The Nose Lesson Plan

While telling the story of how Ivan found the nose, the narrator suddenly interjects as "I," saying, "But I am slightly remiss for having said nothing of Ivan Yakovlevich." The narrator then pauses the story to give backstory about Ivan. Who is this narrator, and what do you make of this detour from the storyline?

Students will likely find this stylistic flourish a little jarring, as most will have expected 1) the story to continue in third person and 2) the story to have incorporated Ivan's backstory more seamlessly. The function of this interruption, however, is to develop the theme of the absurdity of storytelling. The narrator shifting to first person here...