Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Narrator
…someone is always between the reader and the action of the story.
That someone is telling the story from his or her own point of view. This angle
of vision, the point of view from which the people, events, and details of a story
are viewed, is important to consider when reading a story. From
Exploring
Point of View on the EDSITEment resource Learner.org
There
is a radical error, I think, in the usual mode of constructing a story… I prefer
commencing with the consideration of an effect. —Edgar
Allan Poe in "The Philosophy
of Composition", Graham's Magazine, April 1846, pp. 163-167.
(Bierce)
is a most uncomfortable writer; so ravenous is his appetite for the horrible,
and so keen his delight in keeping his readers' hair erect and their eyes bulging
out of their sockets. —From Californian
Literature by Arthur Inkersley (1897) on the website of the Museum
of the City of San Francisco, a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet
Public Library
IntroductionBoth
Ambrose Bierce and Edgar Allan Poe wrote stories with—as Poe noted in "The Philosophy
of Composition"—the "consideration of a novel effect … a vivid effect" on the
reader as a central goal. One way to accomplish such an effect is by controlling,
through the narration, the information available to the reader and the veracity
of that information. The narrator of Poe's "Tell Tale Heart" assures us "how healthily—how
calmly I can tell you the whole story," a statement later belied by the content
and style of the tale. The narration in Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
reveals at the last moment that the action in Part II took place only in the mind
of the dying prisoner. Help your students consider a variety of narrative stances
as they analyze how Bierce and Poe utilize narration in two stories. Note:
This lesson may be taught either as a stand-alone lesson or as a prequel to the
complementary EDSITEment lesson
Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Biographers. Although
designed for grades 9-12, many of the articles and resources in Edgar
Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Biographers can be adapted for
younger students as well. Guiding Question:In
the stories under consideration in this lesson, how did Ambrose Bierce and Edgar
Allan Poe use narration to create their intended effect in the reader? Learning
ObjectivesAfter completing the lessons in this unit,
students will be able to - Define the term "unreliable narrator" and provide
examples from Poe and/or Bierce texts for support
- Cite examples of different
points of view (e.g., limited and omniscient, subjective and objective) from Poe
and/or Bierce texts
- Contrast points of view in narrative text and explain
how they affect the overall theme of the work.
Preparing
to Teach this Lesson- Review the lesson plan.
Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other useful websites. Download and
print out documents you will use and duplicate copies as necessary for student
viewing.
- Download the worksheet
for this lesson, available here as a PDF file. Print out and make an appropriate
number of copies of any handouts you plan to use in class.
- Both Poe and
Bierce are best known for their stories of the macabre and grotesque, as represented
by the four stories referenced in this lesson. Three of the tales ("An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," "The
Tell-Tale Heart," and "Masque
of the Red Death,") are among the most frequently taught short stories; however,
all of the narratives contain violence and may not be appropriate for every class.
- The text of Bierce's "An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," is available from Project Gutenberg, a link
from the EDSITEment resource American Studies
at the University of Virginia. (You will need to scroll down to find the text.)
- Adapting this lesson for high school students. Short stories such
as "The Tell-Tale
Heart" and "An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" are most commonly taught in the middle school.
High school curricula tend toward longer texts. However, learning about narration
and its effect on the reader may be enlightening for high school students as well.
One way of adapting this lesson for students in grades 9-12 might be to take a
more sophisticated approach to narration by introducing concepts such as the following:
- Second-person
narration: Rarely used, but a viable alternative.
- Intrusive narration:
In which the narrator judges the characters and comments on all their actions
and motives.
- Impersonal narration: In which the narration appears
strictly impartial even when omniscient.
- Free indirect discourse:
In which the thoughts or speech patterns of a character are used without the use
of first-person, as in "An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," when the narration includes the following
thoughts—obviously those of the condemned—without even using quotation marks:
How slowly it appeared to move! What a sluggish stream!
- Activity
2, below, recommends the use of a directed reading and thinking activity.
This method entails stopping the reading of a text at pre-selected intervals to
ask students to predict what will happen and to support hypotheses with evidence
from the text when possible. Because students are often reticent to participate
if they are overly concerned about making a mistake, any prediction a student
can support is accepted. When a "correct" answer is later determined through the
reading, de-emphasize issues of right or wrong; the writer wants readers to muse
about what will happen next and sometimes (especially with Bierce and Poe) intends
to misdirect the audience. Because students should not read beyond the stopping
point, you may have to prepare the text ahead of time. You might mark a handout
to indicate stops, read the story aloud, or have the story read from an overhead
or presentation system.
- In Activity 3, below, an exercise
involving the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" and a personal letter
of Poe's is repeated in the complementary lesson Edgar
Allan Poe and the Unreliable Biographies.
Suggested
Activities
Activity 1. Background on
Point of View
Activity 2. Bierce's "An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge": Playing Tricks on the Reader Activity 3.
True Confessions? Two Unreliable Narratives Activity 4.
Same Story, Different Narrators 1.
Background on Point of View Establish an
anticipatory set by sharing with the class each of the following images from the
EDSITEment-reviewed website American Memory.
