The following text is from a literary criticism article.
Narrative unreliability functions as more than mere plot device. When readers gradually recognize that a narrator's account cannot be trusted, they must reconstruct events from fragmentary and contradictory evidence. This active interpretive labor mirrors the epistemological challenges of real-world knowledge formation. The unreliable narrator thus becomes a meditation on the limits of human understanding itself.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It defines a technique, explains its effect, and proposes its deeper significance.
It provides examples of unreliable narrators from famous novels.
It argues that unreliable narrators should be avoided by writers.
It traces the historical development of narrative techniques.
Correct Answer: A
Choice A is the best answer. The text defines unreliable narration, explains its effect (reader reconstruction), and proposes deeper significance (meditation on understanding limits).
- Evidence: The text defines it: "Narrative unreliability functions as more than mere plot device." It explains effect: "readers... must reconstruct events." It proposes significance: "becomes a meditation on the limits of human understanding."
- Reasoning: The structure moves from Definition -> Effect on Reader -> Philosophical Implication.
- Conclusion: This matches "defines a technique, explains its effect, and proposes its deeper significance."
💡 Strategy: Track the progression: Technique -> Reader Experience -> Big Idea.
Choice B is incorrect because specific novels aren't cited. Choice C is incorrect because the technique is valued, not criticized. Choice D is incorrect because historical development isn't traced.