5.

1 Language, reality and realism:

The fictional nature of fiction writing is important and that in fiction, there is no such thing as absolute
realism. Harry Levin supports this point when he compares the myth of absolute realism with the myth of
absolute liberty: there is no such thing as a "completely realistic" piece of fiction.

Another important point to be made here is that whenever a writer uses language, he only captures
some features of "reality" which are critical for his purpose and ignores other features because he cannot
give complete account of whatever he is describing. For example, he cannot give an exact physical portrait
of a person unless he resorts to scientific explanation that is regarded as the ultimate yardstick of reality.
The only thing that matters in fiction is the illusion of real experience and a scientific description distances
us from that.

5.2 Reality and Mock Reality

The following example shall provide us by a smooth entry to the subject: "Another Constable Has to
Change First Names" If we imagine a reader who knows English but has spent all his life in an alien
environment, the meaning of the words on the page (language) by itself will not make him understand the
message of the headline. He will wonder "What constable?" "a person named constable or an officer of the
law?" so language formulates or extends our "model of reality".

To read and understand a piece of fiction is to draw conclusions by using our existing knowledge and
understanding of the world. In other words, our models of reality help us understand mock realities.

5.3 Specification of detail: symbolism and realism

When a writer creates a fiction, he has to make some decisions on choices regarding specification of
detail: what kinds of detail and how these details to be presented? To make these decisions, the writer
would have artistic criteria of relevance. In general, criteria of artistic relevance of two opposed kinds,
summed up in Aristotle's notion that it is the function of literature to express the universal through the
particular.

There is the urge to specify details in the mock reality in a way that makes them stand for something
beyond themselves, something universally important. In this sense, the message itself, in literature,
becomes a code, a symbolic structure.

In symbolism, there are two tendencies:

1- an impulse towards universality; where the events and characters may be symbols of abstract universal
aspect as freedom, sin, and oppression
2- an impulse towards individuality which leads the work of art to the concept of Verisimilitude: the sense
of being in the presence of actual individual things, events, people and places, is the common experience
readers expect to find in literature and it is this aspect of the illusion of reality that is called verisimilitude.

Verisimilitude is closely connected to another aspect of realism which is credibility. It is another aspect of
realism. It is the likelihood and hence believability of the fiction as potential reality, given that we apply our
expectations and inferences about the real world to fictional happenings. In science fiction the work
remains credible despite violating the natural laws because future is less constraind.

The combination of Verisimilitude and credibility is a main feature of realistic writing

5.4 Real speech and fictional speech:

till now the chapter considers the relation between fictional language and ordinary or real language after
reaching the conclusion that it is not right to compare language and the real world itself the are two
incomparable things but to compare fictional to real/ordinary language. The options available to fictional
writer may be different from the options available to any speaker or writer of language and in this part the
reference is made to "conversation" how conversation in fiction will be different from conversation in
natural situations, to what extent can fictional conversation be realistic?

5.4.1 Realism in conversation

Realism in conversation is the writer's ability to render in writing the features of spoken language. We shall
agree that there is no absolute standard for realism and matter is somehow relative.

it is now easy to record and transcribe a spoken conversation and hence analyze it by doing so we discover
certain features differentiating natural conversation from fictional one.

We can divide the differences into two areas: A- general and B- in form and content

A-General differences:

1- Features of normal non-fluency: these features are called so in the sense they that they fall short of an
ideal method of delivery and yet they are normal in the sense that they occur habitually in speech.

They are:

1) Hesitation pauses either filled or unfilled. Filled pauses are those which covered by stopgap noises such
as er and erm

2) False starts: the needless repetition of words

3) Syntactic anomalies: the production of anomalous ungrammatical structure

The reason for this phenomenon of non fluency is that in spontaneous speech we need to plan our talk at
the same time we need to keep our speech continuous and hence planning may fall behind delivery
resulting in lapses of the tongue. The fillers serve as a delaying device that allows us hold the floor while we
think of what to say next.

