“True! --- nervous --- very very dreadfully nervous I had been and am…” (Poe II, 1) Just like this narrator, many writings use unreliable narrators to create a twist or falsify the actions of the narrator. Some examples include Nick from The Great Gatsby and Chief Bromden from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Prunkl). But within Edgar Allan Poe’s writings using unreliable narration, most narrators are unnamed to create a suspenseful or partially untrustworthy environment for the readers enjoying these short stories. Poe is well known for his many unreliable narrators within his short stories (Patterson). Some narrators can be seen as addicts of opium or alcohol, just like the narrators in Ligeia and The Black Cat respectively, while others
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They are supposed to tell the complete truth, without withholding a single sliver of information or else they are unreliable. Readers will never know if the narrator is telling the truth or not as these speakers can be liars, narcissistic, or even mentally unstable which gives people a sense of uneasiness or mystery. An easy way to spot an unreliable narrator is when they are caught in a lie or they are forced to tell the truth. The readers can also take a hint when the narrator does something seemingly inappropriate or morally wrong. The writer can make it obvious to the reader by the old “evil villain trope” of kicking the puppy or they can have it within context of thoughts or sly actions through the entirety of the story. …show more content…
His name is Montresor, meaning “to show fate”, which foreshadows the entirety of the storyline of Montresor and Fortunato and their journey as he leads Fortunato into the catacombs. Fortunato’s name means “of luck” or “having luck” which is ironic in his situation. After the first sentence where Montresor threatens him by stating “...but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” This causes a damper in the trust in Montresor as the reader slowly realizes that he is planning on murdering Fortunato within the catacombs and hiding his body with the rest. When they finally get to the catacombs and Montresor does the unthinkable and his determination seems to dwindle after he commits the crime and immediately regret it as he states “My heart grew sick --- on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make end of my labor.”
They are supposed to tell the complete truth, without withholding a single sliver of information or else they are unreliable. Readers will never know if the narrator is telling the truth or not as these speakers can be liars, narcissistic, or even mentally unstable which gives people a sense of uneasiness or mystery. An easy way to spot an unreliable narrator is when they are caught in a lie or they are forced to tell the truth. The readers can also take a hint when the narrator does something seemingly inappropriate or morally wrong. The writer can make it obvious to the reader by the old “evil villain trope” of kicking the puppy or they can have it within context of thoughts or sly actions through the entirety of the story. …show more content…
His name is Montresor, meaning “to show fate”, which foreshadows the entirety of the storyline of Montresor and Fortunato and their journey as he leads Fortunato into the catacombs. Fortunato’s name means “of luck” or “having luck” which is ironic in his situation. After the first sentence where Montresor threatens him by stating “...but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” This causes a damper in the trust in Montresor as the reader slowly realizes that he is planning on murdering Fortunato within the catacombs and hiding his body with the rest. When they finally get to the catacombs and Montresor does the unthinkable and his determination seems to dwindle after he commits the crime and immediately regret it as he states “My heart grew sick --- on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make end of my labor.”