ELACCL9-10RL3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations)

develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop

the theme.

The Unreliable Narrator

In all stories with a first-person narrator, the narrator serves as a filter for the events.

What the narrator does not know or observe cannot be explained to the reader. Usually, however, the reader trusts that the narrator is knowledgeable and truthful enough to give them an accurate representation of the story.

Narrator/Reader Relationship

An unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator that for some reason has a compromised point-of-view.

Definition

In the case of an unreliable narrator (sometimes called a fallible narrator), the reader has reason not to trust what the narrator is saying.

Typical Scenarios

The narrator may be of a dramatically different age than the people in the story, such as a child attempting to explain adult actions as in To Kill a Mockingbird.

What narrators can you think of who are unreliable due to age?

Age

The narrator may have prejudices about race, class or gender as in Invisible Man.

What narrators can you think of who are unreliable due to societal issues?

Societal Issues

The narrator may have low intelligence as in Flowers for Algernon.

What narrators can you think of who are unreliable due to low IQ?

Low Intelligence

The narrator may suffer from hallucinations as in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or dementia as in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or mental disorders as in Fight Club.

What narrators can you think of who are unreliable due to mental instability?

Mental Instability

The narrator may have a personality flaw such as pathological lying or narcissism (self-infatuation) as in The Catcher in the Rye.

What narrators can you think of who are unreliable due to personality flaws?

Personality Flaw

The narrator may be trying to make a point that is contrary to the actions of the story or be attempting to libel one of the characters due to a grudge as in Lolita.

What narrators can you think of who are unreliable due to mis- or dis-interpreting details?

Misinformation

What characteristics does Montressor demonstrate in “The Cask of Amontillado” that make the reader distrust him?

What seems to compromise Montressor’s point of view?

Montressor as an Unreliable Narrator