THE RHETORIC OF RETICENCE. KINGSLEY AMIS’S “LUCKY JIM”
THE RHETORIC OF RETICENCE. KINGSLEY AMIS’S “LUCKY JIM”

Summary/Abstract: As any other form of rhetoric, the rhetoric of reticence uses the same instruments of analysis. Applied on such a complex state, the analytical attitude towards the human behaviour gives room for a more synthetic perspective which tries to find the supporting nodes that hold the functional dynamics of life, narrated or not. In this case, the reticence represents the mediation between the objective reality and the subjective reality, functioning as a metaphor, as a means of transporting the mind from one state into another. Being a real person or a character, the signified of this type of metaphor has to be related to the context which is always uncertain, ambiguous and full of nuances. Considering that any experience may function as a source of inspiration, as a muse, the reticence could be understood as an effect, as a climax containing sensations, associated images, allusions and emotions. When analyzing the descriptions of the reticence, it will be noticed the fact that they reconstitute a kind of ritual, a specific type of behaviour that could also be identified in real life. The study intends to analyse the different registers that the descriptions of the reticence is handling with in Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim.

• Details
• Contents