AN ANALYSIS OF REPRESENTATIVE AND DIRECTIVE ILLOCUTIONARY

ACT IN SHORT STORY “INTERPRETER OF MALADIES” BY JHUMPA

LAHIRI

Nailla Shahifah Rahmadyva Kushariputri

Sekolah Tinggi Bahasa Asing JIA

Jl. Cut Mutia No. 16A, RT.001/RW.011, Margahayu, Kec. Bekasi Timur, Kota Bekasi,
Jawa Barat 17113

naillashahifah@gmail.com

Every writer needs to have the ability to make artistic works for then the reader can
enjoy. To have the ability, the writer has to know first what idea which he is trying to tell
the reader. The idea can be from his thoughts, perspective, other people experiences or
even his own experiences. Good writers are not just capable of writing their ideas, but
also able to make every message and every meaning of their works be delivered through
their writing. Works can be in any form, short story is one of the created works by
writers.

A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and
focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of
evoking a single effect or mood. Short story can also be described as shorter work of
prose fiction, and most of the terminology for analyzing the component elements, types,
and numerous narrative approaches of the novel are relevant to the short story as well.

The nineteenth century is when short stories first gained popularity. Fiction at this
time tended to be a thorough portrayal of ordinary life, usually the lives and experiences
of those in the middle class. The modern short story differs from earlier types of short
fiction in the ratio between summary and scene, in addition to its realistic impulse. The
short story is one of the oldest genres of literature and has been present in numerous
ancient cultures all over the world as legends, mythic tales, folktales, fairy tales, tall tales,
fables, and anecdotes.

DISCOURSE ANALYSIS: AN ANALYSIS OF REPRESENTATIVE AND DIRECTIVE ILLOCUTIONARY ACT IN SHORT

STORY “INTERPRETER OF MALADIES” BY JHUMPA LAHIRI| 1
 Short story “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri is one of the collections of
the stories in a book named the same, “Interpreter of Maladies” which is first published in
1999. It tells a story about Das family, who are Americanized Indian immigrants, are
given a tour of an East Indian temple by a tour guide named Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Kapasi finds
the family odd and unruly, but he warms to Mrs. Das when she expresses interest in his
other profession as a doctor's office interpreter. He tries to prolong the trip by offering to
drive them to another location. Mr. Kapasi protects the child from a monkey attack
despite the fact that he knows the secret that has destroyed the façade of this family.

In this short story, there are several issues which can be analyzed. From all subjects
that can be analyzed by the short story, the author chooses to analyze the discourse
perspective, namely speech act which belongs to the short story “Interpreter of
Maladies”. The reason why the author chooses speech act to be analyzed is because even
though the short story is a narrative kind, there are still indirect speeches from the
characters which then can be analyzed by the author.

Speech act is a theory that investigates the meaning of language by examining the
relationship between speech and the actions of the speaker. Speech act theory holds that
the meaning of linguistic expressions can be explained by adhering to the rules that
govern speech acts. Austin (1962) defined speech act as the action of saying something in
Cutting (2002: 16).

Speech act theory has had a significant impact on the field of discourse studies
because it focuses on what people do when they use language. Austin in 1976 then
divided the speech act into two types: constative and performative. Where in constative,
the form is a statement about reality. Meanwhile, in performative, the utterance itself
which performs an act. However, he failed to set up criteria for describing the difference
between the two terms (Renkema & Schubert, 2018: 16).

Austin then came to conclusion that all expression in language must be seen as acts.
Coulthard (1985: 18) states that Austin finally divided speech act into three types:
locutionary act, the act of saying something in its entirety, illocutionary, an act performed

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STORY “INTERPRETER OF MALADIES” BY JHUMPA LAHIRI| 2
when saying something, identified by the explicit performative, and perlocutionary, an
act performed as a result of or as a result of saying.

Austin, however, didn’t get the chance to develop his theory because of death.
Searle (1976) in Cutting (2002: 16) perfected Austin’s theory in illocutionary act. He
found the solution for the performative. Renkema and Schubert (2018: 18) state that
Searle’s approach is still the best known and the most influential one. His solution for the
Austin’s theory is dividing illocutionary act by five types, namely: representative,
expressive, directive, declarative, and commisive.

The author then choose two types of the illocutionary by Searle (1976) to be the
topic to analyze within the short story which chosen. The research is using qualitative
method research. The data resource is from the short story “Interpreter of Maladies” by
Jhumpa Lahiri. The author will first observe the short story by reading. Then, the author
will analyze the representative and directive illocutionary act which is found in the short
story. The result of the data will be written in after, and the author will still include
explanations about other types.

1. Representative
Representative is an action that involves the speaker in determining the truth of
the stated proposition. Stating, describing, suggest, conclude, complain, demand,
and report are some examples. In terms of courtesy, this type of illocutionary is
neutral, and it can be incorporated into collaborative categories.

