‘I don’t know how it is best to put this thing down’: Uncooperative narration in Ford Madox Ford’s <i>The Good Soldier</i>

This article offers a pragmatic stylistic analysis of Ford Madox Ford’s 1915 novel The Good Soldier, assessing the technical notion ‘cooperation’ developed in Gricean theory as means explaining its distinctive narrative style. Critics have generally agreed this text salient example unreliable narration, but differed significantly how they judge character narrator himself, and even interpret events novel. Grice characterises communicative exchanges typically rational pieces behaviour, which mutually accepted set purposes guarantees that individual contributions are suitable constructive, he does also detail ways speakers may fail to fulfil these expectations. will analyse examples from relationship between reader might be characterised uncooperative specifically terms; faces clash conversational maxims, opts out maxims or violates them, rather than either adhering them flouting for effect. suggests way literary stylistics able offer principled explanation idiosyncratic style canonical work modernist fiction, by extension effects narration on reader.