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    wayne booth naratology

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    wayne booth naratology

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    13 views10 pages

    Booth

    Uploaded by

    Yuli Sentana
    wayne booth naratology

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 10
    he Rhetoric of Fiction BY WAYNE C. BOOTH ‘ot he ihe mat Rl Sows what suis i fn wl ‘acme we set sing ee ‘Shed feted ih be br cole bxe”™—"Dm. Sa otis of m0 “pum.ciantrae ite oes ing cs ~Aorante Foustn, Le rn Boo, wat tes ein pcg ile, ot oo tl etc a Salita Somes lasttmete = Be Sueaheh Actes et Soa tion CHAPTER six Types of Narration eae te ioc hwo oi at Siete Se Ges ea a Sion stertoaey only ce eae mth ly scar eh sear hmnie Sie corp ame Pan drama anteater ty Lon Sng perc ee Ea nat bolocid anes ethnme a ediy treme Dore oie np ewe SLE cm i Bat So neha Sav ‘evens tr iso cease rm Tila tah tres a ea inte ei a oe mayen 3 ‘tas Sins ft th Fr SEIN co peed edged oii teams rid eat tls ay Cre Giza incig ticn RE Soo e hdoneh Hee es Eenomensiees “ arity and Rhetoric 150 and Stether, trough whose vision most of The Ambasador ‘ome tos, ele at to dese sy of them wth tems ike "fit pewon” end “omniscient” falls ue Ue aboot how they dit fer tom each other, or why they swoczed wie other deseribed inthe same terms fi Te should be worth oa while the, to at tempts rcher tabulation ofthe forms the author's vice can tke, both ata sommary ofthe preceding chapters and as Ya or ante I and Passos Perhaps the mort overworked distinction i Hat of peson. To say {hata story i tld inte itor He ed person” wil telus noth ing of importance unless we Become mre rece and desibe how the pater qualities ofthe naar tat to speci fects, It tre that choice of theft exon is sometimes andaly Timing ithe “T” as inadequate aces to neces infonnation, the aathor may be led ato fmprbabiitie, And there are ther ‘ffs that may dictate choice a some ais. But we can hay pect to find wefl eters ina distinction that Lows all tion Into two, or at most tre, heaps, In thi ple we se ley Eamond, “ACask of Amontilad,” Golives Travel and Tetra Shandy. In that, weave Vanity Fair, Tom Jones, The Ambassdas, and Brave New World. Bt in Vanity Pir and Tom Jones the eo mentary i inthe fink pero, often ote the intimate ‘fect of Teta Shandy thn that of many thirpenon works ‘And again, the efect of The Ambassador much cose to that of er ieee ae bn ca etes tee oo Bae eta Sea ‘ni eee awh Tamed kage Sp eerie cence mrcae gata cing Scalar Lx Moin (Pe ‘yim Spiesigcmencere ai ‘Types of Nartion BI the get ft perion novels, sine Sethe in lage prt “nants” 1s ewm story, even though hei always efened to i the thi Farther evidence that this distinction i Js important thn bas cen been claimed i sen in theft hat all ofthe following fanc- ‘ona dstactions apply to both Gt and Uepeson naaton te, Desa Utes Nan relapse mt inp i ate ct apn SURe Rett det hor apts Sa ttre het heme "a pil er {sees aad wy he sorta ld oma’ de cate pic pan oe rele alld Re cea emer a Sera piper rm nice Cok ny op See aad tht ete et SETS elm i ow ee mpte ie Pinar hed AP SE RS ee a Ye slant dy tial it elope ena STUN Sa nia Sean aoe raat a dl at eninge soem iid Sime oy no 0 ct soporte 2 ‘Sgt tendounn of Sebo suhe m et th dst tte tn ted oer, EVicardisrms towed Se dates etme: SAAT aE talaga i are ‘Tae sec ttt cere ee inte ues mene pe see ne nl ne neo Serra tits ertbrerntenio Purity and Rhetoric 152 ‘ne ate conscious of an expeincing mind whose views ofthe x Pevene will come between as and the event. When thee s no {ch "I tin The Killers" the inexpeienced reader may make the mistake of thinking tht the story comes to him wnmedated Bat a