Reading What is Not There: Ethnomethodological Analysis of the Membership Category, Action, and Reason in Novels and Short Stories

Abstract This paper investigates how the reader of prose fiction fills in blanks regarding a fictional character’s membership category, action, and reason for action. Aligning with an ethnomethodological approach to texts appropriating categorization analysis (MCA), we analyze readers J. D. Salinger, author whose works are well known their ambiguity ambivalence, would grasp unwritten identities characters meanings actions. Our specifies two types methods deployed understand texts. First, at-a-glance way, can supply missing categories sequence actions by turning commonsense knowledge social norms association between category activity. Second, construct various interpretations recognizably ambiguous scenes text conceptual relevant phenomena, maxims specific act storytelling, writer’s techniques peculiar The findings demonstrate vast applicability MCA work reading shed light on detailed operations author’s textual configuration fiction, thereby indicating possibility including interwoven consideration reader’s activity organization.