mystery of their actions. Works CitedFindley, Timothy. Dinner Along the Amazon. Toronto Penguin Books, 1996.