In the Madagascar Plum the narrator is a commander in the Viet Cong Army. The commander is not very reliable as a source of information about his story. The commander acts very childish about the waiter serving the madagascar plum which hints that he is not remorseful about his actions with the little girl. He often makes remarks about how the American Soldier makes looks at him and his troops that encourage their disgusting behavior. This shows that he knows he did something wrong but is unwilling to admit it. He uses these excuses to justify his actions. Finally, the truth comes out that the commander is an alcoholic. He is often in a stupor and the alcohol affectes his mind when he is forced to make important decisions. Even his troops know that alcohol affects him worse than he wishes to admit. They stop him from following after the girl while he is drunk for fear that he will hurt himself. Though he does not admit it the commander's drinking poses a danger to himself. ANother way that the reader is alerted to the fact that the commander is a tyrant is that some of his troops are afraid he will physically harm the girl. Theya re willing to do whatever it takes to protect her from physical harm. It appears as if some of the troop members realize that the girl is mute but the commanding officer does not understand. He harasses the girl and eventually ends up re-lighting the wick of the bomb attached to the girl. This is a sick act and makes it hard for the reader to find the narrator reliable.
This unrelaibility of the narrator makes it very difficult for the reader to accurately interpret the story. Because of the commander's harsh drinking habit and frequent drunkenness makes it hard for the reader to believe that the narrator is telling the whole truth. It is likely that the story was much more sickening and that, because he was drunk, the narrator has underestimated his actions. The narrator also seems to show no remorse so it is likely he acted in a much more disgusting way, he just may not remember it or may not believe it is immoral behavior and so does not deem the other actions important.
In the Madagascar Plum the narrator is a commander in the Viet Cong Army. The commander is not very reliable as a source of information about his story. The commander acts very childish about the waiter serving the Madagascar plum which hints that he is not remorseful about his actions with the little girl. He often makes remarks about how the American Soldier makes looks at him and his troops that encourage their disgusting behavior. He uses these excuses to justify his actions. This shows that he knows he did something wrong but is unwilling to admit it. Finally, the truth comes out that the commander is an alcoholic. He is often in a stupor and the alcohol affects his judgment when he is forced to make important decisions. Even his troops know that alcohol affects him worse than he wishes to admit. They stop him from following after the girl while he is drunk for fear that he will hurt himself. Though he does not admit it the commander's drinking poses a danger to himself. Another way that the reader is alerted to the fact that the commander is not reliable is that some of his troops are afraid he will physically harm the girl. No honorable and trustworthy man would physically harm a small lonely girl. The soldiers are willing to do whatever it takes to protect her from physical harm. It appears as if some of the troop members realize that the girl is mute but the commanding officer does not understand. He harasses the girl and eventually ends up re-lighting the wick of the bomb attached to the girl. This is a sick and gruesome act that makes it hard for the reader to find the narrator reliable.
ReplyDeleteThis unreliability of the narrator makes it very difficult for the reader to accurately interpret the story. Because of the commander's harsh drinking habit and frequent drunkenness makes it hard for the reader to believe that the narrator is telling the whole truth. It is likely that the story was much more sickening and that, because he was drunk, the narrator has underestimated his actions. The narrator also seems to show no remorse so it is likely he acted in a much more disgusting way. It is possible the commander was so drunk that he does not remember his actions or he may not even believe it is immoral behavior to begin with, and so he does not deem the other actions important and omits them from his tale.
In the Madagascar Plum the narrator is a commander in the Viet Cong Army. The commander is not very reliable as a source of information about his story. The commander acts very childish about the waiter serving the Madagascar plum which hints that he is not remorseful about his actions with the little girl. Another characteristic that detracts from the Narrator’s reliability is the fact that he is under the influence of alcohol at the restaurant as well as in the story that he recounts to his companion. The narrator is clearly an alcoholic. He drinks so much that he has never had a chance to sober up for a long enough time to take a serious look at the actions of his life. He often makes remarks about how the American Soldier makes looks at him and his troops that encourage their disgusting behavior. He tries to portray the American Soldier as a driving factor behind his actions. He tries to please the American so that he can gain personal accolades by being viewed as a high level leader in the Vietnamese Army. He uses these excuses to justify his actions. This shows that he knows he did something wrong but is unwilling to admit it. Finally, the commander addresses the fact that he abused alcohol during his service. He is often in a stupor and the alcohol affects his judgment when he is forced to make important decisions. Even his troops know that alcohol affects him worse than he wishes to admit. They stop him from following after the girl while he is drunk for fear that he will hurt himself. Though he does not admit it the commander's drinking poses a danger to himself. Another way that the reader is alerted to the fact that the commander is not reliable is that some of his troops are afraid he will physically harm the girl. No honorable and trustworthy man would physically harm a small lonely girl. The soldiers are willing to do whatever it takes to protect her from physical harm. It appears as if some of the troop members realize that the girl is mute but the commanding officer does not understand. He harasses the girl and eventually ends up re-lighting the wick of the bomb attached to the girl. This is a sick and gruesome act that makes it hard for the reader to find the narrator reliable.
ReplyDeleteThis unreliability of the narrator makes it very difficult for the reader to accurately interpret the story. Because of the commander's harsh drinking habit and frequent drunkenness makes it hard for the reader to believe that the narrator is telling the whole truth. It is likely that the story was much more sickening and that, because he was drunk, the narrator has underestimated his actions. The narrator also seems to show no remorse so it is likely he acted in a much more disgusting way. It is possible the commander was so drunk that he does not remember his actions or he may not even believe it is immoral behavior to begin with, and so he does not deem the other actions important and omits them from his tale.