ABSTRACT
We have, in much of our teaching of literature, emphasized explanatory knowing—knowing that takes the form of propositions and demonstrations, generalizations and evidence, and thus we have privileged the expository, analytical paper in many of our courses. Fort objected to this dogmatism in the English class many years ago:
If teachers today were to insist that students reach only conclusions that were acceptable to our political establishment, violent protests would erupt. But when students are forced to use only one form, there is little rebellion although this formal tyranny may result in a more basic conformity that content tyranny (629).
He suggests that insisting on argumentative essay amounts to:demanding a particular kind of relation between a reader and a work being studied. In broad terms the connection is between understander and thing-to-be-understood; more particularly it is between thesis hunter and source of thesis. In other words, if the only form in which a writer can express himself on literature is one that requires a thesis, then he has to look at literature as a source of theses (633).
