Telling vs Showing

In the chapter, Telling and Showing, Booth talks about the importance words have in telling or showing certain information. Depending on how the author wants the reader to feel, he may leave something out or add something about the main characters so that the reader will love him, hate, cheer or feel sorry for him. Booth writes in The Rhetoric of Fiction, “Because the narrator has told us what to think of her, then shown her briefly in support of his claims, all the while keeping our sympathy.” The author wants the reader to feel emotions about the characters. Monna is a widow woman with a son who is seriously ill.  In this instance he wants there to be sympathy.

We are told that Federigo lived a life of poverty, and that all he has is a falcon.  Knowing this allows the reader to peer into the characters life and begin to cheer for him. Booth goes on to say, “Once we have become assured of his character in this way, become the equivalent of inside views, because we know that everything he says is a trustworthy reflection of his true state of mind.” As we learn that Federigo was willing to do anything to serve Monna, and his determination, we learn to trust him and his character.

I have never recognized how much authors can play with the reader’s attitudes. By sharing information about characters or leaving something out, the writer can help form certain feelings towards a certain character, Knowing this will help us get beyond the surface level of reading and really go deeper into the characters and why the author included what he included.