This way, analyzing the thoughts of the Ape is a logical way to interpret Fern's thoughts and feelings as both an animal and an animal regarded as a person. In Fowler's novel, Fern's thoughts remain withheld as Rosemary is the homodiegetic narrator. The Ape accomplishes the process of humanization and reports his thoughts on it. The last chapter of this thesis presents a brief analysis of the report with a special focus on the Ape's memory and how he considers being a human as a way of being free. Passages from the text appear before every chapter and leave a space of interpretation for the reader. Fowler uses Franz Kafka's “A Report for an Academy” as an intertext in her novel. Also, unreliability linked to the mental time travel that as a narrative technique will be looked at. Furthermore, the chapter addresses Rosemary's identity crisis and how it affects her role as a narrator. Therefore, the reader gets an insight into the narrator's psyche to avoid biases against her.
However, the reason is not narrated by Rosemary until the last third of the novel. To some extend, Fowler puts the audience in a challenging ethical position when revealing why Fern had to be separated from the family. To identify whether she is an unreliable or reliable narrator, certain categories of unreliability as a literary device will be discussed. Hence, even though she avoids her past, she recalls vivid memories, both good and bad ones. It is particularly Rosemary who suffers from her loss therefore, her grieving causes her to develop a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The loss of Fern causes traumatic stress responses in the family members. Second, I will focus on the unreliability of the narrator. Therefore, it is important to take into consideration whether her memories are intentionally falsified or whether this happens subconsciously. However, her family members had a great impact on her mental health and the way she receives information as a minor. Clearly, through a stream of consciousness point of view, it is Rosemary who tells the story. Essential questions are “What is the timeline of the story?”, “Who manipulates memory?” and “How is it manipulated?”. This is crucial to distinguish between the non-linear narrative and the actual timeline. The first aspect is the construction of memory. To this end, different aspects which are linked to the representation of memory will be looked at. The aim of this thesis is to examine the manipulation of memory by Rosemary Cooke in Karen Joy Fowler's novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. 4.1 The Ape's Memory In “A Report to An Academy”Ĥ.2 “Project Nim” And “The Ape and The Child” - Primates Raised Alongside Humans
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