Blog 9: DW

The narrator of The Madagascar Plum seem to be very unreliable because of the influence that his PTSD has on him and the substantial use of alcohol as a coping mechanism. The unreliability of the author makes me think that the story is more made up than anything. I feel that if the story were in fact true, the narrator would try and make them seem better. If this actually happened I think that the narrator would have more guilt about what actually happened and either try and do a better job of justifying what they did so it doesn't seem like they killed an innocent child.

The alcohol abuse also adds to the unreliability of the narrator. He says that he won't start the story until he finishes his drink which shows that he has been drinking and needs more drinks to tell this story. Not only is the narrator drunk, but the narrator in the story is drunk as well. So this entire story is told by a drunk person, through the eyes of a person that is continually drinking. The narrator goes on to say "The rain continued into a stupor and the foggier I became" (6) which proves that the narrator is unreliable. As things are getting "foggier" and the person telling the story is in a "stupor", the story becomes more unreliable and less believable.

The effects of the narrator's PTSD is another factor that could make the story less reliable. He has clearly been greatly affected by the war and his experiences in it, especially this one with the mute girl that he says gives him the PTSD. An example of this when he, in the beginning, freaks out when he is handed the plum because it reminds him of the mute girl. He has such a hard time looking at the plum because of the bad memories it brings back about the little girl that I find it hard to believe that the story that he is telling is completely accurate.