"Facing the Facts: An Exploration of Non-Fictional Prose” is the title of my English class. What is the definition of real? How do you define fiction and non-fiction? To what extent do we trust the facts presented in non-fiction to tell us the truth? These are some of the ideas that we are exploring in class. We try to dig in the layers of words to find the truth, the reality and the facts in the non-fictional prose that we read. “Reality Hunger” written by David Shields, is the first book that we encountered in class.

The idea of what is real and what is constructed is frequently called into question. A place where this question is asked, but never really conclusively answered, is on television. Reality television shows are extremely popular, whether these stories are constructed or not, is very difficult to tell. Most reality shows follow a similar story line to that of regular television dramas. Do the people featured in these shows encounter such dramatic situations everyday, or is it really just a constructed version of reality to keep viewers interested? If reality is never ending, how do these shows ever come to an end? What is it about these shows that are categorized as "reality television" that makes them any different than a

It didn’t seem like many people in our class enjoyed David Shields’ manifesto, “Reality Hunger,” all that much (8). I can’t say that I liked it, but I did find it interesting and what he said, in between the lines as it were, was useful. It’s easy to pretend that what he did in his book was “weird” or “unusual” or even “bad,” but his use of quotes and allusions isn’t really, in the end, all the different from what we see in novels and poetry. Why is it that only fiction gets the O.K. to take what it wants from other books, culture, and other sources outside of itself without having to cite anything? Why did we read Shields as something so different from what we normally see?

Facing the Facts

Professor Anne Dalke

September 17, 2010

Storytelling in Law: Truth and Persuasion

Growing up, we have been conditioned to think that plagiarism is wrong, and we have seen the serious consequences that have resulted against people when they have attempted to use another’s work without citing it. Schools threaten their students with expulsion, and larger institutions threaten the public with legal action. Because of these circumstances, David Shield’s proposal, in his book “Reality Hunger”, of doing away with citations is almost absurd. Some people do not even bother to process his argument because it just seems impractical. It seems to them as if he isn’t saying anything new; that he’s just compiling quotes from other people.

Throughout Fun Home the constant detail and ornamentation of the visual setting—the entire visual universe—that the narrative interacts with plays as large a role in establishing character as the more straight-forward elements of narrative. The visual culture, most obviously apparent in her detailed construction of the restored Victorian house she was raised in or even in the surrounding products of childhood: Life Cereal (153, 162)[1] Snyder (147, 108) Pretzels, the can of Pledge (16, 11), functions on a literary level as well.

Tyler Garber

Professor Dalke

Non-fictional Prose

17 September 2010 

Originality: A Figment of Our Imagination

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