Answer:
The theme, simply put, is fear and its effect on one's mind - particularly a fear of the unknown.
Explanation:
"The Premature Burial" is a short story about one man's extreme fear of being buried alive. He struggles from an internal conflict (him vs. his mind), as he obsessively imagines himself being buried alive over and over. It is worth noting that the narrator frequently suffers from catalepsy (loss of sensation and consciousness similar to death) hence, fearing a cataleptic state will make others believe he is dead.
The relationship I describe is personal-social. According to Knapp's model, the stage of relational development is Experimentation, in which individuals communicate revealing information about themselves. In this stage, small talk is used to find a common area of interest, and relationships are friendly and informal. In order to keep the relationship progressing, I can continue to make small talk until I feel like finding out if the other person is interested in me as well. I could also try to make conversation deeper, so that we move to the next phase, Intensifying. Besides, I could make communication more frequent and offer gifts as a demonstration of strong fondness.
The relationship is at the Experimentation stage because we make talk abut superficial things and gradually disclose information about us.
