Unreliable Narrator?

The aging and evolution of society has moulded language into something of nonconformity within the limits of simple communication. And, I think it is fair to assume that the beloved malleability of literary types is the underpinning reason we gather here as enthusiasts. Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen to the 2016 Australian literary convention, where I will have the absolute pleasure of delving into the depths of the life writing genre. There is a certain liberty associated with this specific type of writing, in that a unique bond is formed between the reader and the writer, where once personal emotions and experiences are funneled through the selection of words on a page. Contrarily, as almost all modern day texts contain some degree of unintentional
Often we pin the title ‘unreliable narrator’ unto authors whose work is contrived or controversial; deemed untrustworthy by the wider autobiographical audience. According to Wayne C. Booth’s acclaimed definition of an unreliable narrator, the criteria state that often they can be identified through ‘contradiction of the reader’s general knowledge or impossibilities’; or more succinctly, if McCourt’s representation counter’s anything the reader knows to be fact. However, a more pressing sub-genre of this category arises when authors intentionally contrive representations so as to feature ideologies and perspectives of the author, and not the character. Within McCourt’s critically acclaimed account of his ‘miserable Irish childhood’, unambiguous examples can be easily identified whereby certain characters, experiences and institutions are exaggerated in a manner that seems nothing short of ideological. McCourt’s representation of Catholicism within the text is an apt example of an institution that has been constructed to ascertain a perspective. McCourt himself does, in fact, leave a footnote explicitly stating his distaste Catholicism when he claims that the only thing worse than the ‘miserable Irish childhood’ is the ‘miserable Irish Catholic childhood’. The St Vincent de Paul society are portrayed in particularly bad light throughout the text, despite the
However, through analysis of the finer aspects of his life writing, it becomes clear that McCourt has embedded literary features and techniques that subtly employ his contemporary ideologies and perspectives. His rather malicious portrayal of Catholicism within the text is an isolated instance, where McCourt’s has reinvented his former self so as to include his modern view of an industry. The interpretation of Angela McCourt within the text was rebuked by many of his readers, who claimed that McCourt had exaggerated on his Mother’s weak, careless disposition. Such an exaggeration would allow him to slightly amp up the misery factor, and rather inconspicuously make himself just that little bit more of a 'rage to riches' veteran. Hence, if we refer back to Wayne C. Booth’s guide to the identification of an unreliable author, McCourt is undoubtedly nose deep in both the extratextual and intratextual baskets, thus, unfortunately, deeming him, a reliable narrator. In fact, if we reconsider the proposition that all literary texts are to their own extent biased, we may even go far enough as to claim that McCourt is only one amongst an entire genre of unreliable life writing authors; as, let’s face it, it is an impossible for a reflective piece to be in its