Friday, April 20. 1S34 Daily Nebraskan
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A TTi '71 1 i " (''
Miss Manners' Gzlls to
Excrutlitlr.Iy Correct
Behavior
Judith Tisxtin
Warner Paperbacks
($10.3)
"Don't pick your nose
at the table!" "Kencbcr to
write a thank-you note to
your Aunt 1 'ruiicr.ee."
"Use the fork farthest to
your left, dear."
Remember these? The
irksome rules of proper
behavior with which you
may have been burdened
in childhood? The ones
you promptly forgot upon
leaving the parental nest?
Well, they haven't for
gotten you. They're back,
in a new etiquette book
entitled Miss Manners'
Guide to Excrutiaiingly
Correct Behavior. (Ac
tually, the paperback edi
tion was published in late
1983, butt. as etiquette
books go, it's new).
But wait! Don't throw
up your hands in despair
this is not some sol
emn, dreary tome that
preaches about manners.
This etiquette book is hi
larious. It i3 also correct
and complete. It is yes
fun to read.
The author, Judith Mar
tin, writes a syndicated
column on etiquette en
titled "Miss Manners." The
book is written in the style
of her column. Readers
write "Dear Miss Man
ners" with questions, to
which she replies "Gentle
Reader."
The chief characters in
Martin's comedy cf man
ners are the Perfect and
Awful families, especially
a certain Dodll Louise
Perfect and Jonathan Eine
hart (Rhine) Awful III,
who are always breaking
the rules of etiquette and
getting theracclvcs into ser
ious trouble.
With the families, Miss
Tarzan . . .
Continued fcen Pc3 12
Violence is net limited
to the wild; it is just as
savage in the streets of
London as is apparent
when Tarzan's ape "fa
ther" is gunned down.
The ape actors of the
film succeed in expres
sing basic emotions
through their elaborate
plastic and nylon cos
tumes, but fail to imitate
the natural movemet of
the real apes. The jungle
scenes are perfect but the
"apes" make the setting
less convincing.
As both a pleasing spec
tacle for the eyes, with its
exotic and stately loca
tions, and a highly intel
lectual look at the "noble
savage," Greystoke is suc
cessful at breaking the
Tarzan stereotype.
The movie also leaves
the viewer disappointed
that more is not done
with Tarzan's inner con
flict about his identity.
The fundamental is rarely
evident except through
the mournful gaze that
accompanies him after
being introduced to the
western world.
The first part of the
movie dras through Tar
zan's upbringing and
leaves the audience disap
pointed at its end. The
legend and character of .
Tarzan has been ex
panded by Grei;$to!ce, but
not to its highest aes
thetic limits.
T! I.; T
t Gonra m
Manners "Gentle Read
ers" are guided through
births, deaths, marriages,
divorces, formal dinners
and invitations to the
White House, there is a
chapter on office eti
quette, which includes ad
vice on the "business
lunch"
Dixit Miss Manners: As
a businessman, fiowdol
allow a businesswoman
to pay far my lunch?
(leRoadenWithcred
it card or cash, as she
prefers.
Miss Manners also
deals with the thorny prob
lem of what to call people
of the opposite sex living
together: Why can't they
simply introduce one an
other by their names?
There is advice on the
"one-night stand" and the
"proper pickup" and "pro
viding for an unexpected
guest":
Dear Miss Manners:
What should a lady keep
on hand for the comfort
!Mi(l)SlVt:
modem etiouettebaoli
andconvenienceofa gentle
man guest who may be
spending the night un
expectedly? An extra tooth
brush? Shaving equip
ment? Perhaps a comfort
able bathrobe? Slippers?
Should I keep them in
different sizes? I'm only
interested in being a gra
cious hostess.
Gentle Reader: Yes,
Miss Manners can see
that. But what are you
running Vierc?Or rather,
as Miss Manners deals in
manners, not morals,
what do you want to ap
pear to be running? . .
.Even the most gracious
hostesses . . . offer their
house guests nothing
more than afresh tooth
brush, towel, soap and
perhaps a good book to
read if they get bored at
bedtime.
In addition to tackling
modern problems, Miss
Manners offers advice for
those interested in re
viving old customs such
' !iMtC: ijtlH. ivCM.OO, ItlllMt ijlilHMi
as afternoon tea and 14
course dinners. (By the
way, salad is properly
served only after the en
tree and not at the begin-
ning of the meal)
Miss Manners en
courages moderation in,
if not abstinence from,
the use of the telephone
and prefers that people
write letters instead.
Write, not type. It's not
known what she thinks
of correspondence made
on a word processor, as
this is not mentioned, but
she'd probably say some
thing like this: "Words are
not processed. Meat is
processed. Words are writ
ten." Thank you very much
for a lovely time. May I be
excused?
Mary Louise Knapp
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