Relational Rhetorics
Relational dialectics are an important part of maintaining a healthy and long lasting relationship. Many relationships seen on television and read in literature utilize these dialectics. Seeing these examples in fictional relationships helps the viewer understand the different dialectics and could even assist these viewers in their everyday relationships. There are some great fictional relationships that use the relational dialectics very well and cooperate perfectly, and then there are others that don’t do so well. Comparing and contrasting two different fictional relationships and analyzing how they did or did not use the relational dialectics can be very helpful, and is the overall goal of this essay. The two relationships that will be
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Autonomy is the desire to do things independent of their partner, while connection is the desire to link your actions with your partner. In most relationships, there is a little bit of both sides for each person. For Jim and Pam, it is the same. For example, before they began dating, Jim would take any opportunity he could to be near Pam and spend time with her. Pam would also do the same to an extent, and it built on their friendship. There wasn’t too much miscommunication,; they were mostly on the same page. There were also times in their relationship where they were away from each other for extended periods of time. An example of this is when Pam goes to graphic design school in New York. They still see each other every so often, but Pam wanted to take the opportunity to try and achieve her dream of being a graphic designer, and Jim was okay with this even though it meant seeing her less often. They constantly communicated their feelings with one another throughout the show and that made for a stable and healthy relationship. On the other hand, there is George and Susan. Almost the entire time they were together, George would gripe to his friends about how he never wanted to be with Susan. He always wanted alone time, but he would never tell Susan what he wanted. At one point, he told Jerry that walking up to Susan’s apartment was a nightmare for him; he never wanted to do it. Even though George had major issues with the relationship, he never made the attempt to communicate this with Susan. Their relationship was vastly different from Jim and
Autonomy is the desire to do things independent of their partner, while connection is the desire to link your actions with your partner. In most relationships, there is a little bit of both sides for each person. For Jim and Pam, it is the same. For example, before they began dating, Jim would take any opportunity he could to be near Pam and spend time with her. Pam would also do the same to an extent, and it built on their friendship. There wasn’t too much miscommunication,; they were mostly on the same page. There were also times in their relationship where they were away from each other for extended periods of time. An example of this is when Pam goes to graphic design school in New York. They still see each other every so often, but Pam wanted to take the opportunity to try and achieve her dream of being a graphic designer, and Jim was okay with this even though it meant seeing her less often. They constantly communicated their feelings with one another throughout the show and that made for a stable and healthy relationship. On the other hand, there is George and Susan. Almost the entire time they were together, George would gripe to his friends about how he never wanted to be with Susan. He always wanted alone time, but he would never tell Susan what he wanted. At one point, he told Jerry that walking up to Susan’s apartment was a nightmare for him; he never wanted to do it. Even though George had major issues with the relationship, he never made the attempt to communicate this with Susan. Their relationship was vastly different from Jim and