The six articles in this collection explore the following topics relating to rhetoric: the distinction between the truth value and the exchange value of a message and between the signifier and the signified in a message; the rhetoric of silence in modern fiction; the way in which readers are influenced not only by what writers say but by how they…

In both speaking and writing, the goal is communication with the intended audience. Rejecting the view that rhetoric is based on an established set of conventions, this article examines the writings of Charles Dickens as models of rhetorical expression. Passages from Dicken's novels illustrate how the writer violated grammatical rules and broke…

This paper describes an elective literature course that examines the cultural and historical context of Western United States literary works for insights into the whole of United States culture. From a definition of the "West" that has both geographical and mythical dimensions, the following major images emerge for study: Eden, El…

To parallel Lester Asheim's doctoral thesis that compared the endings of 24 novels with their 1935-1945 filmed adaptations, this study examined the endings of 88 films produced between 1946 and 1977, comparing the literary endings with the filmed endings by the same criteria that Asheim used. The data indicate both similarities and differences to…

The literary critic should be both a good detective and a naive observer in finding out what is going on in a literary work and passing on that knowledge to those wishing to use it in furthering their reading pleasure. Rather than formulating value judgments about a piece of literature, critics must use their experiences to illuminate important…

The mass production of books dealing with hitherto taboo subjects for children, such as drug use, divorce, illegitimacy, and death, is a growing trend in children's literature. This paper attempts to demonstrate the inherent difficulties in judging such books critically through a discussion of the handling of death in current children's fiction.…

This paper describes an approach to teaching students to become more sensitive to voice, audience, and meaning in fiction. Examined are several passages of monologue, including a passage spoken by a character named Mr. Tyler in the opening of E.M. Forster's "The Story of a Panic." The rhetorical triangle made up of speaker, audience, and subject…

Pre-service teachers and education students in three different classes (N = 53) were directed to read a short story by Mark Twain titled "Heaven or Hell?" written within a compilation of short stories late in his career. The story, "Heaven or Hell?" illustrates a koan, or an unanswerable moral or ethical dilemma. The students,…

This paper carefully examines the literary elements Scott O'Dell uses in his children's novel "The Captive," that so successfully engage even a reluctant reader. The paper explores the writer's style and subtle use of detail and foreshadowing. Quoting specific examples, the paper points out O'Dell's imaginative syntax and his ability to…

One of the Afro-American writers who spoke out clearly during the postreconstruction period was Albery A. Whitman (1851-1902). A romantic poet, Whitman produced seven volumes of poetry. His profound belief in freedom and equality for his race is expressed forcefully in two long narrative poems, "Not a Man and Yet a Man" and "The…

Black authors have long been telling America about its slave past, although America has apparently not been listening. Frank Webb's novel, "The Garies and Their Friends," was published in the same decade as Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and yet it has never achieved the popularity of Stowe's work, although its characters are…

This study of contemporary realistic fiction with settings outside the United States and characters who are citizens of other countries--appropriate for children aged nine through twelve years--sought to discover the differences between those by American authors and those by non-American authors. For the study, 35 books (24 by American authors and…

One of the biggest complaints shared by writing teachers is that students lack a sense of self. Writing handbooks and teachers are full of advice and exercises pointed at assisting students in finding their voice, their persona as writers. One method that may assist writing students in finding that voice would introduce students to spy fiction.…

This paper examines the stylistic changes that have occurred since 1850 in short fiction written by women. A shift is noted from the sentimental, romantic, "pretty" writing of the past to today's more realistic writing, with its characteristically vivid imagery. Discussion defines the term "feminist fiction" and shows how today's women writers are…

This paper discusses the positive impact of American Indian cultures on three twentieth-century non-Indian authors (Willa Cather, Frank Waters, and Margaret Craven), as portrayed through their Indianized protagonists. First, the influence of American Indian culture on the protagonists of two novels by Willa Cather, "The Professor's…