In Conservation with Jonah

In Conversation with Jonah. By Raymond F. Person, Jr. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996, 204 pp., $50.

In this work the theories and techniques of "conversation analysis" are introduced and applied to the text of Jonah. The basic premise is that a better understanding of the structure of conversation can enhance our reading skills and open up new insights into a narrative.

Previous knowledge of conversation analysis is not necessary since a clear introduction is given to the theory and terminology involved. Most of the introductory material focuses on the conversational structure called "adjacency pairs," which are sequences in the interaction of characters, such as assessment-agreement, questionanswer and invitation-refusal. Fundamental to Person's work is the distinction between two types of adjacency pairs: those that have "linguistically preferred second parts" and those that have "linguistically dispreferred second parts." It is argued that a study of these sequences can be a valuable tool in the interpretation of a narrative.

The introduction is followed by a basic commentary that outlines the story and message of the book of Jonah, drawing attention in particular to the adjacency pairs and highlighting whether they have preferred or dispreferred second parts. The commentary also highlights obvious omissions in the text which invite the reader to fill the gap. Jonah's initial reply to God when asked to go to Nineveh is one such omission.

Building on the basic principles established in the introductory material and in his commentary, Person shows how adjacency pairs relate to the plot, character, atmosphere and tone of the Jonah narrative. The section on "character" is particularly interesting in that it shows how the structure of each character's conversation has an important role to play in the portrayal of that person in the narrative. The structure of Jonah's conversation (in which dispreferred seconds predominate) emphasizes that he is in conflict with everyone else, whereas the conversation of the other characters (with mainly preferred seconds) is structured in such a way that their avoidance of conflict is emphasized.

The final two chapters consider the role played by the readers in their interaction with the text. The distinction between implied readers (the type of reader that the author had in mind) and actual readers and their respective interactions with the text is discussed. The implied reader understands Hebrew and is familiar with the geopolitical and historical backgrounds of the narrative. The implied reader is not always the actual reader, however, and Person analyzes various "readings" and "misreadings" of the text. He selects samples of conversation in Jonah and examines how these have been dealt with by various authors, ancient and modern. He contends that modern Biblical scholars misread the text because they are "text bound" and focus so much on what is in the text that they fail to see the significance of deliberate additions or omissions by the narrator. The pre-twentieth century authors also misread the text through their tendency to use Scriptures to interpret Scripture, and because of their theological presuppositions. One of the main implications of the misreading of the text by both modern and earlier authors is, according to Person, a failure to recognize the satirical nature of the book of Jonah.

In conclusion, this is a technical work which approaches the book of Jonah through the techniques of conversation analysis. It is a fascinating approach that highlights the importance of dialogue in a narrative. Even though the reader may not come to the same conclusions as the author, this is an interesting work that allows us to look at the familiar text from a different angle.

James McKeown

Belfast Bible College, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Sep 1999
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