Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby

Abstract: Throughout Lullaby, Palahniuk manipulates traditional communication by obscuring the roles of speaker and recipient with the culling song, a poem that causes instant death to those who hear it. Despite the obvious incorporation of magic and fantasy, the novel reflects genuine aspects of...

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Main Author: Brittany Krantz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hyperion University 2015-10-01
Series:HyperCultura
Subjects:
Online Access:http://litere.hyperion.ro/hypercultura/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Krants-Brittany.pdf
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author Brittany Krantz
author_facet Brittany Krantz
author_sort Brittany Krantz
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description Abstract: Throughout Lullaby, Palahniuk manipulates traditional communication by obscuring the roles of speaker and recipient with the culling song, a poem that causes instant death to those who hear it. Despite the obvious incorporation of magic and fantasy, the novel reflects genuine aspects of linguistic functions and indicates authentic applications for the use of language and speech acts in the actual process of communication. The author highlights the impact that language bears upon one’s psyche, as individuals’ thoughts often transpire into words, and consequentially, into threatening actions that jeopardize others’ well-being. Palahniuk’s manipulation of traditional communication is that victims do not actually have to hear the culling song for it to enact its murderous effects, hereby destroying the assumption that ignorance is bliss and further reiterating the significance of being able to accurately interpret speakers’ language and intentions. Although no texts in actuality will produce effects as extreme as causing instant death to language recipients, Lullaby highlights the importance of reader discretion regarding textual purposes, intentions, and implications regarding linguistic communication to avoid misreading, misinterpreting, and misunderstanding.
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spelling doaj.art-11179566bf5843d9802aab6177e4eac02022-12-21T22:24:45ZengHyperion UniversityHyperCultura2559-20252015-10-0142111Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s LullabyBrittany Krantz 0Stephen F. Austin State University, TexasAbstract: Throughout Lullaby, Palahniuk manipulates traditional communication by obscuring the roles of speaker and recipient with the culling song, a poem that causes instant death to those who hear it. Despite the obvious incorporation of magic and fantasy, the novel reflects genuine aspects of linguistic functions and indicates authentic applications for the use of language and speech acts in the actual process of communication. The author highlights the impact that language bears upon one’s psyche, as individuals’ thoughts often transpire into words, and consequentially, into threatening actions that jeopardize others’ well-being. Palahniuk’s manipulation of traditional communication is that victims do not actually have to hear the culling song for it to enact its murderous effects, hereby destroying the assumption that ignorance is bliss and further reiterating the significance of being able to accurately interpret speakers’ language and intentions. Although no texts in actuality will produce effects as extreme as causing instant death to language recipients, Lullaby highlights the importance of reader discretion regarding textual purposes, intentions, and implications regarding linguistic communication to avoid misreading, misinterpreting, and misunderstanding.http://litere.hyperion.ro/hypercultura/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Krants-Brittany.pdfcommunicationmagiclanguageinformationPalahniuk
spellingShingle Brittany Krantz
Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby
HyperCultura
communication
magic
language
information
Palahniuk
title Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby
title_full Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby
title_fullStr Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby
title_full_unstemmed Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby
title_short Say What?: The Power of Language and Communication Demonstrated in Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby
title_sort say what the power of language and communication demonstrated in chuck palahniuk s lullaby
topic communication
magic
language
information
Palahniuk
url http://litere.hyperion.ro/hypercultura/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Krants-Brittany.pdf
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