Ford Madox Ford

Both, Ford Madox Ford’s, A Paris Letter, and Earnest Hemingway’s, A Moveable Feast, condone a use of an unreliable narrator. Ford commends himself and tends to over embellish himself, all the while being biased in his writing. While Hemingway describes a lifestyle and experience that is not or may not have everyone’ s same feelings or opinions. 

I feel that both writers’ credibility has been mildly compromised. Hemingway’s is a tad bit more excusable since it is a retelling from his mind and experience. However, the sole flaw could be found in his opinions of people. For example, from a previous assignment we saw the description of Sylvia Beach, and we compared them with another reading. He described her as this sweet woman who had no difficulties and no backbone. However, when we read from another side and point of view, we learned so much more from her and about her. 

This isn’t Hemingway’s fault, in truth, for he is human and one human with one perspective. He sees what he writes, he includes whatever he feels is important and what could aid in his retelling of his marvelous time in Paris. 

Everyone is victim to this, I know if I wore writing about a story of my life or even just my time in Paris there would, most definitely, be a lie here or there. 

Fords’ story is more ficitional, we are given the point of view of John, a man who just discovered that is wife has been unfaithful. This should immediately warn the reader that perhaps our narrator is not entirely stable or capable to retell everything for what it is. So it becomes immediately biased, and it’s normal. At the start of the reading, by just hearing the summary the reader will immediately feel sympathetic towards John and hatred towards the wife, and just curiosity because we are people and we are prying. 

(In Fords’ narrator I found myself sympathizing with his diction and understanding of his situation. I went in this with that state of mind, because I did read the summary first. Which I shouldn’t have, but it’s a tendency I have. )

The problems with unreliable narrators are that we, as readers, are dependent on writers from the start. So when they form these opinons or sell these stories we immediately fall align to them and what they say. Perhaps, because for me, when I read I do it as a mindless and informative act. While I am reading I am learning about characters and there life and I do not like to faction in all sorts of feelings and cancel all types of situations that can superimpose on the types of words that I will have to focus on. For me reading is a rhythmic thing, not a mathematical problem where I have to subtract and add.