Andy Griffith Show Analysis

The episode that I choose is called “A Pickle Story” in which Aunt Bee makes a batch of nasty homemade pickles that are described in the story as “kerosene cucumbers”. They cause quite a bit of deception, lies and chaos is the characters’ lives. It is a story that raises the question is it ok to tell a social lie even though it will be benefiting the person being lied to or about. In the story we see many different types of communication from the various characters, the four I will try to identify are prosocial deception, apologies, principles of politeness and facial management techniques.
In his book DeVito describes the lie of prosocial deception as “lies that are designed to benefit the person lied to, or about” (p.107). In the story Aunt Bee brings a jar of her pickles to Andy and Barney where they work at a sheriff’s office and convinces them to try one. They both reluctantly agree and the look on their face when they first bite into the pickle immediately gives away that the pickles are horrible but, when asked both Andy and Barney reply by saying that they are the best pickles they have ever tasted. Aunt Bee leaves very happy and announcing

At the dinner table Aunt Bee sets out a jar of her pickles on the table and the meal begins. Andy and Barney each eat a pickle each in order to not hurt Aunt Bee’s feelings. When Aunt Bee ask about the taste of the pickles Andy and Barney begin to praise the pickles and Aunt Bee about how good they are and how much better they were than a batch she had made a few years ago. Here Andy and Barney show one of the principles of politeness by using the maxim of approbation which DeVito describes as “praising someone or complimenting the person in some way and minimalizing any expression of criticism or disapproval”