“Find me a motive!” Accusatory Rhetoric, Narrative and Values in Emile Zola’s ‘J’accuse’
-
Stefan Iversen
Abstract
In classical rhetoric, the accusation or kategoria was considered to be tied to an act of telling a story. In accusing someone for a breach of policy or character, the narrative of how that breach came about was key. This vital connection between accusation and narrative, however, has not been developed by contemporary approaches in narrative theory or rhetorical criticism; works on how narratives negotiate meaning and value have not looked at accusations, and the surprisingly sparse work done on accusations has not looked at the roles played by narratives. This article sets out to probe the relationship between accusatory speech acts, the negotiations of values, and the telling of stories. Through a reading of Emile Zola’s ‘J’accuse’.
Abstract
In classical rhetoric, the accusation or kategoria was considered to be tied to an act of telling a story. In accusing someone for a breach of policy or character, the narrative of how that breach came about was key. This vital connection between accusation and narrative, however, has not been developed by contemporary approaches in narrative theory or rhetorical criticism; works on how narratives negotiate meaning and value have not looked at accusations, and the surprisingly sparse work done on accusations has not looked at the roles played by narratives. This article sets out to probe the relationship between accusatory speech acts, the negotiations of values, and the telling of stories. Through a reading of Emile Zola’s ‘J’accuse’.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- By Way of Introduction – Reflections on Narrative and Values, and the Value of Narratives 1
- The Ethical Potential and Risks of Narratives: Six Evaluative Continuums (and Sofi Oksanen’s Open Letter to Melania Trump) 23
- Narrative, Values, and the Place of the Human: Coordinating Anthropocentrism and Biocentrism 43
- The Circulating Professor: Narrative Configuration in Nabokov’s Pnin 61
- Multi-authored Yet Authorless Film Photonovels, an Ethical Paradox? 75
- Schrödinger’s Duck-Rabbit: Ambiguity and Meta-Framing across Media 93
- “Find me a motive!” Accusatory Rhetoric, Narrative and Values in Emile Zola’s ‘J’accuse’ 117
- The Right to Speak: The Cultural Archive and the Public Sphere in South Africa 133
- Dangerous Narratives: How Fake News and Narrative Journalism Shed Light on Journalism’s Epistemological Foundations and Self-understanding in the Twenty-first Century 155
- Beating Illness Into Shape: Applied Narratology and the Dangers of Storytelling 181
- Contributors 205
- Index 209
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- By Way of Introduction – Reflections on Narrative and Values, and the Value of Narratives 1
- The Ethical Potential and Risks of Narratives: Six Evaluative Continuums (and Sofi Oksanen’s Open Letter to Melania Trump) 23
- Narrative, Values, and the Place of the Human: Coordinating Anthropocentrism and Biocentrism 43
- The Circulating Professor: Narrative Configuration in Nabokov’s Pnin 61
- Multi-authored Yet Authorless Film Photonovels, an Ethical Paradox? 75
- Schrödinger’s Duck-Rabbit: Ambiguity and Meta-Framing across Media 93
- “Find me a motive!” Accusatory Rhetoric, Narrative and Values in Emile Zola’s ‘J’accuse’ 117
- The Right to Speak: The Cultural Archive and the Public Sphere in South Africa 133
- Dangerous Narratives: How Fake News and Narrative Journalism Shed Light on Journalism’s Epistemological Foundations and Self-understanding in the Twenty-first Century 155
- Beating Illness Into Shape: Applied Narratology and the Dangers of Storytelling 181
- Contributors 205
- Index 209
