"All Authors Should Be Objective" by Wayne Boothe - Chapter Summary
Booth, Wayne C. "Chapter III: All Authors Should be Objective." The Rhetoric of Fiction . Chicago: University of Chicago, 1961. Print. In the 20 th century, the consensus has been for authors to be objective. Objectivity is characterized by neutrality, impartiality, and impassibilité. Neutrality and the Author’s Second Self Neutrality in an author means adopting the same attitude towards all values, good and evil. It is however impossible for an author to remain entirely neutral in his writing. Instead, the author should remain neutral toward a set of values, depending on the sort of work he is writing and his aim for the text. Some works are improved by subjectivity and some are harmed by it. The fewer biases the author utilizes, the more his readers are likely to find his work agreeable. However, when reading a work, the reader always gets a sense of the implied author (or “official scribe”), and he is always distinguishable from other authors. He is ne