Date of Award
1978
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
Gardner's use of unreliable and often intrusive narrative voices is a structural key to the world view presented in his novels. All the narrators, whether they be involved central characters or intrusive third-person voices, journey toward knowledge and affirmation in art. In The Wreckage of Ag'athon, the aged seer is driven by the chaos he cannot untangle to create his own rationale. Grendel embraces a nihilistic world view until the monster is finally lifted to a limited sort of vision as a shaper of experience. The voice of The Sunlight Dialogues is limited omniscient, yet the narrator intrudes, reminding the reader that he is dependent upon an involved point of view. In the dream-narrative of Jason and Medeia, perhaps the best utilization of an involved, fallible narrator, the journey toward affirmative vision balongs more to the narrator than the hero.
Extent
95 p.
Recommended Citation
ATWILL, WILLIAM D., "THEMATIC RELEVANCE OF JOHN GARDNER'S "UNRELIABLE NARRATOR."" (1978). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1970 - 1979. 661.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_2/661
Identifier
FADT13911
Comments
FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1978.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection