Book•
The Implied Reader: Patterns of Communication in Prose Fiction from Bunyan to Beckett
01 Jan 1974-
TL;DR: Iser as mentioned in this paper analyzed major works of English fiction ranging from Bunyan, Fielding, Scott, and Thackeray to Joyce and Beckett, and provided a framework for a theory of such literary effects and aesthetic responses.
Abstract: Like no other art form, the novel confronts its readers with circumstances arising from their own environment of social and historical norms and stimulates them to assess and criticize their surroundings. By analyzing major works of English fiction ranging from Bunyan, Fielding, Scott, and Thackeray to Joyce and Beckett, renowned critic Wolfgang Iser here provides a framework for a theory of such literary effects and aesthetic responses. Iser's focus is on the theme of discovery, whereby the reader is given the chance to recognize the deficiencies of his own existence and the suggested solutions to counterbalance them. The content and form of this discovery is the calculated response of the reader -- the implied reader. In discovering the expectations and presuppositions that underlie all his perceptions, the reader learns to "read" himself as he does the text.
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01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: The authors examined the autobiographies of these contemporary works: Edwards' "Personal Narrative" (c. 1739-42) and Franklin's Autobiography (1771-88).
Abstract: Scholarly readers seem to have avoided a comparison of the writings of Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) and Benjamin Franklin (1706-90). Although they were born three years apart, they are rarely represented in anthologies as having been contemporaries, primarily because Edwards was a Puritan preacher and Franklin was an "Enlightenment" politician and inventor. However, when we disregard these critical constraints and assumptions, we find that as writers and thinkers, they have a great deal in common. In my thesis, I have examined the autobiographies of these contemporary works: Edwards' "Personal Narrative" (c. 1739-42) and Franklin's Autobiography (1771-88). The theoretical approaches of Jane P. Tompkins, Wolfgang Iser, and others have provided me the critical background by which to read these texts. In considering the reader's roles of choosing an "authoritative" voice, interpreting, and responding, we find that the reader is vital to life-writings. Also, we learn that in examining the text, the reader enters into and participates in the autobiographers' lives. An examination of the two narratives reveals three bases for comparison. The first is the way they remember themselves as young men. Following a ii convention established by earlier Puritan autobiography, Edwards and Franklin write about their childhoods in order to understand that their lives are journeys of trial and error. Both discover that although their adult lives are valuable, their early experiences contributed significantly to their lifelong education: Edwards was educated by God, and Franklin was educated by writing. A second comparison between Edwards and Franklin is their method of identification of errors and failures in their lives. When we read their life-writings, we may expect them to follow the tradition in autobiography of stressing factual details and success. Instead, both men are "silent" about the historical facts of their lives, providing minimal detail of the instances that made them well-known. From the events that are included, Edwards and Franklin articulate their lives in relation to their errors and failures. As a result, they judge themselves for their readers in very human terms: imperfect, humble, and frail. The final examination made between Edwards and Franklin is their struggles with language. Even though they were known for their communicative abilities, Edwards as a preacher and Franklin as a writer, both men demonstrate an inability to choose the precise words to describe their feelings in their autobiographies. In
10 Jul 2020
TL;DR: The finalist of the Gianni De Conno Award (Silent Book Contest 2018) as mentioned in this paper, "La Valigia" by Angelo Ruta, depicts how a child of the war zone remembers and dreams while facing the chaos of having been chased by bombs and guns.
Abstract: Humanity is currently facing the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Children find themselves both directly and indirectly affected by this crisis. They are faced with making sense of complex issues and their diverse repercussions. For example, the distinct difference between a refugee whose life is at risk and a migrant seeking to improve their economic situation by moving to another rich country with prospects, is of particular importance for the objective study of the reasons and dimensions of the refugee crisis. In this context, this article explores the wordless book “La Valigia” by Angelo Ruta, where the construction of the meaning is dependent entirely on carefully sequenced images. The book depicts how a child of the war zone remembers and dreams while facing the chaos of having been chased by bombs and guns. This is the story of a sweet dream; dream that, despite the chaotic environment of reality, was kept alive inside a large suitcase. In this ‘silent’ book, which was a finalist of the Gianni De Conno Award (Silent Book Contest 2018), the vacuum created by the lack of words strengthens the meaning and allows it to exist in another form. At the same time, this style of book is changing the ways we understand and approach literature.
Dissertation•
01 May 1990