ich mistake cm be made fom the moment thatthe author ‘lly placer a mart at the tle, even thei gven no pe ‘oad ehuacertie whatever, ‘Daaiatied nratre—In a sense een the mest reticent rar tor has been dramatized a ton ashe refer to ise “,” of Tie Flaster, tells that “we were fa the asoom when Claes ovary entered. But many novels dramatize ther narators with pet flies making them int characters who ares wv as those Eley tell or about (Tristram Shandy, Remenbrance of Things Pas Heat of Darks, Dr, Faust), To such was the namator 5 olten aialy ifertat fom the implied author who crests in The range of haman fps that have been dramatized a are tors alos ae get othe range of eter fictional characten—one nos ay “lost” bosroe Gere ae some charactexs who ae nat folly gale to narate of “eect” story (Feuer ean ute the iit for pat of ht novel only Because the other three pats exit tose off and chant the io jomble). ‘Wershouldsenind oueher at many dramatized nator are ney expiily beled sr nator: al. Ina sense very speech, ery entre, fates; mot works contain disguised mater who fie sed to fell he audience whnt neds le now, while sing erly tact oxt tells “Though cggused naratoe of this Lind ae seldom labeled so pls 5 Got in Jo they often spnk with an athoiy a ure S'Gol's. Messengers staring fo tell what the ce sud, wives ftyng to convince thee husbands thatthe busines deal isonet CG old family retainer epostulting with wayward sions—there ‘ten have more elect on os than onthe ofa odo the King toes sbend with bib obstinate search, the husband cases out his ff, the hall bound youth goc on toward hell si nothing had tee said but we kngw what we knowand as surely a if he av thor himself or his ofl narator had ted ws. "She's Tanghing at Sou to your face, Bothes” Chant ay to Oxon in Tarte, and Tips of Neraton is ey, ito mening ng yo matey st ih TE thc orn eh wi” Yon mate ‘tuo sem" An in tgny eal Cor no eens forte ps ts Const Setaglmitateret hee “ta nporan acnoigednrto nmcn Sten ste tpn “ante of oan teh nh ion ave eel sree Wher wah Sete es otie al ih lsed no eeng pice men extn heer fe seen Se go ch lon ce anes thy ey te ton waned meth yc alo ror {Git ed gn fe eh tien. He mg RSPAS Pep re von utd SEAS Ue Waves eR beni dn fect SEUSER ace cement Ful i dn tos age ae SIGE ean eg meting Tease nm ago ee ie Sots pals ene. "The vey sea advantages ofthis method, for some parpoes, have ‘provided dominant theme im modem ert, Indeed, 3 lng rowr attention ison och quale ar natunines and vines, the advantages sem oversbelming. Only a8 we bre oat ofthe fashionable sanamptio tat ll good Stone forte sae Lind tf vivid losion in the sme way are we forced to sosogaie din ‘anlage, The hid enon refer oly one ede among many, Snlabl for some effects bat camberome snd even banal when ter eects are dese (chaps. xx, below). Oneenvens 0 NuwaroxAcarss ‘Among drwmateednarators She are mere observes (the “T” of ‘Toon Jones, The Egos, Trolls and Ciseye), and there ste marae toragent, who produce some measuable eet on the couse of ‘Fi a mpd ae by Mac Cae Purity and Rhetoric 1s ‘vents (caging from the minor fvolrement of Nick in The Crest Gatsby, rough the extensive giveand take of Mail in Heart of Darkness fo the ental role of Tastam Shandy, Moll andes, Hidilsbeny Finn, sd~ia the thd pasenPaul Morel in Sons and Loven). Clery any oes we might discover aboot observes ‘may not apply tonamatoragent, ye the distinction is seldom made fn ak about pot of vew (chap). Sore ho Semen [All narators and observes, wheter Sato hid enon, can ray thei tales foo pray a scene ("The Killer” The Awiward ‘Age, the works of Ivy Compton Bumett and Heny Geen), pi ‘atl a summary or what Lubbock elle “pcre” (Addons ‘lmomt completly nonscenic tales In The