2- In ordinary speech speakers seek to take the floor from one another so more than one person may be
speaking at a time. Moreover there may be haphazard transitions in the subject and the conversation may
lack the sense of having an aim.

B - Differences in form and content

1- The use of such constructions that seem to add little to the message such as tag constructions and
initiating signals like "well". Despite the fact these constructions are not devoid of purpose they reflect the
monitoring role of the speaker towards the message

2- on the syntactic level ordinary conversation tend towards coordination rather than subordination of the
clauses for coordination simplifies then planning of structures

3- The tendency to use cliché expression, which require no linguistic inventiveness: 'it is just terrific'.

The areas of departure from realistic representation of speech in fiction:

The author of literary fiction does not aim a realistic representation of ordinary conversation. In this part, it
will be clear in which areas the fictional conversation may depart from real conversation and at the same
time if features of real conversation applied what would be the purpose.

The features of normal non-fluency are not apparent in fictional conversation as features are usually an
impediment rather than a contribution to communicative discourse. It may well be true that the text
contain few examples of interaction signals or tag questions that serve certain purposes.

Though lacking features of normal non- fluency the fictional dialogue remains quite credible. The writer or
a novelist may employs his ability to make such realistically banal things have significance in building the
fictional world. He pushes us to infer about the characters and situations. This generates such implied
meanings and contributes to our understanding of the fiction.

On the other hand, though feature of non-fluency can be omitted from fictional conversation they are
sometimes employed for a communicative purpose. They may indicate something of the character of the
speaker or state of mind: number of hesitations may signal nervousness, tentativeness. (example and
analysis in p.165)

Sometimes features of non-fluency participate to the unusually realistic effect of a dialogue. Fictional
dialogue imitates the very thing it consists of: language

It may be concluded that there are aspects of differentiation between fictional and real conversation yet
fictional conversation remain quite credible and realistic and this realism in literature must be placed in
deeper perspective. Great dramatist have viewed that judging literary renderings of spoken language as
realistic is not taken to mean realism in itself but they aspire to superior expressiveness of the kind which
we don't ordinarily achieve in real life.
5.4.2 Dialect and idiolect:

Dialect and idiolect are two phenomena, which exist, in real speech, they are as well found in fictional
speech. Linguists have used the term 'dialect' for varieties of language which are linguistically marked off
from other varieties and which correspond to geographical, class, or other divisions of society. A dialect is
thus the particular set of linguistic features which a defined subset of the speech community shares.
Idiolect refers to the linguistic 'thumbprint' of a particular person: to the features of speech that mark him
off as an individual from those around him.

Dialects and idiolects can be employed in fictional speech seeking the goal of authenticity in the writer's
mock reality. They can be examined on the various linguistic levels graphological, syntactic, and semantic
levels.

Lexical level: an example reflecting dialect in fiction on the lexical level is Jane Austen's (Mansfield Park) as
Aunt Norris addresses her brother 'my dear Sir Thomas' so she applies intensive use of vocatives. As well as
Uriah Heep's usage of the adjective 'umble' in David Copperfield is an example of idiolectal expression.

Graphological level: dialect and idiolect are most noticeable on this level as for example Mr Chandband's
pronunciation of truth as the awesome disyllable Terewth in (Hard Times). The graphology is an indication
of the phonological correlates. The graphological rendering of dialect is too much a matter of
impressionistic convention.

Writers should be careful while using dialects in fiction-writing as it can result in unintelligibility if taken too
far.

Charlotte Bronte regarded her sister's rendering of North Country dialect in the speech of Joseph
Wuthering Heights as too faithful and revised the 1850 edition of the novel to make his language more
accessible to ' southerns '.

(Example in poor Jo's speech in Bleak House ) page:160

The functions of dialect and idiolect are various. There is an association between dialect and symbolism,
likewise between idiolect and verisimilitude.

