How to Read Novels like a Professor
What do you think Roland Barthes meant when he said that the author is “dead”? Write a brief essay that agrees or disagrees with Barthes, citing online research and including examples from Foster’s guide.
According to Foster, “Here’s the Law of Narrative Unreliability: Stop believing the narrator when you see the word ‘I.’ Yes, even if it’s the first word in the novel. He’s toast. Given the game away” (57). Choosing a novel with a first-person narrator, examine the truth of Foster’s law about unreliability. Use textual evidence to illustrate.