Spectator), or, mest ‘commonly as a combination ofthe two. Tike Avot’ ditinction between deamatic and narative man- ‘ne the somewhat diferent modern distinction between showing Gnd telling doc cover the ground. Bat the trouble is that it pays {or bow Covege with gon impresson, Neratos of ll shapes fied shades most ether report dalogue alone or suppert it with tage dietions” and derrpton of setting, Bat when we think ofthe taialy diferent fect of a tene reported by Huck Finn nd a scene reported by Poe's Montrtor, we se Oat the quality of being “scenio”saggests very Ile about itenry effects And ‘compare the dlightfl summary of twelve years given in two pages ‘f Tom ones (Book I, cap. 1) with the tedious showing of even ‘fen minute of uncirtailed convention ia the hands of Sate ‘when be allows bis puison for "dorational reals” to dicate 2 ene when summary is calle fo, As was shown in chapter nd 4 the cont between seme and summary, between showing and “Types of Narration 155 telling, is Hay tobe of lite we until we speiy the Bnd of ‘arate who providing the sone or the nurary. Conncoane ‘Namator who low thence: ttl as el how Spang neat nd dt emery we (ilo t's dec relting of erent sone end Fomay. Such commen en of coe, ngs fe any set of Hanan eve anion be etd to te ain nia in imum Says an depress To teat fa ale dev to aoe int Foran diferent hat nr oraent, Smestay tat ever aretralpupee bu a ato the tematic stuctare nd commentary Eat ital tothe demaie Struct Tame Shandy (cape. Wir blow) seurcowcics NasnAoHs Coting sao the dtntin tetween oben an nara ‘Sent athe End the dancin Bowen selcomcror ‘aos (tp, vil), rom of thence wits (Tom Jone, ‘Pam Shandy Bucher Tower, Te Clef the ye, Re- ‘membrane of Thing Pat Dr. Fer) arate rss ‘ho mel eer cs the wing hee (Haley Fin) rte sim tmnvete Ut thy ae weg aking spaling or Staacing” a May wet (Camurs The Stanger” Lair “Miao aos The Vicua). ‘Vasaros o Durance “wheter nt they ae invled in th ato agents os Irena and td pron efecto lr markedly sca. Ingosthe degen Kind of datane a spetshen fom the Shh the oy and the oer chante ofthe sy In 27 {endng xpeine theta imped logo amongst, sat ‘toy tbe Gher chet, ad the rade ach of he foot en {Eng fete tcc ofthe ce fom eter to come oe oppaiton, on any xs of ale, orate, abet, Tid ves sel (Dee the der sane eet he tm Imetng of BG. Eatwicker sd? Sul not) The dennis Purity and Rhetoric 156 wally diced under “sree diane” enter in of coms; dis tance fo tine and space, diferences of soil las or conventions of ‘pee or dress-thee nd many ofer serve fo conta our sense ‘at we ze dang with an aesthetic object, juts the paper maons tnd other unseat tage effects of tome modera drama have had tm “tenatio” eft. But we mast nat eonfase thee with the golly important ects of pesona beliefs and quali, in a thon reader, watratr, and all eter inthe st of characte. 1 The naator may be ore or les distant fra the implied author, The datance may be mor (Jason vs. Faulens, the baber ve Lardner, the nanator Filing ia Jonathan Wild). tay be Intellectual (Twain and Hock Flo, Stee and Testa Shandy nthe aluence of ners, Rihardion and Claris). Iemaybe phys ‘lor temporal ost author are distant rom even the most know ing manator in that they presumably Inow ow “everything tus ‘atin the end” And soon. "2. The arator alo may be more Ts itnt from the chase. ters inthe sory he tee He may der moral, ntlectaly, and temporal (Ue mature narator snd his younger self in Great Be pation or Redbur); monly and intellectually (Fowi the nar {itor and Pye the American in Green's The Quiet America, both {rputng ically fom the author's norms bot in diferent dice tions); monly and emotionally (Maupasant’s “The Necks,” tnd Tley+ "None at Lancheon” in which the marta