By what means does McEwan simultaneously present Jed as a menacing character and introduce doubts into the reader's mind about the danger Jed apparently represents?

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By what means does McEwan simultaneously present Jed as a menacing character and introduce doubts into the reader's mind about the danger Jed apparently represents?

McEwan uses a number of literary devices to present Jed's character. Probably the single most important one is his use of a first person narrator, Joe. The author invites us to consider whether Joe, and his perception of Jed, can be relied on.

Through Joe's account of Jed and his behavior, we learn that Jed is a menacing character. The first incident that shows this is in the aftershock of the balloon incident. When there is a brief encounter between Jed Parry and Joe, when Parry wants them to pray, but Joe thinks little of it at this point but to the reader this seems strange. Especially when Jed says, "God has brought us together" and persistently insists that Joe pray with him. Joe describes Jed's behavior from hindsight and at the time Jed seemed excited, but no-one could have guessed to what extend and certainly not Joe at this point although Joe does notice that Parry seems rather odd, as he tells us "Even then, he was more interested in