AbstractsLanguage, Literature & Linguistics

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende is a little-known manifesto for writers. In this piece, I bring forth evidence proving that Ende's novel is a necessary step on the bridge between rhetoric and creative writing. The Neverending Story shows writers the importance of stories and that all writing can contain the thrill and magic that fantasy does; this includes rhetorical writing. I will show how Ende';s novel can be applied to rhetorical writing, by divulging the rhetoric and meaning of his own work. I have gathered works that support this claim as well as illuminate the meaning of Ende's work. I have found at least one rhetorician and one theorist who agree with me: Wayne Booth and Earnest G. Bormann. Using Bormann's fantasy theory, I explore how to connect the rhetoric of fantasy writing to academic rhetoric. As a result of this connection, academic rhetoric could become more accessible to the common reader and touch on deeper, more moral and transcendent meanings through creativity. Advisors/Committee Members: Tulley, Christine (Committee Chair).