aft Jes encionalinvolement than Maupassant and Hixley cesty ‘expect from the reader; and ths on hough evry pose tat Pte narator may be more o le ditant fro the readers ‘owe non for example, pyscaly and emotionally (Kafta's The Metamorphoisp morally and emotionally (Pinkie In Brighton Roc, the mise in Maura Koot of Vip, and the many other ‘moral degenerates that modem fction has managed to make into ‘convincing human Bogs) "With the repudiation of omninintnantion, and in the face of inherent lations in drmatced slble nareator iis Bay Spin that moder authors have experimented with unreliable ratatorwhove characters change i the couse ofthe works “pe of Nenaon "7 hey marae Be sic Shik tight the mode wal wht the reds fl ephedrine Chg (om pure Maithand Lo wih Gos) ts cane op ister dgeenton hve nn sn nd mre opie Dot sol wel ahr od dave theft oe hd Foon hs ht the nl ste sow mara chang Eonar The mates Pn Get Expcatn x raed a gcratme vow hen & whee teal ppd © Ache hyeng lnc wy fo header ewe, ol thn kag: Rt the Bip ssc be Sow, fein te pt tee btn ls pret ble or ees tevng vad yoy sn vs tha the rae hls Sse ‘uth inte tenth cette posse met if te ‘Mod to oi oat allo te fee ptf Bl on sch Shits sd ay ar ext mor nd ead Dew St asd moe toy snd oom Peay et cae tower: bre ben he snhig arenes in he tof tice ting eens wngpatbele hanctenie Paubaers Max Soot and tonto them, bth rough chance Change al kal mangling ond fore: We bly mec! tvoghgsing tof the eto Plt {Estat ve etd fm ind hing nee “Titom Shandy, oto course to be dented with Tistam, more Interested in and knowing more abot recondite asia ore than ‘ny of his read), mon (the works of See), or asthe. From the author's wewpoiny,» mccesfl reading of his book mst elimi tell distance between te exential noms of his mpi author fe he norms ofthe portlted reader. Often enough, ere very Titi fundamental tance to begin wth Jane Austen does not ave toconvince ts that pride and prjedize are undesiable. Abad book, fon the other han, often most clearly recognizable beease the plied author ass that we judge according to norms tht we an- not accept, he impli author (coming the reader with him) may be Purity and Rhetoric 158 smote ales distant from other characters, Again, the tance can ‘Boon sup ais of vale Some accel sath Keep mast of thelr ‘character very ft “away” in every respect (Tey Compton Burnett), and they may work very delfbesately, as Willam Erpson sys of ‘EH Pow mah cali tw ep the ce reat distance fom the autho" Otte present wider tinge fo far to enon vty of sxe. Jane Ate, for eam: ley presents brand range of orl judgment (Fim the almost Ecmplte approval of Jane Paint in Emma to the contempt for ‘Wiekbam in Pride and Prejudie), of windom (from Kaightey to ‘Miss Bates ox Mis. Bennet), of tate, of fact of sens. Te obvious that on each ofthese sales my elamples do not tg to cover the poster. What we call “involvement” of pmpatiy” or "denticaton is usualy made up of many rae tion oautor, narators,obsteves, and oer carter. And ‘ators may ifr fom thi authors or sede in various Kinds of involvement of detachment, ranging fom deep pesonal cocera (Wisk in The Great Gatsby, MacKellr in The Master of Balle tine, Zitlom in Dr. Faust) to Band or idly amused or mere 1y cutout detchmeat (Wave's Decne and Fal). For practical etiam probaly the mort important of Use ind of distance i that betwen the flible or weable marae and the imple ator who eats the rade wth him in joan ‘heart Ifthe reston for dassing pont o view so Bd how ie relates to literary fleet, then surly the moral and intelectual goalies of the nanator are more important to on adgment than ‘whether e i refered toa "of "hs" ox whether he is peveged ‘or lnited If het ditcoered to be enrstworty, thn