For verification of exemplifying the application of the EMMS, the selected chapters of the two novels have been chosen methodically, and not randomly although as an analytical tool, the EMMS could be applied to most of the chapters of the two novels. However, I was unable to include all of them into the scope of this thesis, due to the thesis word limit. For this reason, the analysis of Christopher’s mind style is restricted to specific chapters, namely chapters 2, 3, 7, 37, 67, 71 and 97. In the course of the analysis, I have also examined some narrative elements and presented a full list of similar structures in other chapters of The
Curious Incident in Appendix 3 as Excerpts 1, 2, 3, etc.
Chapter 2 has been chosen because Christopher-the-narrator describes the main plot
of the novel he intends to write. This chapter includes elements of ideational style and textual style including the simplicity in using the lexical and grammatical categories, difficulty in the uses of cohesive devices: repeating lexical items and avoiding reference and substitution. Moreover, various clinical features have been illustrated such as emotional detachment, exactness in mentioning time and place. Chapter 3 shows elements of the EMMS textual style including his thought processes that have been exposed by blending the textual cues and visual elements, his poverty in the use of the cohesive ties: using facial images rather than connecting the paragraphs by using proper cohesive ties, all of which can be related to narrative schemata. This chapter also involves Christopher’s mathematical savant skills, extraordinary power of memory, difficulty reading facial expressions, and self-centredness.
Chapter 7 contains features of the interactional and textual styles. Christopher’s
problems in understanding metaphorical expressions, using repeated words excessively, not abiding by Gricean CP and Leech’s PP maxims, difficulty in the use of cohesion, imaginative and narrative impairments, detailed descriptions of other characters’ outwards, obsession with
dogs and accuracy in number. Chapter 37 is chosen due to its inclusion of elements of interactional style and textual style. It covers Christopher’s excessive repetition of the coordinating conjunction ‘and’, difficulty in using cohesive devices, digression topic shifts and using self-schemata. Chapter 67 has been selected mainly because it contains Christopher’s various interactions with his neighbours in the course of his detective work, as well as his difficulty in understanding the pragmatic inferences behind other characters’ intended meanings, not abiding by Gricean maxims and Leech’s PP, using those Speech Acts that establish a social distance with others, as well as difficulty in differentiating between given and new, relevant and irrelevant information. Elements of visual narratives and various typographical variations, of being overwhelmed by new things, ToM deficit and sensory impairment are also displayed.
Chapter 71 has been chosen due to the instances of interactional style and textual
style related to Gricean maxims, Leech’s PP maxims, as well as to problems in interpreting the non-literal meaning of metaphors, difference in Christopher’s schematic knowledge as compared to that of neurotypical people, social isolation and aggression. Chapter 97 is also being considered for examination of Christopher’s difficulty in the uses of cohesion, schema- creating for some concepts, the rare uses of the evaluative adjectives, emotional, ToM and pragmatic impairments and extraordinary power of memory.
Don’s mind style concentrates on three chapters, namely chapters 1, 8 and 33. In The
Rosie Project, Chapter 1 is chosen because it is the opening chapter and the narrator
describes his worldview in a peculiar way in terms of his ineptness in the uses of his social and pragmatic rules, his distinctive schemata, ToM deficits, literality in understanding and rigidity in thought, in addition to his difficulties reading facial expressions, gestures, body contact, as well as his peculiar life-routine and scheduled plans. This chapter also includes various interactions between Don and other characters showing his difficulty in the interactional style. This consequentially affects his ideational and textual styles. For instance, the mixture of using scientific lexical items with social situations demonstrates an oddity in Don’s schemata for his social and pragmatic issues. Don’s fictional mind is portrayed as sharing features with patients of HFA/AS who struggle mainly with social, pragmatic and ToM impairments.
Chapter 8 is also selected due to its prominence in the plot development of the novel
and occurs in the middle of The Rosie Project. It involves a number of interactions with Rosie, who is another major character in the novel. The discourse revolves around the subject
matter of DNA and Rosie’s main concern to search for her biological father. The chapter also includes some oddities of Don’s mind style in his interaction shown in his use of turn-taking strategies, his disagreement, literality, rigidity and difficulty in pragmatic inferences and ToM impairment. Chapter 33, which is in the end of the novel, is chosen due to Don’s remarkable improvements in his behavioural patterns in his direct speech in his interaction with other characters and his narrative discourse. Don’s mind style with respect to social, communicative, pragmatic inferences and behavioural dimensions improves particularly in his awareness of politeness strategies, ToM, turn-taking, reading facial expressions and body language, as well as changes in his behavioural routine activities and timetables. Apart from this, Don interacts and cooperates in a more socially acceptable manner; he abides by Leech’s maxims of politeness to sympathise, praise and agree with other characters in comparison to his behavioural inflexibility portrayed earlier in chapters 1 and 8. In all these chapters and in the entire novel, a tendency of using scientific, academic and formal language is perceived in Don’s text.
In addition, the ideational style features including concrete and abstract nouns, transitivity processes and sentence types have been examined in all the selected chapters, whereas adjectives and adverbs for the two entire novels
The selected chapters are put in the Appendices 1 and 2 and are divided into various sections and numbered as [1], [2], [3], [4], etc. Extract samples from other chapters of the two novels are occasionally included either within the analysis or attached as an Excerpt 1, 2, 3, etc. to Appendices 3, 4 and 5 for the sake of supporting and developing my claims. Extract samples are mentioned within the analysis only whenever required.