Narrative mode

William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is an absurdist comedy that follows the Bundren family on their journey to the fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi to bury the deceased matriarch of the family, Addie. Addie’s husband, Anse, and their five children of varying ages traverse the countryside to Jefferson to fulfill Addie’s dying wish of being buried alongside her family in town; however, each character has his or her own personal motive for going on the trip. Fifteen individual characters narrate the book, the most common of which is Addie’s second oldest son, Darl. There are several characters who question the sanity of Darl Bundren. At the end of the novel, Anse sends Darl to an asylum for burning down Gillespie’s barn; nevertheless, the question of whether or not he is legitimately insane remains unanswered. Although many readers agree that Darl Bundren does go insane at the end of the novel, there is sufficient existing evidence to defend the idea that he is actually sane at the conclusion of his storyline. Darl Bundren repeatedly displays a higher intelligence and critical thinking level than the other characters in the novel; as a result, while the other narrators are only able to describe what they see directly, Darl gives an accurate description of what he witnesses and in addition gives the reader a reliable interpretation of said descriptions in order to make them more comprehensible. Darl’s diverse ability to interpret what he sees clearly shows his…

Katherine Anne Porter’s famous short story “Flowering Judas” follows a women named Laura who is being courted by a man named Braggioni. The story itself uses symbolic meaning with flowers and religious symbols . With every event taking place in her house the reader feels the isolation with her. in Katherine Anne Porter “Flowering Judas the themes, author styles and literary devices all make the story more enjoyable to read. In Katherine Anne Porter’s “ Flowering Judas” the theme of Ideals vs…

Throughout writing, authors occasionally use contrasting characters to make their story more interesting or dramatic, and this strategy is often utilized by many great authors in many classic books. They create characters with opposing views to add dimension to the novel. One of the authors that took advantage of this plan is Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451. During his work, he writes about his main characters, Beatty and Montag, and uses contrasting views to add interest and depth to…

Sigmund Freud, a psychologist and sociologist in the 20th century, believed that self-description is rarely a true representation of one’s self because real motives are disguised by conscious thoughts preventing honesty (McLeod). People are inclined to present themselves as more interesting, and in turn believe others are naturally just as amusing. For example, someone in possession of silk from India sounds adventurous or exotic, but the reality could be that the silk from India was actually…

stylistic clues to narrative unreliability are “frequent occurrences of speaker-oriented and addressee-oriented expressions” (97). A narrator’s reliability is doubted if he/she is an obvious monologist, talking mostly about him/herself and ignoring the views of other characters. Stylistically, then, Tambu’s narrative reliability is challenged. For one thing, the novel is characterized by its monologic, rather than dialogical, aspects. As a whole, the text is composed of speaker-oriented speeches…

According to Robert Evans in The Kid Stays in that Picture, “There are three sides to every story: my side, your side and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently” (tvtropes.org). The two sides of a story and the truth relates to Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Black Cat. In The Black Cat, the unnamed narrator demonstrates unreliable narration. In The Black Cat, the unnamed narrator shows characteristics of unreliable narrator: weak reasoning, weak sense of…

Magical realism is “… characterized by the matter-of-fact inclusions of fantastic or mythical elements into apparently realistic fiction” (Edison). Characteristics of this genre include plentitude, hybridity, metafiction, and an unreliable narrator. A story that shows magical realism is “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez. Márquez is recognized as one of the best authors who combines reality with fantasy: “… García Márquez, combining radically different realities, what…

Strength and Vulnerability in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Throughout his famous novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey shows that power and vulnerability are largely subjective, and people often only have power because others think that they do. Chief Bromden’s unreliable narration depicts all kinds of power as physical size despite a character’s real size or physical ability. Nurse Ratched’s power over the rest of the characters, and McMurphy’s ability to resist it, shows that…

Proof of the Delusive Narrator Few stories possess a certain type of narrator whom the reader cannot truly trust and rely on when it comes to opinionated statements or any other form of information given. And even fewer show this to the extent “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe does. Whether it be his or her mental state or condition, the reader has no dependence on what the text says from the narrator’s point of view. This is called reading from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. There…

Many stories throughout literary history resonate with their readers. Some enough to be deemed literary classics. Three stories which resonate with readers from all ages are “Boys” by Rick Moody, “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and “Lust” by Susan Minot. All three stories tell of the coming of age experiences that men and woman have, but do not share the same tone. Two in particular, “Girl” and “Lust” are told from the perspective of characters themselves, and “Boys” is told from the perspective of…