The effect and reason for the use of such deviant spellings as in "Jo's" example:

1- it can be associated with objects of comedy and satire

2- it can be explained in terms of Victorian delicacy and snobbery as the case with Lizzie Hexam in Our
Mutual Friend , she in contrast to her equally illiterate father speaks standard English because as a heroine
she is not allowed to speak dialect.

5.4.3 Speech and character:

 Speech is such a revealing indicator of character. Novelists tend to use imaginary speech as a way of
conveying the hidden purport of a person's behavior. In novels as in real life, a person's motives and
character are inferred from outward behavior: from actions, from demeanor and from speech.

Novelists commonly resort to Imaginary Speech as a way of conveying the hidden of person's behavior.

For example, "his whole demeanor was continually saying, 'You are all a pack of poor, lousy rascals, who
have a design upon my purse." Such imaginary speech is also a favorite device of Dickens. Dicken's use of
utterance as a reflection of character is one notable manifestation of the generic principle in his writing.

5.5 The rendering of the fiction:

The 'style' of fiction creation is a matter of how it is rendered, rather than of what it is. It is important to
distinguish three corresponding function to those of stylistic choice -the interpersonal, textual and
ideational.

5.5.1 Fiction point of view:

The corresponding function to the interpersonal function of style is the fictional point of view. The
fictional point of view aims at the heading of the fictional world towards 'reality' as apprehended by a
certain participant in the fiction. The person or the participant whose point of view is represented is called
the reflector of the fiction.

The writer is able to offer a variety of fictional point of views to the fiction. The fictional point of view can
belong to the author himself, one character or a number of characters. He can even take the point of view
of an animal or of a man on the verge of death.

5.5.2 Fictional sequencing:

Fictional sequencing corresponds to the textual function of style. It is well-known that the writer cannot
convey the fictional world to the reader in only one step, because the narrative must be developed
gradually something after another. Therefore, the writer, in rendering fiction, has to make a choice
concerning the order in which information about the events, places, characters, etc. is presented.

Types of sequencing:

(1)Chronological sequencing: A is presented before B, because A happens before B. This is used in news
reports and may be considered the neutral order for telling any story.
(2)Psychological sequencing: the order in which a character comes to learn about other things, events, etc
in the fiction.
 (3)Presentational sequencing: generally it will tend to coincide with chronological or psychological
sequencing. The best order of presentation, in fiction and in general expository writing, is to go from
elements which assume the least prior knowledge to those which assume the most.
The author may not follow this order; he may, for example withhold information necessary for
understanding an earlier event in the fictional story unit later in order to heighten the element of mystery
and suspense to keep the reader interested to follow the story till the end when all mysteries are solved
and all questions are answered.

5.5.3 Descriptive focus:

Descriptive focus correlates with the ideational choice of meaning. When the writer describes an event,
usually this process involves considering two contrasts: that between physical and abstract description and
that between subjective and objective description. What we call an 'event' in real life is often a composite
of these factors; and the description of it can focus on one aspect and ignore another. This is what we
mean by descriptive focus.

- A physical description focus on things which have space and have physical properties such as size, shape,
colour, movement, etc, which can be noticed by the sense.
- An abstract description concentrates on mental and social properties, states and events. For example,
"perceive, forgive, posses, 'be married to', government, teacher, threat" are all abstract concepts.
- Objective description dose not tell us what to feel, but our imaginations work on the objective details.
This is in keeping with Hemingway's theory of omission, whereby the significance of the text comes
through what is unstated, but implied as it make people feel something more than they understand.

- Subjective description has a more direct impact as it tends to involve intensity of experience. This
subjective sensory description consists in simile, metaphor, auditory vocabulary, etc. In other words,
writers often use affective language and the analogical language of smile and metaphor when they want to
give us the illusion of direct firsthand experience. It is called vividness.

5.6 Conclusion:

There are five notions of realism which contribute to the realistic illusion: credibility, verisimilitude,
authenticity, objectivity and vividness. Therefore, realism is a many-sided phenomenon.

The fictional point of view, fictional sequencing and descriptive focus are authorial choices which belong
to fictional technique, rather than stylistic technique.