Personal Narrative Analysis

My fiancé and I normally communicate clearly to one another. We do not typically have to worry about language being that much of a barrier. On one occasion, however, our use of abstraction led to a misunderstanding that led to an argument that frustrated both of us. I was drinking red wine and was tired one night. Brett (my fiancé) told me that my eyes and teeth matched: they were both red. I became offended and thought it was rude for him to point something such as this out when I had had a long day caring for our daughter. I became quiet, as I usually do when I am angered, and sat watching television. When he asked me what was wrong, I told him that I thought what he said was rude. He said that he was joking and offered me some Visine. …show more content…
Our communication style is open, often jesting, and sarcastic. He does know, however, that I do not take jokes about my physical appearance lightly. I know the same about him, and we often refrain from making jokes about one another. For example, Brett is very conscious about his hair. I once made a joke about how he practically had an afro (I was being sarcastic, his hair was just a little more puffy than normal) and he stormed out of the room to fix it. When joking about each other’s physical characteristics, we often miscommunicate either by way of relative language, equivicol language, or by differing pragmatic …show more content…
I don’t know the context of which my statement might be interpreted. Something simple like joking about a person’s car may strike a nerve and cause insecurity. I once joked that my friend’s car was just about to fall apart. She became quiet only to tell me years later that when I said that, she felt insecure and that I was trying to tell her she was poor. She couldn’t afford a better car at the time, but was ashamed of the one she had to drive. I should have thought about the context of the statement before making it. This may have prevented her from being hurt by my