Nevertheless, we can assume that the values and biases of a writer are unavoidedly embodied in a literary work as reflections of the mind that created it, and that they are revealed implicitly or explicitly by both narrative perspective and voice.

Bias means personal beliefs and attitudes that influence thought, speech and action, and it is evident in writing in at least three ways: by what a writer chooses to write about, by the context which he selects or creates to surround the discussion, and by the language he uses. Thus, a writer may choose to write about the death of an American soldier in Iraq or the apprehension of an insurgent leader. He may embed this information in an attack on the legitimacy of the war or in a panageric on the American military. And finally, he may refer to the American enemy as a freedom fighter or a terrorist.

*** Biases and values will perminate a literary work either deliberately or inadvertently, but a writer may choise a point of view without considering how it may work to expose or conceal his attitudes and beliefs. The choice may be based instead on which option will be most effective in relating the story. It is a matter of control. It could not be otherwise unless each word written were a deliberate lie, and even then, any deviation would create a disjuncture calling the whole into question by the ironic contrast, making the reader ask which element of the discontinuity represents truth as the writer sees it. Again, it is possible, but not probable, that a writer might juxtapose two lies and stand aloof from both, entertaining some third personal view.

The four basic narrative perspectives, omniscient, limited omniscient (major or minor character), first person (major or minor character), and objective, provide a kind of continum that allows writers to control distance between the story and themselves. Writers may establish contact through first person, speaking intimately and making us believe that we share beliefs and values, or repelling us with admissions of crassness and divence. Adopting the voice of a minor character, they may serve as a witness and report and comment on the main actor. At the opposite pole from the familiar "I," writers may move into the seeming objectivity of the third person and focus attention just on the characters and events of the story, ostensibily leaving themselves out of it leaving us to infer what we might of their hearts and minds.

This problem is magnified if we regard literature not just as an entertainment but as a means of argument as well. In this case a writer's choice of narrative perspective, and his management of it, may be likened to an advocate's presentation of evidence. The choices he makes allow him to manage what is revealed, how it is revealed (directly or indirectly), and how much confidence the reader should have in the revelations.