The Role of the Post-Modern Narrator: Challenging the Truth of Constructions in The Hour of the Star and How I Became a Nun Natasha Borden College

Unlike the author, whose job it is to write the story, the role of the narrator is to tell the story. The narrator provides the window through which the reader looks, framing the discourse, and deciding what is, and what is not, important, where to focus, and, what to ignore. The narrator can set the tone of the narrative by word choice and perhaps even influence the way in which the narrative will be interpreted by the reader.T here are many ways in which the narrator can tell the story. In the case of a third person omniscient narrator, he can give the reader insight into the minds, thoughts, feelings, and motivations, of any, or all, of the characters. He can also give the reader information about the character's pasts, and, explain the importance of certain events giving a wider picture and deeper understanding of the narrative. In contrast, a narrator can also be written in the first person and only reveal what the main character thinks, feels, and experiences.

The two novels, The Hour of the Star, by Clarice Lispector, and, How I Became a Nun, by Cesar Aira, are both written in a post-modern narrative style that mimics the autobiographical mode of storytelling. The narrator, in both of these novels, however, rather than...