Death by Scrabble

For a relationship to get stronger and grow, there must be good communication, it's such an important aspect. If there's little to no communication there's a pretty good chance, it's not going to work out. Holding in all your negative thoughts from your partner isn't going to change anything, it'll just happen repeatedly. Any type of relationship needs to be comfortable and open so there are less unresolved conflicts. Minor problems that aren't solved, will lead to much bigger problems in the end.

In the short story "Death by Scrabble" by Charlie Fish, the husband and wife show that not communicating effectively will cause destructive emotional and physical effects.

The wife attempts to talk to her husband and confront him about an inconvenience she noticed but he ignores her, "she asks me if I cheated. I really really hate her. She plays IGNORE on the triple word for 21 points." (Fish 1-2). She even pointed out he ignored her, and he didn't say anything then either.

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He got angrier after that causing more problems to build up instead of acknowledging them. The lack of communication is so poor when it comes to problems it causes the rage inside of him to intensify, "Some inner poison slowly spreading through my limbs, and when it gets to my fingertips I am going to jump out of my chair spilling the Scrabble tiles all over the floor, and I am going to start hitting her again and again and again.". He's not explaining himself and how he's feeling to his wife, every little thing is annoying him.

He doesn't once bring up what she's doing and how it's making him feel, he's letting it get worse.

Not only does lack of communication cause emotional effects but also physical effects too, "I play zaps, with the z doubled, and she gets a static shock off the air conditioning unit. I find this remarkably satisfying." (1). He's getting a sense of satisfaction from his wife's pain and he's enjoying seeing her discomfort, he hates her so much it's making him happy. Not once does he consider telling her she's annoying him, and that he wants to go out and have some fun with his life instead of playing scrabble all the time. The husband chose to stay silent and give her a message through the scrabble tiles in unpleasant ways, instead of using his own words to tell her. In some circumstances, unhealthy relationships without any communication can lead to death, "My wife plays DEATH for 34 points. Just as the room starts to shake." (2). The wife is so unhappy with him she wants him dead, she played death and he ended up choking on a scrabble tile. The husband is dying and clawing at his throat and the wife just sits and watches because their relationship is terrible. He was surprised at the end of the story, he had no idea she wanted him dead too. They never talked about their feelings which is why the relationship failed.

In conclusion not communicating effectively in a relationship will result in destructive emotional and physical effects. It's key in a relationship to have good communication skills. Arguing maturely is also very important, the silent treatment, and name-calling is childish and only making the situation worse. Everyone also needs to have a good relationship, and attitude with themselves first before trying out a relationship with someone else.