Becky Frangella
ENG 409.05
Title
Using Poe’s Unreliable Narrator to Identify and Create Rhetorical Arguments
Theoretical Justification/Rationale
According to Doug Brent in Reading as Rhetorical Invention, “The way we believe or
disbelieve certain texts clearly varies from one individual to the next. The task of a
rhetoric of reading is to explain systematically how these differences arise—how people
are persuaded differently by texts” (18). In determining how an author or speaker is
attempting to persuade, the reader must critically evaluate whether the author is using
ethos, pathos, or logos in attempt to convince the reader. Then, the reader must consider
his or her own assumptions and decide whether or not the arguments presented in the text
can be assimilated into their own system of beliefs.
In fiction, the reader is looking to assess the speaker and primary characters in the novel
and determine whether or not they should accept the statements or actions of these figures
as true. Wayne Booth reminds readers to be cautious of the artificial voice that exists in
fiction; it is this voice that tells the reader which characters are trustworthy and which are
not. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, the voice of the speaker, Montresor,
tells us that the other character, Fortunado, is foolish and irritating; he is quite deserving
of his death due to the insult that was afflicted upon Montresor. This trivial issue, an
insult, becomes much more serious when it negatively impacts our speaker; thus his
actions become less irrational and more acceptable.
Students need to be able to understand what constitutes a rhetoric of reading and be able
to recognize the author’s intended purpose for persuading. In reading, they can identify
the author’s ethos and decide, using their own system of beliefs, whether or not the
argument of the speaker is rational and worth accepting. They should be able to use the
techniques learned when evaluating what they read to create their own arguments through
writing. Their task will be to write from a viewpoint that opposes Poe’s speaker, creating
an argument for a converse theory of the same story.
Context
This lesson is designed to accompany a unit that analyzes point of view in writing—it
will be preceded by an outline of the different points of view and followed by an
investigation into when different points of view are most appropriate for a variety of
rhetorical situations. The activities in this lesson are intended to aide students in
establishing the credibility of the speaker whose voice is being used narrate a story.
Edgar Allan Poe is a renowned author whose ability to spook and captivate an audience is
uncanny. In addition, his speakers are notorious be being unreliable. The students will
have already read about Poe; they will be aware of his curious background and the moods
and themes present in his writing. This lesson focuses on identifying the argument of the
speaker and the unreliability that exists in the first person point of view. Students will
investigate The Cask of Amontillado not only from the first person perspective that Poe
used but also from the viewpoints of other characters within the story. They will be
asked to create alternate perspectives for The Tell-Tale Heart.
National Learning Standards
Standard 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate,
and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other
readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word
identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter
correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
Standard 5: Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different
writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a
variety of purposes.
Standard 7: Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and
questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a
variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their
discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
Required Materials
 Computers for student access
 Website: http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/Writer/pov.asp
 Projector
 Attached handouts—First Person Narration Worksheet, Triple Venn Diagram
Student Activities (This lesson will take about two 50 minute periods to complete!)
1. Introduce the importance of recognizing the point of view and persuasive
argument posed by the primary speaker in a fictional story.
2. Pass out and explain directions for the First Person Narration worksheet. Have
students complete it as they read Poe’s original versions of The Cask of
Amontillado and The Tell Tale Heart.
3. Have students read The Cask of Amontillado from the first person point of view.
Use Think-Pair-Share to complete Column 1 of the First Person Narration
worksheet.
4. Number students off as ones or twos. Split the class and have the ones re-read
The Cask of Amontillado from the point of view of Fortunado and the twos reread
it from the perspective of a 3rd person narrator using the Knowing Poe website.
Afterwards, have ones pair with twos and complete the tri-circle Venn Diagram
making comparisons between the three versions. They may use the First Person
Narration sheets to prompt their discussion.
5. Work as a whole class to discuss similarities and differences among the
arguments given in each of the three different perspectives.
6. Assign students to read The Tell-Tale Heart from the perspective of Poe’s
speaker. Have the ones rewrite the story from the perspective of one of the
officers. Have the twos rewrite the story from the perspective of an outside
narrator. Remind the students that their job as writers is to argue their character’s
beliefs and point of view. They should consider the ethos, pathos, and logos of
the assigned character.
7. Share stories orally. Discuss the differences among the three versions—which
was most interesting, why Poe chose to write in the 1st person and why it is so
effective in this type of fiction, etc.
8. Begin a conversation about using the appropriate point of view for a given
audience. This is a topic that students will explore later in the unit. Initial
questioning may include: Why is Poe’s use of first person so successful in his
stories? What happened when the point of view was changed? In what types of
writing would 3rd person be more appropriate?
Handouts
- Copies of The Tell-Tale Heart
- First Person Narration Worksheet
- Triple Venn Diagram
Homework
Students will need to write a one page fictional story a la Poe using the first person.
They may write about any subject they want, but the goal is to create a story that includes
a persuasive speaker with unreliable tendencies.
Assessment
Students will trade papers in class the following day and asses the writing of their peers
using the First Person Narration Worksheet. The writing should appropriately captivate
an audience and reflect correct use of the first person.
Bibliography
Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 1961.
Brent, Doug. ''Reading as Rhetorical Invention: Knowledge, Persuasion, and the
Teaching of Research-Based Writing''. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1992.
“Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, and the Unreliable Narrator.” 19 March 2007.
<http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson_images/lesson441/Poe1(2).pdf>
“Knowing Poe: Poe the Writer: Point of View.” Knowing Poe: The Literature, Life, and
Times of Edgar Allan Poe…In Baltimore and Beyond. Maryland Public
Television, 2002. 14 March 2007.
<http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/Writer/pov.asp>
Name: ________________________________________ Date: ______________
First-Person Narration: Edgar Allan Poe
Part I
First person narrators are notoriously unreliable. Think about the narrator in
The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart and respond to the questions
below. When possible, provide evidence from the story in the form of a direct
quote to support your responses.
Questions
Identify the
speaker’s
ethos. (What
is he trying to
persuade his
readers to
believe?)
Give an
example where
the narrator is
unreliable.
Explain your
reasoning.
Give an
example where
the narrator is
reliable.
Explain your
reasoning.
Provide
evidence a
lawyer might
use to prove
the narrator is
insane.
Provide
evidence a
lawyer might
use to prove
he’s sane.
The Cask of Amontillado
The Tell-Tale Heart
Part II
Poe wrote with the intention of producing an intense effect in the reader.
Characterize the effect you believe he intended for each story. What in the
story supports your idea?
The Cask of Amontillado
The Tell-Tale Heart
Names: ___________________________________ Date: __________
Triple Venn Diagram
Directions: Use this Venn Diagram to compare the three versions you read
of The Cask of Amontillado.