Narrative Style and Audience Implications John Graves’ 1957 novel Goodbye to a River is a story that describes the author’s three-week canoeing journey of a section of the Brazos River in Texas. It has been described as one of the most significant works for environmental narratives and remains a classic for the study of ecology, land, and human relations. The dialogic content of the book is explored and analyzed by three authors in their respective works including Terrell Dixon, James Langston, and Lisa Slappey. All authors explore the narrative style of Graves in their analyses. Graves’ personal narrative style in Goodbye to a River presents a constructed and internal view of the Brazos River by giving it importance and relaying a specific
…show more content…
Slappey believes that Bildungsroman had impacts and contributed to the narrative style of Graves, which is important for the understanding of the Brazos River to the readers. Slappey disputes that Graves needed a style that would “make the river and the author’s journey meaningful to the reader,” (Slappey, 180). In order to make this novel meaningful, Graves would have to strategically choose a narrative style that would intrigue and include readers, a style that would connect them with something foreign and unknown. Slappey describes his narrative style as a personal journey that seeks to connect nature to culture. Graves describes his journey as well as gives descriptions of the historical events along the river, especially the accounts of violence: “He makes us care by telling stories that show the river has a life of its own and it has in turn shaped the lives of humans,” (Slappey, 183). Graves attempts to connect the readers with the river by “dichotomizing the various acts of violence as antique and contemporary, near and far, colonizer and colonized,” (Slappey, 184). These stories are part of an important narrative style according to Slappey, as they connect the readers emotionally with emotions of the river and those who have been affected by it. Graves also gives the river historical importance, and makes it a cultural symbol. Slappey also reveals that this novel was at the time after World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, times of current violence that would allow for readers to relate more personally to the violence described by Graves. Slappey disputes that Graves’ personal narrative style is important in allowing the readers to place themselves in the time, place, and history of the river, which allows for them to understand his deemed
Slappey believes that Bildungsroman had impacts and contributed to the narrative style of Graves, which is important for the understanding of the Brazos River to the readers. Slappey disputes that Graves needed a style that would “make the river and the author’s journey meaningful to the reader,” (Slappey, 180). In order to make this novel meaningful, Graves would have to strategically choose a narrative style that would intrigue and include readers, a style that would connect them with something foreign and unknown. Slappey describes his narrative style as a personal journey that seeks to connect nature to culture. Graves describes his journey as well as gives descriptions of the historical events along the river, especially the accounts of violence: “He makes us care by telling stories that show the river has a life of its own and it has in turn shaped the lives of humans,” (Slappey, 183). Graves attempts to connect the readers with the river by “dichotomizing the various acts of violence as antique and contemporary, near and far, colonizer and colonized,” (Slappey, 184). These stories are part of an important narrative style according to Slappey, as they connect the readers emotionally with emotions of the river and those who have been affected by it. Graves also gives the river historical importance, and makes it a cultural symbol. Slappey also reveals that this novel was at the time after World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, times of current violence that would allow for readers to relate more personally to the violence described by Graves. Slappey disputes that Graves’ personal narrative style is important in allowing the readers to place themselves in the time, place, and history of the river, which allows for them to understand his deemed