RHETORIC IN NEW FICTION (VONNEGUT, BRAUTIGAN, BARTHELME, COOVER)

Wayne C. Booth's conception of rhetorical analysis as the study of how writers use works of fiction to communicate can be usefully applied to works on New Fiction, which are generally characterized by a defiance of the conventions of realistic fiction and a flaunting of their own fictionality. While Booth implies that almost all elements of fiction can be considered to be rhetorical, he concentrates on narrative technique in The Rhetoric of Fiction. His observations about the implied author and unreliable narrators are relevant to such New Fiction writers as Kurt Vonnegut, who develops the role of his implied author as friend and guide for the reader to the point that the reader is more concerned for "Vonnegut" than for any of the characters. Richard Brautigan uses naive narrators to create ambiguity and irony through the conflict between their innocent tone and the frequently unpleasant and death-filled worlds they depict. Yet New Fiction writers also introduce innovations in style, content, and form to achieve unconventional rhetorical effects. Vonnegut uses science fiction paraphernalia as well as simple but superior narrative voices to present familiar themes from fresh perspectives. Brautigan's outrageous similes and metaphors and his fantastic content illustrate his recurrent theme about the importance of the healthy imagination. Donald Barthelme's collage structures make uncommon demands on his readers, but he also shapes his fragmented fictions to accentuate his themes. In his most unconventional stories, Robert Coover intentionally frustrates his readers in order to make them aware of the limitations of fiction's conventions and of the rhetorical potential inherent in the disruption of those conventions. Finally, an examination of representative works by Ronald Sukenick and Raymond Federman demonstrates that rhetoric is significant even when the authors claim they are not communicating meaning. This study shows that literary innovation opens up a wide diversity of methods which can enable writers to effectively communicate ideas and values to their readers.