Introduction
Amie Thomasson built an anti-factual theory that tries to accommodate fictional characters as a way of resolving the main problem associated with fictional discourse. The main problem associated with fictional characters is the apparent inconsistencies that exist when looking at the subject of fiction (1999, p. 68). Philosophers have tried to address this problem by developing varied theories. In this paper I examine Amie Thomasson’s account of fictional characters. In addition, I explore the distinction aspect portrayed in her methodology before finally putting her account to the test using a counterexample and considering on her behalf, how she might respond to these based on her methodology.
Kendall Walton is an example of philosopher who has tried to address this problem by advancing on the pretence theory to accept the idea that all talks that relate to fictional names have some form of pretence. Thomasson critics Walton’s theory by stating that, all fictional discourse may not involve pretence. In my opinion, I think that Thomasson’s idea is superior to Walton’s argument because she comes up with a better solution that is less revisionary and that takes the internal and fictional discourse to include pretence while at the same time, allowing fictional names to be used to and refer to fictional characters. In this paper, I discuss how Thomasson builds that theory.
In building her theory, I noted that she has raised objection to the pretence theories of
In the book “Nothing But the Truth”, a young adult fiction novel written by Avi. In “Nothing But the Truth”, Philip Malloy, the main character, begins humming during the morning announcements when the National Anthem was played. Everyone thought that he was trying to create a disturbance but Philip said that he was trying to be Patriotic. A few days later, he got suspended. Philip’s story was heard from all over the country several days later. All of Philip’s friends and teachers are trying to prove him wrong and the country thanking him for something he lied about. So to avoid the mess, Philip switched to a private school. But when the Nation Anthem played there, a teacher asked him to sing but Philip said that he doesn’t know the words. Throughout the entire book, Philip was treated fairly for many reasons. First, for how Philip was
In the fiction story Charles by Shirley Jackson a boy named Laurie who does bad things in his kindergarten class, he blames it on a made - up boy named Charles. His parents are concerned because they think “Charles” is a bad influence on Laurie. The closest people are not always what they seem to be.The craft moves the author uses is dialogue and foreshadowing. The author Shirley Jackson uses many different craft moves Dialogue and Foreshadowing, people are not always what they seem to be.
Onyeka Aladiume Period 4 9-21-17 Week 2 Personification: attributing human traits to something non human. Hyperbole: eexaggerated statements or claims meant not to meaning literally. Example: “Tree wore blankets of ice.”
In the opening lines of David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Good Old Neon,” the protagonist and narrator Neal describes himself as follows: “My whole life I’ve been a fraud. I’m not exaggerating. Pretty much all I’ve ever done all the time is try to create a certain impression of me in other people” (141). In saying this, Neal sets up a self-aware yet self-diminishing representation of himself. Seemingly, Neal (who is a ghost in “Good Old Neon”) understands his hamartia, or tragic flaw, as inauthenticity. However, a closer reading of Neal’s choice of structure and language in his narration reveals his possession of a fraudulent and insincere characterization. I argue that Neal is purposefully an unreliable narrator and that the reason Neal is fraudulent is to “come across someone who is [his] match and can’t be fooled;” put another way, Neal is testing the insight, or what he refers to as the ‘firepower,’ of the reader (155, 147). Wallace’s reasoning for constructing a fraudulent narrator, then, is to illustrate that, even in death, Neal is incapable of escaping his need to try to create a certain impression of himself.
Non-fiction writings, such as a history or biography, are based on facts, real events, and real people. These writings can be presented as either objective or subjective and written in the form of personal essays, reports, and biographies. But, no matter what type non-fiction, the factual content of these writings can always be questioned as to whether or not it is actually accurate. In fact, many non-fiction sources, even if they focus on the same topic, often give different facts and information that does not match up with what another source says. As evidence, various non-fiction sources containing information on the “unsinkable” Molly Brown display multiple variations of her life story. Looking at different sources of Molly Brown’s
In the chapter “Good Form,” Tim O’Brien explains the difference between the “story truth” and the “happening truth,” (O’Brien 179) The “happening truth” is a historically accurate summary and told without feeling, while the “story truth” is told with details and is a dramatization. The “happening truth” tells while the “story truth” shows. This example of metafiction shows that sometimes the truth cannot be told by facts, it has to be demonstrated through a series of exaggerations to get the real
In Eriksson’s article she shows the reader that lies come in all shapes and sizes. Whether it be a good lie like a white lie or a bad lie like being delusional. She backs up her definitions of lies with examples from her own life to teach you about them. She ends by saying that lies shouldn’t be accepted anymore or we’ll all get so used to it that it’ll become the social norm, she says “Our acceptance of lies becomes a cultural cancer that eventually shrouds and reorders reality until moral garbage becomes as invisible to us as water is to a fish.” (Ericsson, Stephanie. The Ways We Lie. 1992. Print.). It used to be that a good person never lied but now everyone lies it’s just the sad truth. The only good people left in this world are the ones that refuse to lie. It’s gotten to the point where the lines between being a good person or a bad person are getting blurred. We’ve tricked ourselves to believe that having integrity means you can lie every once in a while, which is just false. Being honest and having integrity are one in the same. Integrity to me means being honest all the time, not lying when you can get away with it or you think someone needs it. There are some people that say lying builds character, I think that’s just false. Being Honest and having integrity is one of the best things in the world. Although some people will lie to make themselves seem like better people but ultimately just let you down.
