R.O. Kwon’s decision to use the character Will as her primary narrator for her novel The Incendiaries changes the context of the novel entirely. Throughout the course of the novel, Will narrates a story that is not even his own, leaving the reader to question the legitimacy of what he is saying. How much does Will really know about what Phoebe is going through? How much of what he tells the audience is purposely misleading, how much is mistakenly inaccurate? Early on in the novel Will claims that what he tells the reader is up to his memory, saying “it’s possible these are just the details I’ve saved,” already taking the blame off of himself should any of these things he says be untrue or misrepresented.
There is something that I find historically pleasing about Kwon’s choice of narrator. How often have men been the ones to tell a woman’s story? Having this thought in the back of my mind creates a deeper meaning for me when contemplating the truth behind the things Will tells us. Will often takes Phoebe’s agency away from her in his telling, saying that she is brainwashed and is acting under the orders of a cult leader. While Phoebe is clearly a target of a cult wishing to recruit her, we still have to ask ourselves whether the events that unfold in the novel are due to choices she makes independently or under the influence of Jejah. However, due to the possible brainwashing of Jejah, could Phoebe herself have been a more reliable narrator? It is impossible to know how credible Phoebe’s narration would truly be when what we know of her is mainly just from how Will describes her through his idealized version of her. He tells us of the Phoebe that exists in his mind, not the Phoebe that exists in the world.
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I like what you say about men historically telling women's stories, because that is so true. I equally like how Kwon kind of slips in the feminist themes, making this a feminist novel. Even though I get the feeling that if Phoebe were the narrator, it might be more reliable, aren't all narrators (other than omniscient) technically unreliable?
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Alison Purcey
4/14/2019 10:40:01 am
I like how you drew connections between Will And male speakers of the past being left to tell bits of women’s stories. What you said at the end makes for an interesting question, “would Phoebe give us a reliable narrative”? I think she could definitely provide useful insight Will can’t and even under the influence of Jejah I think we would still understand phoebe better than if Will had told it, as well as been able to pick out the areas in which her thinking seemed brainwashed.
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AuthorHi, I'm Carly and I don't really know how to use this website. I'm a senior Classics major with a focus in Greek language. My opinions have opinions. Archives
April 2019
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