Present the images in turn, without revealing that they are photos of the Statue
of Liberty until you show the last image. After you display each image, ask students
to write down what they think they are seeing. In
making an analogy between photography and narration, you will be asking students
to consider the photographer as the narrator, the photograph as a moment in the
narrative, and the photographic subject (i.e. the Statue) as the main character.
With this in mind, each of the photographs of the Statue of Liberty can represent
one of the narrative stances discussed in the two-part lesson "Exploring Point
of View" (Point
of View and Types
of Point of View) presented by the EDSITEment resource Learner.org.
The Ringlet
of Hair compares to the objective point of view, which is when the writer
tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's
action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters
think or feel, remaining a detached observer. In the photo, nothing can be inferred;
it is even difficult to recognize the subject of the photo. The photographer/author
has chosen, in this case, to create in the viewer/reader a sense of mystery or
a desire to know more. Share with your students the information on "Objective
Point of View" from Types
of Point of View on Learner.org. The
Nose
Detail compares to third-person narration. Here the narrator does not participate
in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly
how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.
This photo shows a large sculpted nose that has incurred some damage. The viewer/reader
can infer that this detail is part of a much larger, though unseen, statue that
it is exposed to the elements, that it is aging; considering the statue as a character,
the reader begins to learn how the character "feels" about the damage. Share with
your students the information on "Third Person Point of View" from Types
of Point of View on Learner.org. The
View
from the Torch compares to a first-person narrator—the statue itself. Here,
we are looking out from the statue's point of view. Share with your students the
information on "First Person Point of View" from Types
of Point of View on Learner.org. Compare
the Detail
of nose and lips showing strap-iron armature supporting copper skin to the
limited omniscient point of view, in which the narrator "knows" what's "inside"
one character. Share with your students the information on "Limited Omniscient
Point of View" from Types
of Point of View on Learner.org. Compare
the Overall
view of Liberty Island looking Northwest with Jersey City in background to
the omniscient point of view. Here the narrator sees everything and has all the
answers we will receive in the story. Share with your students the information
on "Omniscient Point of View" from Types
of Point of View on Learner.org. As
in the poem The
Blind Men and the Elephant, available on the EDSITEment resource Smithsonian
American Art Museum, what you perceive in a narrative depends on what you
are allowed to grasp. (If desired, share the poem with the class.) Through the
narrator, the author controls the information available to the reader.
2. Bierce's "An Occurrence
at Owl Creek Bridge": Playing Tricks on the Reader Ambrose
Bierce's An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, available at Project
Gutenberg, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website American
Studies at the University of Virginia, is a wonderful object lesson on the
use of narrative, because Bierce subtly switches the point of view to achieve
the desired effect on the reader. A first
student encounter with An
Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge works well as a directed reading and thinking
activity, (see the sixth bulleted item in Preparing to Teach
This Lesson, above). Stop at certain intervals in the story—a few are recommended
below—and ask students to predict what will happen next and, when possible, to
support hypotheses with evidence from the text. How often and at what points you
ask students for predictions will depend on your group, but here are some potential
places to pause: - After the first paragraph
- After the paragraph in Part I ending with "invader's farthest advance"
- At the end of Part I
- After the paragraph in Part II ending with
"burn like tinder"
- At the end of Part II
- After the paragraph
in Part III ending with "beneath his feet"
- After the paragraph in Part
III ending with "darkness and silence"
Once
the reading is over, discuss the twist ending. Was it possible to "see it coming?"
What point of view does the narration take for the final paragraph (objective)?
We can understand to a great extent how Bierce fools the reader by noting the
changing narration in the story as the author subtly shifts between points of
view. Download, copy, and distribute to the class the handout "The Narration in
Ambrose Bierce's 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'" on pages 1-2 of the PDF
file. Give students time to work, either individually or in small groups,
and then discuss what students determined. Always ask for support from the text.
Be aware that there may be more than one way of looking at the narration. (For
example, when the narrator reveals the visitor in Part II to be a Federal scout,
is that omniscient?) If desired, display the story on an overhead or other presentation
system and highlight the various sections with a color code for each type of narration
cited. If desired, extend the lesson by sharing
with the class Poe's "Masque
of the Red Death," on the EDSITEment resource American
Studies at the University of Virginia, in which the narrative largely uses
the third-person point of view. (The word "I" appears in the narration in reference
to the process of text creation, but the narrator does not take part in the story.)
