In The Station Agent, a dwarf named Finbar McBride inherits an abandoned train station, which makes him happy because he expects to be able to run the station in an isolated area where he can be left alone. For ôFinnö McBride is a dwarf who believes that few people if any are interested in anything other than his short stature. Unexpectedly, he will make the acquaintance of Joe Oramas, a coffee wagon vendor who helps ôFinnö realize people do accept him as a friend. As Wood (2003) argues, there are two types of insight that stem from the diversity in contemporary society: ôincreased understanding of and respect for perspectives and behaviors that differ from our own à [and] insight into ourselves that comes from learning about those who differ from us in certain waysö (p. 4). We see ôFinnö and Joe both benefit in these ways from their development of interpersonal communication.
Relationship Development: Uncertainty Reduction
According to Berger and CalabreseÆs uncertainty reduction theory (URT), when ôstrangers meet, their primary concern is one of uncertainty reduction or increasing predictability about the behavior of both themselves and others in interactionö (Grushina, 2005, p. 9). We see that when ôFinnö and Joe first meet, ôFinnö is less willing to engage in the process of uncertainty reduction than is Joe. Though both are lonely, ôFinnö deals with his loneliness through isolation whereas Joe is outgoing and garrulous in nature. Joe continues to pursue ôFinnÆsö friendship through efforts at communicating with him. With his relentless cheerfulness, Joe is eventually able to break through the walls ôFinnö has constructed to keep from being hurt by others. We see this in one exchange where JoeÆs relentless communication dissolves ôFinnÆsö resistance to his company:
Joe: If you guys do something later, can I join you?
Finn: WeÆre not gonna do something.
Joe: No, I know, but if you do...