A story is constructed to elicit a particular response from its audience. In the form of a written story, authors use specific narrative strategies to position the 'ideal reader' to achieve the desired understanding of the text's meanings. Oliver Sacks' short story, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, is an unusual short story because it does not feature conventional plot development, the story does not contain conflict or; resolution of the conflict. The genre of the story is also difficult to define because it reads like an autobiographical account of an experience Sacks had with a patient while working as a neurologist. Although it can be argued that the story is a work of non-fiction, it is nonetheless a representation, distinct from a reflection of actual events. It is a construct, Sacks chose which elements were included and omitted from the narrative and used narrative strategies to position readers to process the signs of the text and produce to achieve the dominant understanding. This blurring between truth and fiction is similar to that of the “new journalism” genre. However, rather than being a journalist writing a fictional journalism article, Sacks is a doctor writing a fictional medical analysis. To influence readers' understanding of the story, Sacks used the strategy of subjective narration perspective, atypical in this short story in that a characterization or representation of Oliver Sacks is the narrator and Oliver Sacks the person is the real author. The story is character-driven rather than plot-driven, and no matter how accurate the depiction of real people, they are constructs. Sacks gave the characters of Doctor P. and his namesake an admirable and sympathetic trait...... middle of paper ......test station where a person had to read the story without knowing that the real author is also the narrator and character, it would probably read as a detailed work of fiction. Because readers know that Oliver Sacks is actually a neurologist, this changes the meaning of the text. This is how the real author is distinguished from the implicit author; implied authorship is what the reader can infer from the material presented in the text, without any background knowledge of the actual author. Knowing that Oliver Sacks is actually a neurologist also leads readers to accept the narrator's version of events, as they would be inclined to accept the preferred, authoritative narrative voice. The techniques of point of view, subjective narration and characterization therefore position readers to accept the meanings presented in the text..