Interior monologue

Definition

Interior monologue is a narrative technique that presents a character's inner thoughts and feelings in a direct and often unfiltered manner. This style allows readers to gain insight into a character's psyche, revealing their motivations, conflicts, and emotional states as they reflect on their experiences and surroundings.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Interior monologue became prominent in New Journalism as writers aimed to provide deeper emotional connections with their subjects, capturing their personal experiences more vividly.
2. This technique emphasizes subjective experience, allowing readers to understand characters on a more intimate level, often contrasting external events with internal reflections.
3. It is frequently used in fiction but has also found a place in nonfiction narratives within New Journalism, enabling journalists to convey the inner lives of their subjects.
4. Writers like Joan Didion and Truman Capote effectively utilized interior monologue to give readers access to the thoughts of individuals within their narratives, enhancing the storytelling experience.
5. The use of interior monologue in New Journalism marks a shift from traditional reporting methods by incorporating literary techniques that emphasize character exploration and emotional depth.

Review Questions

• How does interior monologue enhance character development in narratives?
  • Interior monologue enhances character development by allowing readers to hear a character's unfiltered thoughts and emotions. This technique provides deeper insights into what drives the character's actions, fears, and desires. As readers engage with these internal reflections, they can form a stronger emotional connection with the character, making them feel more relatable and multidimensional.
• Discuss how interior monologue reflects the principles of New Journalism in portraying real-life subjects.
  • Interior monologue reflects the principles of New Journalism by focusing on the personal experiences and inner lives of real-life subjects. By incorporating this literary technique, journalists can create narratives that are more immersive and emotionally resonant. This approach not only humanizes the subjects but also offers readers a nuanced understanding of their perspectives during significant events or situations.
• Evaluate the impact of using interior monologue on the reader's perception of truth in New Journalism narratives.
  • The use of interior monologue in New Journalism significantly impacts the reader's perception of truth by blending factual reporting with subjective experience. This technique invites readers into the private thoughts of individuals, challenging conventional notions of objectivity in journalism. By revealing characters' inner struggles and emotions, writers can present a more complex and layered version of truth, encouraging readers to empathize with the subjects while questioning traditional journalistic boundaries.

Related terms

Stream of Consciousness: A literary style that attempts to capture the flow of thoughts and feelings as they occur in the mind, often lacking conventional structure.

Free Indirect Discourse: A narrative mode that blends the voice of the narrator with a character's thoughts, allowing readers to experience the character's perspective without direct quotation.

Character Development: The process by which an author creates a believable and complex character, often through their thoughts, actions, and interactions with others.