The question arises in any novel whether the narration may be trusted or whether we should rely on our own judgement. In both The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby the narrators could be described as unreliable but does this mean they are unable to be trusted or is unreliability merely a human trait used by Salinger and Fitzgerald to strengthen our empathy for the character? Both Salinger’s, and Fitzgerald’s novels fall prey to unreliable narration due to their structure. In both novels there is a retrospective account of events. Holden Cauldfield, begins the novel with the statement “I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas.” Nick Carraway begins with “when I came back from the east last fall”.
O'Brien creates an intentional paradox for his readers when he writes the violent, but grabbing story of Rat Kiley and then at the end of the story, tells the reader that the characters and events of the story did not happen just as he described them, but that they happened in a totally different way to other people. But he insists that the story is true. With this, O'Brien challenges the reader to discover the truth of the event. O'Brien gets the reader to figure out what fiction of this book is actually worth. Firstly, did O'Brien confuse the reader when he said that the events did not happen after the reader became involved in those events?
Since it is impossible to tell whether or not the main character has any logical reason, any information given to the readers by Montresor is classified as biased or prejudiced, thus creating a state of uncertainty and of anticipation in the readers’ minds. What is more, the plot structure in The Cask of Amontillado is one of the methods used by Poe to convey the feeling of mystery and curiosity. The main character is telling the story to a friend, who is unknown to the readers. For example, Montresor says: “You, who so well know the nature of my soul […]”. This flashback causes the readers to ask themselves who exactly is this unknown character, and whether or not it is necessary to find out.
How could she, without over-narrating, get a deep problem involving such characters when they do not speak enough to reveal that problem? Frome's character and his marital relationship are at the heart of the novel, but they are revealed only indirectly. Wharton solved her difficulty in a masterful way by her use of imagery and symbolism. It is in her use of imagery and symbolism that the depths of the story are to be found. Without an understanding of them, a reader would find the characters unmotivated and the tragedy contrived.
One can only assess Marlowe’s personality through the biased opinion of the narrator himself. Therefore, it is the readers’ responsibility to question how much truth is behind Marlowe’s storytelling. Without honesty, the story can be slanted to make the other heroic qualities appear where they are in fact not. Because Chandler does a great job of making Marlowe so charming, readers get easily distracted from the fact that the entire plot is subjective. Marlowe’s credibility comes into question through his self-portrayal, through his manipulation of his readers into accepting his own limited and unsupported suspicions of other characters, and through his near superhuman ability to be in the “right” place at the right time.
How does Fitzgerald tell the story in Chapter One of ‘The Great Gatsby’? Fitzgerald uses form to tell the story of ‘The Great Gatsby’ in chapter one. He does this through Nick’s perspective. Fitzgerald introduces Nick as a first person narrator, but also as self-conscious through saying ‘-gives his name to this book’ which outlines this book as a novel about a novel. The first person narrative means that the reader is more likely to trust Nick’s account of events because we hear it from his point of view but is also unreliable as it is biased and not omniscient.
Different to Liar being a dramatic monologue and the title hinting that you cannot trust betrayal of another character, its a one word title but still strong as it gets the point of it across. A sense of insecurity is shown when Duffy writes “she made things up e.g. That she was really a man” indicating they truly dont know who they are linking to the theme Identity and showing an insecurity of her gender. Also, a point of view is shown “He was called Susan actually” from the speaker about how Susan is actually quite deceptive and that she is a
Through manipulation, blame, and self-justification, Humbert Humbert attempts to provide his readers and jury with an understanding of his passion for and obsession with Lolita, and the knowledge that he is aware of his wrong-doings, while still attempting to express what he believes to be his rationality throughout his narration. As readers, we are challenged to gain insight into Humbert’s personality through his devious techniques of narration and his attempts of rationalization as well as a sense that Lolita is much more complicated than Humbert Humbert lets on. From the beginning of the novel, the reader is confronted with Humbert Humbert’s unreliability and his willingness to manipulate the reader by altering the “facts.” John Ray Jr. describes the narrator as wearing a mask (his pseudonym, “Humbert Humbert”) “through which two hypnotic eyes seem to glow,” (Nabokov 3) illustrating Humbert’s deceptive means of storytelling. The reader is also presented with Humbert’s current state in legal captivity
2) A topic does not directly allude to the source work, while a thesis alerts the reader as to where the references are coming from. Example: Write an analysis paper of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" Topic: The most frightening type of madness is one seemingly based in logic. Thesis: Although the narrator of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell- Tale Heart" is undoubtedly insane, the true horror comes from the sense of uneasiness and familiarity the reader feels as a result of his (narrator) ability to reason his audience into almost trusting his madness. 3) A strong topic should garner interest; nobody wants to read a paper about something boring. A strong thesis serves both a preview and guide for things to come in your paper.
James' intentions for writing 'The Turn of the Screw' were to leave the story ambiguous and force the reader to interpret the events and ponder unanswered questions by themselves, deliberately leaving them frustrated due to the aspects of the narrative structure used by James to enforce his meaning. James utilises the governess' grandiloquent yet unclear style to withhold information from the reader, and since the story is told in a retrospective first person narrative, it further establishes the reader's paranoia at the credibility and accuracy of the governess' memory. James' intentionally vague novella uses three narrators to unravel the plot, the unnamed writer of the story, Douglas and the governess, all of whom contribute to additional layers of ambiguity. By using the narrative structure, James is able to maintain ambiguity throughout the novella by withholding information through the means of the governess' own lack of knowledge and her writing style. The majority of the novella is told from the perspective of the governess, and therefore, the reader only has access to the information held by her, which is evidently not very much, per James' intention to keep the governess, and subsequently the reader, in the dark; we don't even know her name.