Is not communicating damaging? The characters in “Night of the Satellite,” by T.C. Boyle and “Long Tom Lookout,” by Nicole Cullen, illustrate the disastrous possibilities of simply not communicating. Communication is a big part of life and not communicating can lead to some unfortunate situations that could have been avoided. Looking at these two stories helps readers gain a deeper understanding on why people don’t communicate and the consequences that result of not doing so.
Secrets. Are they powerful? Can they be harmful? The couple, Paul and Mallory, in “Night of the Satellite,” find the answers to these questions out the hard way. Paul and Mallory are graduate students on their way to visit some friends during summer break. This couple …show more content…
After he gets pushed and spills the drinks he has gotten from the bar he goes back to the table. “When I got back to the table, sans drinks, Mallory gave me a long squint through her glasses and said-or rather, screamed over the noise of the band-“What took you so long?” And then “where are the drinks?”” (pg. 36) This is the moment where, instead of answering her, he keeps all of his anger inside, letting it build up to the point that leads them both to an empty field. Where all they do is yell back and forth at each other, which is not communicating, until a piece of what might be a satellite hits Paul in the back distracting them. That little piece of metal, that Paul becomes obsessed with, is another minor issue that they are both focused on rather than what they are each keeping from one another. When Mallory throws out the metal saying only that it was dirty not what she was really thinking, instead of explaining what was going on with him, he yells at her, goes dumpster diving and goes back upstairs. They physically push each other and he leaves. Which also could have been avoided if they had just communicated, rather than yelled. In the end, not communicating and letting anger take over essentially destroyed this couples’