bval1988

Frankfurt/Miller Response

Frankfurt believes that truth isn't something that can be interpreted in whatever way possible. He seems annoyed by the postmodernists' way of thinking that truth isn't necessarily fact; truth is the author's interpretation. Frankfurt states, "For these reasons, no society can afford to despise or disrespect the truth" (32). He clearly believes that the author does not have a right to present truth as objective, because that will lead society to ruin. On the other hand, Miller believes that truth (in autobiographers) doesn't really have a place of importance. What's matters more to Miller is that the message gets across to the reader. She talks about Didion's autobiography not so much as a book that has to do with the FACT that her husband died in front of her, rather, that the book is about human emotions and times of crisis. She states, "A form of writing that that keeps less, gives more. This you, the reader, becomes the guest invited in, the unknown, self-selected other whose response matters. I wish I could show you what's going on inside me..." (545). Clearly, where Frankfurt believes that truth has to be presented with objectivity, Miller believes that truth and subjectivity can live in perfect harmony.