Literature's Silent Language

This book suggests that an understanding of nonverbal communication can be applied to our reading of literature, thus enriching our comprehension of characters, style, and meaning - particularly in the short story.
Its theoretical framework is established by drawing from the diverse research in nonverbal communication in psychology, physi- ology, anthropology, and sociology. A combination of these approaches gives the nine categories applied to the reading of the short stories in this study: regulators, body clues, adaptors, physical appearance, vocal tones, touch, space, time, and artifacts.
This interdisciplinary approach leads to close readings from a fresh perspective on the following familiar stories from different eras: Nathaniel Hawthorne's eras: Nathaniel Hawthorne's «My Kinsman, Major Molineux» and «Young Goodman Brown,» Ernest Hemingway's «The Killers» and «Hills Like White Elephants,» and Flannery O'Connor's «Good Country People» and «The Life You Save May Be Your Own.»