Hypocrisy in Literature: The Example of 'Sister Carrie'
23 Pages Posted: 5 Oct 2012
Date Written: January 30, 2010
Abstract
I argue here that the reader bonds with the hero. From the point of view of the heart of the hero the reader then judges more harshly against others than the hero. While the hero is excused, in the end we know the hero is sinful. We cannot like literature or consider it good if the prospect of unrelieved hypocrisy is ever present in it; profoundly moral thus, Sister Carrie is not hypocritical. These terms are good terms to use in literature and rhetoric of literature discussions, as well as when anybody speaks of persuasion. Also, the hypocrisy continuum is useful for determining what makes a good text against one less good.
Keywords: novel, novel theory, rhetorical theory, literary criticism, Dreiser, Sister Carrie, hypocrisy
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