CONCLUSION; OR SO WHAT?
I offer two answers to the so-what question: (1) This account, like any synoptic
view of diverse but related phenomena, allows us not only to see those phe-
nomena as part of a coherent big picture but also to enhance our understand-
ing of the individual phenomena. That is, we can understand each subtype of
character narration more clearly and deeply when we see it in relation to all
the other subtypes. (2) This account provides a springboard for a whole range
of other projects. One could, for example, compare the uses of convergent
narration in fiction and nonfiction as a way to compare the relations between
implied authors and narrators in the two modes. Or one could consider how,
if at all, the account would need to be modified for graphic narrative and film
narrative. Or one could consider how the account can illuminate the work-
ings of dialogue. And so on. In other words, to the extent that rhetorical poet-
ics adequately describes character narration, it opens up additional lines of
inquiry into the wonders of narrative communication.
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