Re: Re[4]: THE RHETORICAL THEORY
M C Morgan (mcmorg@VAX1.BEMIDJI.MSUS.EDU)
Wed, 7 Aug 1996 11:37:12 -0500
At 12:13 PM -0400 on 8/7/96, Constance J Ostrowski wrote regarding Re:
Re[4]: THE RHETORICAL THEORY -
>I'll jump in the discussion at this point.
>
>I don't see a problem with discussing the omniscient viewpoint in literature
>in the face of questions or denial of the existence of some "real"
>god's-eye view because the omniscient literary viewpoint is a human
>construction (which also applies to the "real" god's-eye view, to many of
>us). I find myself able to think this viewpoint not so much because
>of my willing suspension of disbelief (though that does enter in), but
>because I see the literary and ontological beliefs as similarly constructed.
>
I don't have any problem teaching omniscient viewpoint in lit either - but
the next day I'll show that it's a rhetorical trick or device (aka a human
construction). Gerard Genette, _Narrative Discourse_, does a brilliant
job of showing just how writers can construct it, how they appear to take
an omniscient view--while at the same time withholding just enough
omniscience so as not to reveal what happens next.
Hmmm... wonder if that addresses questions of god's-eye view in rhetoric.
morgan