ABSTRACT
Wayne C. Booth’s most significant contribution to the theory and criticism of prose fiction in The Rhetoric of Fiction is his analysis of ‘point of view’ and the functions of the narrator in relation to the author, text, and reader. For this reason, this chapter is organized rather differently from the rest in that the principal focus will be on Booth. James and Trilling will figure from time to time, but the discussion of James and the point of view, which is bound up with his ideas about consciousness and the novel, will take place in the next chapter. Trilling has a number of important things to say about narration and point of view, and these will be considered as we go along, but narrative method was not one of his major concerns. After reading this chapter, you will not only have a firm grasp of Booth’s way of thinking about narrative, but will also have a set of terms that can usefully be applied to the reading of fiction. Please bear in mind, however, that what follows is a guide to Booth’s analysis of narrative method. In the end, not least because of the large number of examples he supplies, my aim is to encourage you to read The Rhetoric of Fiction itself.
