Anthony Mello

Micro-Ethnography
Groups of people often spend so much time together that they begin to develop such
close bonds and relationships. These relationships become so unique and specified that they can
even be defined as being their own culture. In my dorm, I live with two of my good friends that I
have known for many years and among the three of us we have established and developed our
own unique culture. Although not apparent to me at first, after moving in together and living
together for the past few months I have seen a large increase in how we function as our own
culture.
Upon coming into our discourse community there are a few important things that need to
be established and understood in order for you to fit in and not be offended or get upset. Almost
everything that we talk about is in a joking manner even if we seem serious. We all enjoy
messing around and picking on one another in good spirited fun. After observing I realized some
big specifics that play a large role in how we act. Pranks and jokes are used as a source of
entertainment for our group and no one is safe from being a victim. It seems that these pranks are
not only a source of entertainment, but also serve as a way of saying that we are comfortable
with one another. Until recently, the joking has not been as severe. After being more comfortable
and close with one another, we now are much harsher with our joking and not afraid to make one
another mad. It shows how good of friends we have all become that we have reached a level that
we just brush off the jokes and laugh along with whatever is going on. So it seems that the joking
that goes on is actually a symbol of our great friendship rather than what some people may

consider to be being mean. Along with all the joking we have our own sense of communication
that we use that we understand that some people dont when first meeting us.
While watching everyone interact I couldnt help but notice an immense amount of
sarcasm and double meanings being used. At first, not everyone can pick up on what we are
saying, but we all interpret the jokes and things we say in the same way and always understand
it. All the inside jokes and meanings we have assigned to different people, places, and things are
familiar to us, but not to those around us. It is very similar to a group of students in high school.
Thats actually where this all stems from is our high school. We became so familiar with each
other there and it has carried over to college. There can be complete conversations going on in
the room that the four of us will understand and feed off of while no one else will have any clue
as to what is going on. We are all so familiar with each other and have such good understanding
of one another that we actually interact on a different level when we are together. There is such
good understanding that we actually can feed off one another and act out together. If someone
starts to act, to mess around with someone in the room, everyone realizes it right away and will
play along and branch off of what others are saying to further confuse and joke with people. This
further establishes our identity as a community because we are all aware of something others are
not. It in a way gives us our own sense of power. It is what truly separates us from those not in
the community because we have developed the ability to see through the confusion we create and
dont fall victim to the confusion.
Our communication is spread throughout a variety of different sources of media. Its not
just through oral communication. When we text one another we still use the same kind of humor
and refer to things that only we know about. We also communicate largely through actions that
we commit. For example if someone is mad at another person they may pull some type of bad

prank on them, or if someone is appreciative they may do something nice like order a pizza or
help them with cleaning or something along those lines.
With this close bonding and interaction, we also see a big clash of our opinions and
beliefs while talking amongst each other. Almost always there is some type of argument going
on in the room. Not some bad, aggressive argument. But, there are always different opinions and
ideas flying around the room and being disputed about. Everyone goes to great lengths to prove
the other wrong. This argument process is a key function of our community. It serves as a way
for us to express ourselves and get to know one another better. It is one of the biggest ways we
communicate and bond is through this argumentative process. It further shows how we have
developed our own type of communication amongst one another. While the arguments are a
large contribution to how we communicate and function, we also have developed a sort of
bargaining and favor system that everyone follows.
This bargaining system is something used throughout every day and is how we ensure we
get each other to perform certain tasks and help one another out. Everyone always keeps some
sort of tally in their head of what they have done for one another and what someone has done for
them. This system allows you to put pressure on to another to help you out. If they fail to do so
everyone keeps track and remembers it next time that person asks for a favor they wont receive
it. Its a sort of checks and balances system that has somehow developed amongst the discourse
community. This system of checks and balances is used to keep people in their proper role in the
community.
It became very prevalent that we all have our own designated roles in our discourse
community that aid to the overall function of what goes on. As I observed I noticed that one of

my roommates, Mark, has taken on the role of a more responsible person. He does things like
taking out our trash, helping us with homework, and other things that a responsible adult figure
would do. Ricardo, another one of my roommates, does things such as cleaning, providing food
for us, and also is our tech savvy guy who helps us whenever we are having a struggle. Joey, my
last roommate, provides us with entertainment and fun through his devices such as his T.V. and
his speakers. Everyone is expected to carry out their own role and satisfy the expectations of the
other roommates. Although mentioned occasionally, these things arent really talked about. It is a
silent approval; everyone is just expected to carry out their specific jobs. We communicate by the
cooperation of doing the tasks. In a way, this cooperation is encouragement for everyone to keep
doing what they are doing. If one person were to stop, everyone would probably stop carrying
out their job. This is due to the fact that we all benefit in some way from someones tasks they
perform, without the incentive of benefit, the system collapses. It is the mutual benefit that keeps
the system running and efficient.
One of the most interesting things about our discourse community is how fast Mark got
assimilated to us and became part of the group. At first when we moved in to together, it seemed
like he didnt quite understand us a lot at times. It sort of made him left out on a lot. But, after
about three weeks, he got right into it and was doing a lot of the same things we were and
developing his own role in the group. Before we knew it he could understand our jokes more and
even could make the same ones as us. He started saying a lot of things with double meaning as
well as joking around about almost everything he said, he didnt even notice he was doing it. He
had become a part of it so rapidly and unknowingly. To get him further into our group, whenever
some kind of inside joke came up about anything he was unaware of, someone would be sure to
tell him what it meant so he would understand it with us. It didnt take away from the humor of it

because we wanted him to be a part of it. It also doesnt take away because once you become a
part of it you can also actively participate in it which in turn just adds to the humor. This
assimilation to our group is what led me to pick him for the interview. He once had a more
outside view on our discourse community so it is most interesting to hear his thoughts on what
happens in the room since he is still new to it. I started off by asking him what he first thought of
when he would hang out with us and what he thought when he was getting to know us. He told
me that at first he thought we were so ridiculous. He said he didnt understand what was going
on for the most part and that he would sometimes take things we said in the wrong way. So then
I asked him what he thought about the group now. He talked about how his perspective on
everything said and done in the room is completely different. Since he understands all of us and
our sense of humors he knows what a joke is and whats not anymore. He also is much more
aware and informed on what we are talking about and feels he can contribute to the things we
say. When asked what is the most important thing to know coming into our discourse community
he immediately said knowing that almost everything said is either sarcastic or is someone joking.
This was strange to him at first and he would often get confused when he first moved in he said.
But, after he got to know us better he realized the atmosphere in the room and started to be a part
of what we had unknowingly created.
None of these things were apparent to me at the start of this paper. Only after observing
and taking detailed notes was I able to see the patterns that come up in my discourse community.
Its interesting to see that when taking a step back you can finally pick up on common themes
and patterns that you live with every day. My observations and interview allowed me to gain a
perspective I havent had before.