Body Language: Secret Thoughts of Characters in Dorothy Allison's Trash
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/wjfh.Vol21.Iss1/Pt1.650Keywords:
Dorothy Allison, body language, unconsciousness, Freud, verbal language, non-verbal languageAbstract
One of the most effective nonverbal communication tools is body language, which can disclose a person's innermost sentiments and ideas. Body language is a vital technique for understanding human communication since it can reveal concealed emotions. By studying gestures, an individual can gain insights into real impulses and emotions. Sigmund Freud famously referred to body language as "Freudian slips", where unconsciousness influences body movements, exposing latent ideas and emotions towards someone or something. With the ability to read body language, individuals can uncover an individual's true awareness and intentions. Most human communication, according to researchers, heavily relies on gestures, positions, and distances to reveal the covert thoughts. This suggests that a person can use body language analysis as a scientific way to understand and influence the innermost thoughts of others and, in turn, their own. In her collection of short tales Trash, Dorothy Allison employs body language to reveal the innermost thoughts and sentiments of her characters towards objects and people. She conveys the stories behind the story she tells.
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