Question

Which of these best describes Sorrentino’s use of authorial reticence in “There’s a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head with an Umbrella”? The narrator refuses to go to the police. The man with the umbrella never eats or sleeps. The man with the umbrella falls down with one punch. The narrator acts as though the situation is completely normal.

Answer 1

D. The narrator acts as though the situation is completely normal.

The use of authorial reticence in the story is seen from how the narrator so easily shrugs off the man hitting him with the umbrella, eventually dismissing it as normal and even welcoming it into his life, despite the situation's absurdity.

Answer 2

To be reticent is to not reveal one's thoughts readily. In this case, it is the reticence of the author. The author does not reveal their thoughts readily. If the narrator or author refuses to do something, it is made known that he is doing something. The something here is him refusing. If he acts as if the situation is normal, I'd assume he is acting in such a way that would be nonreactionary of the actions from the provoker. I would safely choose the last option as sorrentino's exercising of authorial reticence.