The movie “Crash”, by Director and Writer Paul Haggis, follows 8 ethnically diverse families/ individuals facing the struggle of modern day racism and stereotypes created and faced in modern Los Angeles, California. These individuals take the roles of individuals living their daily lives within Los Angeles, California while facing stereotypes. The cast portrays: 2 caucasian white male police officers, an African American director and his wife, a white district attorney and his wife, a Persian immigrant family, and a Hispanic father whose occupation is a locksmith. The scene chosen from this film involves the police officers (Officer Ryan and Officer Hanson) pulling over the African American Director (Cameron Thayer) and his wife (Christine Thayer) at a traffic stop. This scene establishes two different types of theoretic sociological concepts of Thomas Theorem and cognitive dissonance.
Andrew Abramson believes that a conversation is needed to occur about inequalities and injustices in our country. Andrew wrote about how our views for our flag and patriotism is different for every person but, our respect and our honor need to be a constant of our different views as part of our responsibility as American citizens. Andrew believes that this respect and honor needs to extend to eliminate our prejudice actions and disrespect to the various races in America, specifically native americans.
Throughout most of “The War of the Worlds”, many examples have been displayed proving that The Narrator does possess character traits of a hero. The Narrator, throughout his journey, showed many acts of being dauntless, competent, and perseverant. It was these heroic traits that allowed The Narrator to survive and reach the end of his journey. The Narrator in H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” showed significant examples of possessing traits of a hero; specifically evidence of being dauntless, competent, and perseverant.
Erik Erikson was a prominent American psychologist that created many theories about human development and social growth. Erikson produced a stage model based upon the premise that a person lives in the social world and that personality is formed based upon the social interactions that a person experiences. He describes a series of development crises that a person must face throughout the lifespan. Erikson’s theory can be applied to “The King of Pop”, Michael Jackson. Many stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory failed in Michael Jackson’s life. The results of Jackson not successful completing these stages lead him to be mentally deranged.
In his book ‘Meditations on First Philosophy’, Descartes writes that all beliefs, even the most irresistible convictions, may not correspond to how the world really is; and this is something that defenders of the correspondence theory are arguably unable to dismiss. As a result, the coherence theory takes a different approach and argues that a proposition (truth-bearer) is true if it ‘fits’ or coheres with a specific set of beliefs (truth-maker). These beliefs may belong either to the individual (and include the laws of logic, for example), to human beings at the ultimate stage of historical development, or to a system of beliefs held by a God or the Absolute (Walker, 1989). So in the example where Billy believes that ‘dogs have five legs’, his claim can be assessed by considering if this statement coheres with a specific set of true beliefs. For instance, it may be commonly understood that dogs have four legs not five, that there has never been a dog with more than four legs, and that no one apart from Billy has ever claimed that dogs can have more than four legs. Thus, it follows that the key to determining whether Billy’s statement is true or false is “internal consistency and logical standards” (Dunwoody, 2009, p. 117).
Often, characters in a Juvenalian narrative are concealed representations of public figures or archetypes of existing groups or modes of thought (Rankin). The characters are made to act in such a way that the beliefs or behaviors the satirist wishes to attack are made to appear evil or ludicrous (Rankin).
Magic realism is a literary genre or style that encompases mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. It is an important element that plays into imagery and makes the reader question if certain situations actually happened. Often times realism is found in fiction or drama; however, it can also be seen in some poetry. In this paper, I will be discussing how realism directly affects the complete works of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Song of Solomon, and “As I Walked out One Evening”.
The last rhetorical strategy that Graham uses to support her thesis is citing experts. Graham takes full advantage of her sources to go in depth with her subject both mentally and biologically. Following up from her past fake experiences in the beginning of the story, Graham cites mythical couples such as “Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and her handsome prince, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Fred and Ginger, Barbie and Ken.” (Par. 4) Graham takes a mental approach