Rhetoric and Reality in Coraline

The readings this week all seem to touch on the idea of reality and its relation to rhetoric. This idea of reality that comes into play when trying to understand rhetoric stems from viewing rhetoric as epistemic. It seems the shift into the postmodern views of rhetoric are all grounded in epistemology, that is, knowledge and understanding. How can we come to know knowledge if we do not have a basis for it? It would seem obvious that it would be situated in reality. However, reality is rarely easily defined. Because of this, I think that readings divided themselves into various camps of Epistemic Rhetoric. These camps, once understood, provide an interesting framework for understanding realities in the movie Coraline. Coraline is a girl who enters an otherworld located within her new home. She uses this parallel other world as an escape from her otherwise dull life. You can read a full synopsis here.

First, we have Robert L. Scott who not only makes a case for epistemic rhetoric as a valid means to understanding rhetoric, he also seems to suggest that knowledge and truth are socially constructed. It is a product of linguistic and social interaction, which means that there is no fixed truth. This shifts away from the idea that using rhetoric, two parties could come to a fixed and final truth. "What these statements do suggest is that truth is not prior and immutable but is contingent," (Scott 13). In Coraline, we see the main character who enters this parallel university that seems to have existed prior to her arrival. She becomes so attached to her ideal reality that this world begins to appear as the real reality, while her original world is just some sort of punishment. The truth of the parallel world isn't fixed. At first she believes that her Other Mother and Other Father want nothing, but to love and dote upon her. However, when she refuses to trade in her eyes for buttons, it becomes apparent the world isn't what it appears. In other words, the truth of Coraline's parallel world changes and she finds she must quickly adjust to the new situation.

Another view on how postmodern rhetoric as epistemic can be found in Barry Brummett's piece. The structure of it is almost scientific and it would make sense why his view matches that of what we find in the hard sciences. He puts forth that rhetoric as intersubjective. Reality is shared and can be changed because the discovery of reality and the testing of it is never independent of people but takes place through people. With humans always involved, there is never really an objective reality or truth. Coraline escapes the parallel world certain that the reality there exists separately from her real world. What she quickly finds when she returns is that her parents are gone and her home long abandoned because of her absence. The Other Mother kidnapped her real parents and she is left to find them. Coraline's parallel reality is changed because of her presence. She falsely assumed that is existed prior to her visiting, only to find that it was created based off her subconscious. When she realizes this, it becomes easier for her to make choices that will lead to the rescue of her parents. "Truth which is rhetorically made encourages choice and awareness of alternative realities," (Brummett 40).

Finally, I will touch on Cherwitz and Hikins who try the bridge the gap between intersubjectivity and the position that views objects of knowledge as socially constructed. They offer up 3 postulates: The Independence of Reality, Relationality, and Consciousness. The first one is particularly interesting because it discusses the belief that reality exists independent of our consciousness of it (Cherwitz and Hikins 251). This is important to take into account because it shapes how we use rhetoric. One of the key things I learned when I first began to understand how to use rhetoric was the importance of knowing your audience. They weren't people made up solely for the purpose of reading documents created by me. "Rhetoric's role is no to create realities about such concepts; it is rather to discover them and articulate relationships between or among them through the process of argumentative discourse." (256). Similarly, Coraline discovers that the Other Mother existed long before she moved into the house. Knowing this information allows her to come up with a new way of winning back her parents. She must play by the Other Mother's rules because the reality that she thought existed only for her, was in fact, independent of her wishes and desires.

While it seems there are some clear divisions among the postmodern crowd on how epistemic rhetoric should work, it is important to note the strengths and weaknesses of each view. They provide their own perspective for viewing rhetoric and perhaps using more than one could help create a more holistic approach to rhetoric.