18th Century Novel Discussion, English homework help
Please provide a comprehensive response of (minimum 250 characters) to each of these discussion questions below. This is not an essay, so you won’t need to worry about formatting or sources but instead focus on quality of writing, editing, proofreading and proper sentence structure because this is a English course assignment.
Your welcome to use external sources but all the sources you will need is(let me know if any of the links don’t open):
A. How reliable is Pamela?
In the second recording today I raise the problem of reliability… what do you think? Do you accept Pamela’s representations and self-representations at face value? Is she a reliable narrator? Or as Mr B suggests, do her letters and journal in fact constitute a “pretty […] Romance” (232) in which she casts herself as the heroine and Mr B as the villain?
B. Why “Pamela”?
Why do you think Richardson chose to narrate his story from the point of view of Pamela? Why does he give us (primarily) Pamela’s narrating voice? Can you imagine the story told from one of the other servant’s perspectives? Or from Mr B’s perspective? Mrs. Jewke’s perspective? Lady Davers’s? Would the novel “work” if Pamela weren’t narrating? How would the story change? …And would it have been as popular, do you think?
C. Strengths and limitations of the epistolary format?
I reviewed a number of advantages of epistolary narration from both the writer’s and readers’ point of view. Are there other benefits that you can think of? (What does this kind of narration allow the writer to do? How does it make the reading experience enjoyable?) On the other hand, what are the limitations and drawbacks of epistolary narration?
