Grice’s Maxims Flouting and Its Functions in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea

Abstract

This research focuses on analyzing the flouting of Grice's conversational maxims in Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. The study aims to identify the types of maxims flouting and examine the functions that each flouted maxim serves in the novel. This research employed a qualitative research method. The data consisted of dialogues containing instances of maxim flouting, which were collected directly from the novel. The data were analyzed using Grice's Cooperative Principle, particularly the four conversational maxims: quantity, quality, relation, and manner. The results reveal that all the four conversational maxims are flouted in the novel. The maxim of quantity is the most flouted maxim among the four maxims. The flouted maxims serve different communicative functions, such as to express optimism, emotional support, perseverance, responsibility and interpersonal closeness. These principles also help in characterization and the development of implied meaning too, reflecting Hemingway’s use of indirect speech as a narrative strategy.