Data 1
Describing
“Each wheel is divided into eight thick and thin spokes, dividing the day into
eight equal pans.”
The data above is one of the representative examples. The data is representative
because it fits to one of the examples of representative which is describing. In the
data above, Mr. Das, the character in the short story is trying to describe the
wheels of the chariot which near the temple that he and his family is visited by
reading his brochure trip as he is a tourist.
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 Data 2
Reporting
“Daddy, the monkey’s hurting Bobby”
In the data above, it can also be called representative form. The reason why it is
representative is because it is suitable with one of the representative examples,
reporting. In the data, Tina, as the youngest child of the Das family, is reporting to
her father, Mr. Das that her brother, Bobby, is being hurt by the monkey when
they try to take a picture in the area.

Data 3
Suggesting
“… Mina, you need to lean in closer to Mr. Kapasi”
In the data above, representative is found. This data is in the form of suggesting.
The context of this data is Mr. Das suggests Mina to lean in closer to Mr. Kapasi
because they are trying to take a good picture and to Mr. Das, it is better if Mina
lean in closer to Mr. Kapasi. Therefore, the data above is qualified enough to be
classified in suggesting form of representative illocutionary act.

2. Directive
Directive is an act intended to have an effect on the hearer, such as ordering,
commanding, pleading, requesting, suggesting, advising. All of this frequently
falls into the competitive category, and consists of illocutions in which negative
manners become important. Some directives, on the other hand (such as
invitations), are inherently polite. It should be noted that in order to avoid
ambiguity in the use of the term "directive" in relation to direct and indirect
illocutions.

Data 1
Commanding
“Bobby, make sure that your brother doesn’t do anything stupid.”

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STORY “INTERPRETER OF MALADIES” BY JHUMPA LAHIRI| 4
 In the data above, it can be classified as directive because it fits one of the
examples of directive and that is commanding. The phrase “make sure” indicates
a person wants someone to assure something for him and it suitable for
commanding someone to do something. The context of the data is Mrs. Das
orders his son Bobby to look after Ronny, the other brother which just rushed
toward the goat, but appeared to have no intention of intervening.

Data 2
Advising
“Do not provoke them with food, and they will not bother you.”
In the data above, another form of directive illocutionary act is found. This one is
in the form of advising. The phrase “do not” and then after the clause, the
possibility of what could happen next is said which makes it fit to advising
someone. The context of the data is when Mr. Kapasi tries to give the Das family
an advice about handling the wild monkey in the area. He then advises them to
not provoke the monkey with food so the monkey will not bother them.
The advice from the data above is the clause “do not provoke them with food”.
Meanwhile, the possibility of what will happen next is the continuous of the prior
clause which is “and they will not bother you”.

3. Expressive
A speech act in which the speaker expresses feelings and attitudes about
something, such as asking for an apology, thanking someone, or congratulating
someone, is known as an expressive illocutionary act. Thanking, congratulating,
forgiving, blaming, praising, and expressing condolences are examples of
expressive acts. This type is typically amiable and considered polite, but the
opposite can also be justified. For example, blaming and accusing.

4. Commisive
Commissive is an act of the speaking which the speaker uses to commits
themselves about an upcoming action. All of these actions, such as promising,

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 swearing, offering, and praying. All of these are more amiable than competitive,
and are performed precisely to meet someone's interest rather than the speaker's.

5. Declarative
Declaration Speech acts that change the world through their utterance. The
speaker uses a declaration to change the world through words. To make a
declaration, people first should know of who the person is and then after the
person is known to being “someone” in the society, only then their utterance will
become valid in other people’s point of view.

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 CONCLUSION

In this journal, the author describes the use of speech act in short story “Interpreter of
Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri. The author then chooses illocutionary speech act and the
types of form in illocutionary speech act to be analyzed. From the analysis, the author can
conclude that there are indeed illocutionary act types found in the data. However, there
are only two types found. Representative may seem many in the analysis, but that is just
because the author finds more representative types than directive types in the short story.
However, the overall data shows that directive is dominantly used in the short story, just
with the same types over and over again.

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 APPENDIX

No Data Note
1. “Don’t touch it” Directive
2. “Bobby, make sure that your brother doesn’t do Directive
anything stupid.”
3. “The roads to Konarak are poor. Actually, it is a Representative
distance of fifty-two miles.”
4. “We call them hanuman,…they are quite common Representative
in the area.”
5. “Leave me alone” Directive
6. “Don’t call your brother a dummy” Directive
7. “Tell us more about your job, Mr. Kapasi.” Directive
8. “Tell us a typical situation” Directive
9. “Mina, you need to lean in closer to Mr. Kapasi.” Representative
10. “Each wheel is divided into eight thick and thin Representative
spokes, dividing the day into eight equal pans.”
11. “Do not provoke them with food, and they will not Directive
bother you.”
12. “Stay a minute.” Directive
13. “Stop calling me Mr. Das.” Directive
14. “Daddy, the monkey’s hurting Bobby” Representative
15. “He’s fine. Just a little scared, right Bobby?” Representative

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 REFERENCES

Coulthard, M. (1985). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Second Edition. England:

Longman Group UK Limited.

Cutting, Joan. (2002). Pragmatics and Discourse: A Resource Book for Students.
London: Routledge.

Lahiri, J. (1999). Interpreter of Maladie.

Renkema, J., & Schubert, C. (2018). Introduction to Discourse Studies: New Edition.
John Benjamins Publishing Company.

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