the ttl ‘flee ofthe work he elas tous is tansformed. ‘One terminology for thi ind of astance in arators i almost Ihpeleiyinadeqote. For ck of better tems ave elled 2 na rato reliable when he speaks for or sls in secorance with the owns of the wok (which & to sy, the implied authors norms), Tay gino Patt (end, 195), 7. Fxg ln dino oot Sibi, Seid dat Be etary Fer Gan nme 15,08. ‘Types of Naration 159 uncle when he oe no. Tit hat mos ofthe rest eficble ‘anton inigeolnge mount of inctentalny ndthey me thor “unesblenthe seme of bing potently deceptive Bat {iil oy i not cient to make strstr tnelne. Nor oneabity oral mater of ng, although debeiely de eptv atts bave been sor sno sane modem nove SS (Camor The Fa, Calder Wiingha's Naar Chi, }* Tei mont etn a ates of what Jes ls incomes the na {ator i itaen ore lever Hoel fo ave quale wich he ‘thor Jens Nr sn Hucibery Pan the arator cana {ore natural wicked wise the ator sent pe hs vite ehind hi back " ‘Unable ato thor difer markedly depending on how fe sd in what iesion Uy depart tom thi thors noms he ‘ete "one the caren fcionsbe terms “ony” and “ditance” cove many eet ht we shold tng, Some state Bary Lytdo, se placa fy" fom sathor tnd vader at pb in pet fo evry vite exept sind Intestin ty. Soe tke Feds Vee, he reece in Jame ‘The Spoof Poynton come clo opening the sta ea ‘tat pment, snd mol sense Alle then make tong de tmande onthe tede?s owes of inference than do rlabe at to. “Varcarions ns Surronr o Coanzenon ‘Both elable and unelable nator can be unipported rancor rected by other nator (Cully Jinson in The Hone's Mout, ‘Tete, nage cy wp, Purity and Rhetoric 160 Henderon ja Bellows Henderson the Rain King) o soppeted of corrected (The Master of Balltae, The Sound and te Fury). Somes it as mgs ons wht 9 wit gee a naratr i faible, sometimes explicit corroborating or co fisting testimony makes the inference ex. Sapport ox covrection Aifersadicaly t should be noted depending on whether it is peo vided from within the action, so that the naratoragent might ‘eneit fom it in sticking to height line or in changing his ova, views (Fauline’ Intruder Inthe Dust), ois simply provided ex temaly to lp the reader corctor reinforce ow view ab pins he nazato’s (Grsham Greene's The Power and the Cry). Obvionly, the eet of cation wil bo extremely die cent he to cares, Puvmsce (Observer and maratocagents, wheter selfconsions ot not el able or not, commenting or silent, Holated or supprted, can be ‘the peged to know what could not be leaned by stil nat tal meane or lite to rele vision and inference. Complete Privilege is what we umlly call omicience. But there ae many Binds of puvege, and very few “ommicent” nats re allowed to know ox show a much a her aor Enow. ‘Wenced s good study ofthe varieties of piviege nd imitation snd thelr fneton. Some imitations ere only temporary, ot even ‘lyk like the ioorance Filing sometimes imposes on his “I” (er when be doubts his own powers of naration and invokes the ‘Mies fr sid (Tom Jone, Book XI, chap), Someare nore nea Jy permanent bat subject momentary retoation, like the gener- 1 limited, humgnly resist hal in Moby Dick, who can yt beak through hs human imitations whea the story requires (* He wanes brave, but nevetieles obey, most cel bavery tat” Trmured Ahab’ with no one present to report to the naar). [And some ae confined to wt ee Hterleonition would allow them to know (Sst peso, Huck Finn; third person, Mirinds and [Lau in Katherine Anne Poster stores). "The most important soge privilege i that of ebtsning an inside view of nother character, becuse of the rhetral power tht such ‘Types of Nanation 61 «prviege convey upon a mater There a curios ambiguity in ‘ie term “omnicence” Many modem wos that we wvaly