Re: Skepticism

I just realized that I was responding to something from the other class, but I still think it's an interesting topic.

I definitely understand where you're coming from on this; it is very unsettling to come to the end of a book, especially one written in first person, and realize that none of what the author is writing about is true for themselves. However, I feel like that's what you agree to when you allow yourself to do as Nabokov suggests and "creatively imagine" yourself into the world of the author; whatever the author says is true for that world. In that way, you're not really being manipulated or lied to, you're being drawn into the author's world and if you go outside that with that realization of "Hey, this isn't true at all!" you're breaking your contract with the author to commit yourself to their world and their world alone while reading their book.

Also, I wonder if a story really is more entertaining if it's true. After all, I could write a story about how I got my teeth pulled at the dentist and my mouth was numbed up for a while or I could write about how when my teeth got pulled, they turned into a bunch of unicorns. Personally, I think the unicorns are more entertaining, even if I know they aren't real. But despite fact in this world, if I write a story about my teeth turning into unicorns, then for you, while reading my story, should genuinely believe in those unicorns.