Yasmin Lozano Chester

“Engleby” by Sebastian Faulks

How is the horrific element in “Engleby” affected by the pint fo
view?
  Michael Engleby is the narrator and the main character of the
book.
 He is an intellectually precocious yets socially ill-adapted
student at Cambridge University.
 He joins a university society to get to know Jennifer Arkland.
Relevant Plot  When Arkland goes missing, the plot takes a turn for the
Information curious.
 After several years, it is revealed that Engleby had murdered
her.
 He pleads guilty but is sent to a mental institution as he is
diagnosed with a personality disorder.
  “Engleby” is not a conventional murder mystery.
 Due to the POV the usual villain is turned into an anti-hero.
 It is difficult for the readers to accept the bleak reality of the
narrator because he is personalised through the POV.
 Mode of narration offers intimacy and tension for the reader.
 Mode of narration offers contrast between swift thinking of
Effect of POV Engleby’s thoughts and slow-paced life. Imitates madness in
the narrators own brain.
 This offers extreme distrubance to the reader as they are
effectively plunged into the narrators psyche. Creates realistic
protrayal of Engleby’s psychosis.
  “My name is Mike Engleby, and I’m in my second year at an
ancient university.” Runs the opening sentence.
 Book written in journal style.
 Offers some of victims journal entries as well, allowing readers
to grasp part of Arkland’s character development.
Literary  Mixture of formal therapy-speak and brief auto-identification.
Resources  There is an unreliable narrator at play, filled with cunning
(aided by POV) elipses and selective gradual revelation, creating a
claustrophobic world.
 Inspidi witticisms by Faulks is used as a literary resource to
both excite and traumatise the reader.
  Modern fiction is full of insane monloguists, however, only
works if the voice is at least minimally seductive, persuasive or
witty enough to lure the reader into complicity with the
Conclusion madman’s POV.