cas ‘sy ab nated dzratcal, with eveything tlyed tos though {he lined views ofthe characte, postulate flly s mch omni ‘dence i the alent author as Fling claims for hime. Out r= {ng vation into the minds of ste characters in Pauline’ AST Ey Dying, eng nothing but what tho minds contin may seam {none vente nat to depend on an omalscint author. Bat this tmethed i omnlicience with teth in i the implid anthorde- ‘mands oor sbroate fh a his powers of divination. We mst fever fora moment doubt that he knows everything about cach of these sxteen minds or tht he as chasea corey how moth t Show of exc, In sho, mmpenonal nanation is relly no escape from omniscence—the true author a “unnatural” all knowing athe ever ws If evident ariiciality were a falt—wbich ts not ‘modem nanation wooK! be as faulty Trolop’. “Another way of sggestng the same ambiguity sto Took cely at the concept of “Sramatic” strytling. The author can present ‘hs character na dramate sittin witout inthe east prteting them in what we normally think of = 2 dzanatc manner. Joseph Andrews who has been sspped and besten by thieves, is retaken bya sgecoach, Fielding presents the scene in what by Some moder sandatde most sem an inconsistent and undramatic ‘mode, "The poor wretch, who lay motionless Tong ine, jst began torecover his see asa tage coach eae by. The pation, heting ‘man’s groans, stopped his horses, and od the cachman, he was fetin thee is 4 dead man Bing i the ditch... «A Tay, who Ipead wat the potion sd nd Hkewie eat the groan, called ‘agri to the couchan to stop and sce what was the mattet, Upon thick be bid the postion alight, and look at the ditch, He did {oan vetumed "That there wat aman siting upright a6 naked = ‘ter he was bora?” There fllows a splendid dessipton, badly ‘meriting the mame of sme, in which ate recorded the sl eae tions ofeach pstenge, A yung lye plat out that they might be leply Hable they rete to take Joseph up “These words had A eesible eect onthe coachman, who as well aqsainted with arity and Rhetoric 162 {he person who spcke them; and the eld gentleman above men tioned, thinking the naked man would afford him fequent oppo. tunities of showing his wit to the ld, ofered to jin with th com pany in giving aug of ber fr his fal, partly lame bythe frets ofthe one, and ‘the promises ofthe other, and ‘being perhaps lite moved with compassion st he poor eeature’s odio, wh stood bleding and sivesing withthe cold, he st Tenth gfeod” Once Joseph i the coach, the same ind of in et reporting of the "sane continues, with eguentexsrsins, ‘homeversopericl into the minds and Hearts ofthe asembly of fools and lave, and ocasional geetes when complete knowledge ‘coms insdviabe If to be dramatic to show characters dramat- ‘ally engaged wth each other, motive cashing with motive, the ‘vteome depending upon the reslution af motes, Un His scene ‘dramatic Bot fs to give the impression thatthe story is aking place by il, with the characters ening ina dramatic elation: Ship vied the spectator, unmediated bya nator and decipher. ‘ble ony through inferential matching of word to word and word to deed, then this isa relatively undrmati ene (On the oer hand an author ean preset a character in this lt ter Lind of devmaticrelonship with the reader without favoring that character in any intemal drama atall- Many Ite poems are Akamatc inthis sere and wndramatic fm any other. "That is 20 ‘county for od men" Who saps? Yeas or bis “mask” say. To ‘whom? To us, How do we know tht it Yes and aot some Character remote fom him a Cllbn is remote fom Browning in "Caliban upon Setebos"? We infer i tthe dramatized state ment unfold, the need forthe inference fs what makes the Ise

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