3. True Confessions?
Two Unreliable Narratives Hearken! and observe
how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story. —From
Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"
I say to myself, in the first
place, "Of the innumerable effects, or impressions, of which the heart, the intellect,
or (more generally) the soul is susceptible, what one shall I, on the present
occasion, select?" Having chosen a novel, first, and secondly a vivid effect,
I consider whether it can be best wrought by incident or tone—whether by ordinary
incidents and peculiar tone, or the converse, or by peculiarity both of incident
and tone—afterward looking about me (or rather within) for such combinations of
event, or tone, as shall best aid me… —From Poe's
"The Philosophy of Composition"
Now students
are ready to look closely at two first-person narratives, Bierce's "My
Favorite Murder," available via a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website
American Studies at the University of Virginia,
and Poe's "The
Tell-Tale Heart," offered in an exhibit of American
Studies at the University of Virginia. Both are stories of murders from the
point of view of the murderer. In both cases, the narrator/main character defends
his behavior. As students read the stories, they should be thinking about to whom
these defenses are directed. In "The Tell-Tale Heart," the reader appears
to be addressed directly. Why would the narrator do so? The narrator denies that
he is mad: what in the text belies that claim? How does sentence structure (passages
such as "I undid the lantern cautiously—oh, so cautiously—cautiously") reflect
the apparent madness of the narrator? Is the story then simply the ranting of
a madman, who would speak to anyone? Share the letter Edgar
Allan Poe to Maria Clemm - July 7, 1849, with the entire class. In it, Poe
writes, "I was never really insane," sounding quite a bit like the narrator
of his story. Does Poe's claim (as well as any other evidence in the letter) make
students think he was or was not insane? Is there any chance the narrator of "The
Tell-Tale Heart" is not insane? Can we equate the narrator of the story with
Poe himself as both claim sanity, perhaps in hopes that they can will it so? Now
share with the class at least the opening sentence of the article "The
Trial of James Wood," which is attributed to Poe, though not with certainty.
Written in 1840, before the publication of "The Tell-Tale Heart," the
article (regardless of its authorship) establishes that the insanity defense was
used in the mid-19th century. Is it possible the narrator of "The Tell-Tale
Heart" is relating the story to establish an insanity defense? Interested
students will find the entire article quite intriguing, especially if Poe is the
author. All three possibilities above (the narrator is either stark raving
mad, in a moment of (relative) clarity hoping against hope that he is not mad,
or pretending to be mad) would preclude the possibility that we can completely
rely on anything the narrator says. He is an example of an unreliable narrator.
What in the text can students point to as likely examples of the narrator's unreliability?
Likewise, "My
Favorite Murder" is narrated by the perpetrator of a crime; in this case,
however, the narrative is largely addressed directly to the judge after a short
introductory section addressed to the reader. Why does Bierce have the narrator
tell us as the story opens that his statement resulted in his acquittal? How would
the effect of the story have been different had we not known until the end? Is
it reasonable to believe the judge would recommend for immediate acquittal based
on the artistry of the crime? Is it possible the judge recommended for acquittal
on the basis of insanity? Could the entire tale be the ravings of a lunatic attempting
to justify a horrible crime? What in the text can students point to as likely
examples of the narrator's unreliability? Do students believe that the writer
intended readers to regard the entire story as a kind of tall tale? If
desired, direct students to complete the handout "Two First-Person Narrators"
on pages 3-4 of the PDF file,
to facilitate a discussion of how the stories compare. 4.
Same Story, Different Narrators If desired,
give students the opportunity to experiment with narration. Let individuals take
any story (or a story you assign)—"The
Tell-Tale Heart" or even a familiar fairy tale would work well—and tell it
from different points of view. Like Faulkner in The Sound and the Fury,
each main character can re-tell the story. Or, students can relate the tale more
than once using some of the narrative stances discussed in this lesson. Encourage
volunteers to share their stories through reading or posting. Extending
the Lesson- Students interested in the controversy
over Poe's death can conduct further research on the issue. The website of the
Poe Museum of Richmond, a link from the
EDSITEment resource American Studies at
the University of Virginia, provides background on the controversy as well
as a list of 15 different theories in its article “Death
Theories”. A good college library in your area might have some of the
sources listed there for reading about the various theories. The site Edgar
Allan Poe's House of Usher, a link from the EDSITEment-reviewed website Internet
Public Library, offers the article "Did
Poe Die from Rabies?. "The Edgar Allan Poe
Society of Richmond, another link from Internet
Public Library, offers a lengthy article on the subject entitled "Poe's
Death."The EDSITEment resource American
Memory, in its collection The
Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals, features Griswold's account of Poe's
death in the article "Edgar Allan Poe" (The International Magazine of Literature,
Art, and Science. Vol. 1, Issue 03A. October 1, 1850). Griswold's account
of Poe's death begins on Page
338 and ends on Page
339.
- Students interested in the problems with Poe's biographies can
find Griswold's account of Poe's life in the article "Edgar Allan Poe" (The
International Magazine of Literature, Art, and Science. Vol. 1, Issue 03A.
October 1, 1850), beginning on Page
325 and ending on Page
344, available through The
Nineteenth Century in Print: Periodicals collection of the EDSITEment-reviewed
website American Memory.
- Students interested in reading more of the authors' works online can
search for "Bierce" or "Poe" on the Books
Collection of the EDSITEment resource Internet
Public Library. Poe materials can also be found through the collection EDGAR
ALLAN POE: Tales, Sketches and Selected Criticism on the EDSITEment-reviewed
website American Studies at the University
of Virginia.
- Interested students can read Poe's letters. The EDSITEment
resource American Studies at the University
of Virginia offers Poe Letters;
and the website of the Edgar Allan Poe Society,
available via a link from the EDSITEment resource Internet
Public Library, features an extensive online collection of letters, along
with information and links, at Poe's
Letters.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
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