Question

Read the following excerpt from Told In The Drooling Ward and discuss clues that suggest the narrator is an unreliable narrator. What immediately gives readers an idea that the narrator is unreliable?

Me? I'm not a drooler. I'm the assistant. I don't know what Miss Jones or Miss Kelsey could do without me. There are fifty-five low-grade droolers in this ward, and how could they ever all be fed if wasn't around? I like to feed droolers. They don't make trouble. They can't. Something's wrong with most of their legs and arms, and they can't talk. They're very low-grade. I can walk, and talk, and do things.

Answer 1

The first sentence of the excerpt, "Me? I'm not a drooler," immediately suggests that the narrator may be unreliable. By introducing the idea of being a "drooler," the narrator establishes a distinction between themselves and the other patients in the ward, indicating that they may not be fully immersed in their world. This creates doubt about how accurately the narrator can perceive and report the events that take place in the story.

Furthermore, the narrator's tone and language can also be seen as unreliable. The way the narrator describes the droolers as being "very low-grade" suggests a lack of empathy or understanding of their conditions, which may call into question the reliability of their observations and opinions. The narrator also seems to overestimate their own importance in the ward and the extent of their contribution, which could indicate a tendency towards self-aggrandizement and exaggeration.

Overall, the combination of the narrator's detachment from the other patients, their lack of empathy, and their tendency to exaggerate their own importance, all suggest that the narrator may not be entirely reliable in their narration.

Step-by-step explanation: