Rhetoric Society Quarterly Feb 2006

From the Plaint to the Comic: Kenneth Burke'sTowards a Better Life

Krista K. Betts Van Dyk

Abstract

ABSTRACT An analysis of Kenneth Burke's 1932 novel, Towards a Better Life, that draws on Permanence and Change (1935), Attitudes Toward History (1937), and Burke's unpublished notes clarifies the underlying structure and the trajectory of this intriguing and challenging novel. A consideration of its context reveals that the novel's protagonist, John Neal, whose worldview is based on “the plaint,” moves toward “the comic frame,” and thereby toward the good life, through “rituals of rebirth.” Because the novel is an exploration of some of Burke's central theoretical concepts, this analysis also provides insight into his theoretical works. “I had always said that, by the time I got through with my critical writings, people would see what I was doing in T.B.L. You now seem to suggest that excerpts from T.B.L. might help them to see what I am doing now.” (Kenneth Burke Burke , Kenneth . “ Art—and the First Rough Draft of Living .” Modern Age 8 ( Spring 1964 ): 155 – 65 . [CSA] [Google Scholar] to Malcolm Cowley Cowley , Malcolm . “ Unwilling Novelist .” Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New Republic 17 February 1932 : 23 – 24 . [CSA] [Google Scholar], 3 April 1946) 1 1. Jay, 274.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2006-02-25
DOI
10.1080/02773940500403611
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Adams (2017)
    Agitation with—and of—Burke's Comic Theory
    Philosophy & Rhetoric

References (38)

  1. Adams Robert M. (1966)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New York Review of Books
  2. Burke Kenneth (1964)
    Modern Age
  3. (1984)
    Attitudes Toward History.
  4. Klausner Samuel Z. (1968)
    Why Man Takes Chances: Studies in Stress-Seeking
  5. (1984)
    Permanence and Change: An Anatomy of Purpose.
Show all 38 →
  1. (1966)
    Language as Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature, and Method
     ↗
  2. (1966)
    Towards a Better Life: Being a Series of Epistles, or Declamations.
  3. Cantwell Robert (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. New York World-Telegram
  4. (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The Nation
  5. Chamberlain John (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New York Times Book Review
  6. Cowley Malcolm (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New Republic
  7. Donoghue Denis (1967)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. Encounter
  8. (1975)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New Republic
  9. Rueckert, Critical Responses to Kenneth Burke
  10. Frank Armin Paul (1969)
    Kenneth Burke
  11. Gannett Lewis (1932)
    New York Herald Tribune
  12. Gorman Herbert (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. New York Evening Post
  13. Grattan C. Hartley (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The Saturday Review of Literature
  14. Gregory Horace (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New York Herald Tribune Books
  15. Jay Paul (1988)
    The Selected Correspondence of Kenneth Burke and Malcolm Cowley, 1915–1981
  16. Kenneth Burke Papers, Pattee Library , Pennsylvania State University .
  17. Munson Gorham (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The New York Sun
  18. Osborn Neal J. (1968)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life and Language as Symbolic Action. The Hudson Review
  19. (1932)
    The New Yorker
  20. Rueckert William H. (1966)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The Nation
  21. (1969)
    Critical Responses to Kenneth Burke, 1924–1966
  22. (1994)
    Encounters with Kenneth Burke
  23. Chesebro James W. (1993)
    Extensions of the Burkeian System
  24. (1982)
    Kenneth Burke and the Drama of Human Relations.
  25. Rueckert, Critical Responses to Kenneth Burke
  26. Schneider Isidor (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. The Bookman
  27. Schriftgiesser Karl (1932)
    Boston Evening Transcript
  28. Selzer Jack (1996)
    Kenneth Burke in Greenwich Village: Conversing with the Moderns, 1915–1931
  29. Thames Richard H. (1989)
    The Legacy of Kenneth Burke
  30. (1932)
    Rev. of Towards a Better Life. Commonweal
  31. Warren Austin (1933)
    The Sewanee Review
  32. Williams William Carlos (1929)
    The Dial
  33. Winters Yvor (1937)
    Primitivism and Decadence: A Study of American Experimental Poetry
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