Rhetoric and Pluralism: Legacies of Wayne BoothFrederick J. Antczak Ohio State University Press, 1995 - 336 pages Wayne C. Booth is indisputedly one of the most important and influential literary critics in American belles lettres. Not only is he widely acclaimed for his stimulating arguments and conclusions, but he is also appreciated for the kinds of activities and intellectual life in which he engages his audience. This collection of essays is not so much a retrospective of Booth's career, or an accolade in honor of his newly acquired emeritus status, as it is a challenge for him to continue his work and a reflection of both the profit and the pleasure of his company. The first of five groups of essays situates Booth within contemporary controversies and within the life experiences and roles where such controversies matter most for human character. Booth's work as a literary critic shapes the second section, which focuses on what the authors see as Booth's key ethical questions about literature and literary criticism. The third section of essays is concerned with the implications of Booth's writing, particularly in its connection with politics. Booth's influence in fields other than literary studies provides the theme for the fourth section. The final section explores the problematic but promising relation among assent, ethics, and pluralism. In the afterword, Booth himself reflects on these essays, demonstrating firsthand the critical and ethical qualities he brings to his arguments. |
Contents
Character Rhetoric and Liberal | 19 |
Concepts and Information | 40 |
Wayne Booth and the Ethics of Fiction | 59 |
Copyright | |
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argue argument Aristotle audience Austen Bacon Bakhtin beliefs Cain Cain's character Chicago Cicero claim classic Company We Keep Critical Understanding culture Descartes dialogic discourse discussion DISTSERPROF economics economists Elie Wiesel Essays ethical criticism Ethics of Fiction evaluation example feminist friendship Genet George Eliot Gilbert and Gubar Hirsch Holocaust Homo economicus human ideology implied author inquiry James Phelan Jane Austen judgment Kenneth Burke kind knowledge language learning listening literary literature M. H. Abrams meaning metaphor method of systematic mind Modern Dogma moral narration narrative notion novel philosophy pluralist Poetics political practice principles problem question readers reading reasons response Review Rhetoric of Assent Rhetoric of Fiction rhetoricians Richard McKeon Rorty sense social speech story Suleiman systematic assent systematic doubt teachers teaching theory things tion topics topoi tradition truth values voice Wayne Booth Wiesel writing York