RCB pg 56 vs. pg 62 - Commentator's vs. Author's Viewpoint

[Stephanie Oswalt]

We recently received the following question from a student. An instructor will respond below. Thanks!

I was just looking for some clarity with regard to a chapter in the RC Bible. Pg 56 gives an example passage which states “SOME have called this author a feminist.” The RC bible attributes this viewpoint lt to that of “Commentators’”. However, a later passage on pg 62 states “... human lungs, many leading experts asserted, could never deliver sufficient oxygen...” The RC bible attributes this viewpoint to that of the author. Can you help me understand the nuance of why the former passage is a commentator's viewpoint and the latter passage is the author’s viewpoint?

[Jeremy Press]

Hi there!

I think you may be misreading the way the RCB analyzes the page 62 reference (“... human lungs, many leading experts asserted, could never deliver sufficient oxygen...”). For that particular example, the RCB states that, "In the beginning of this paragraph, the author apprises us of a widely held belief about the body’s limitations, followed by a more specific attribution of related assertions to many leading experts." The RCB does not mean that the author necessarily shares the widely held belief. Rather, the analysis means to suggest that "some" people have the "widely held belief," and the author is letting us in (apprising us) on that fact. When the RCB says "attribution of related assertions to many leading experts," it similarly means that the author states (attributes) what "many leading experts" believe, without necessarily telling us whether the author shares those beliefs. So, the two examples actually end up being consistent.

If you're reading the page 62 reference to refer to the viewpoint of some (line 3, the wide belief) and of many leading experts (line 5), you've caught exactly what you need to!

I hope this helps clarify!

Jeremy