Literary competence: You, the reader, know enough about literary tropes, archetypes, or other conventions that you can identify the unreliable narrator.Extratextual: The narrator says something that contradicts your basic knowledge, or logical possibilities.Intratextual: The narrator says something that contradicts themselves, displays memory gaps, or blatantly lies to other characters.There are some signs you can look for to identify a potentially unreliable narrator.Īccording to author and literature professor Ansgar Nünning, those signs can be broken into the following three categories: Amy from Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl is an example of this type, as she deliberately schemes and tells lies to present herself as a victim of her husband’s actions. The Liar: The Liar is a mature narrator of sound mind who deliberately misrepresents themselves and important information, usually to obscure their own past actions.Examples include Forrest Gump and Huckleberry Finn. The Naïf: This narrator is also not intentionally deceptive, but their immaturity or naivety limit their perception.They intentionally play with conventions and reader expectations, like Tristram Shandy in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. The Clown: The Clown doesn’t take their job as narrator very seriously.One example is the psychotic serial killer and narrator of American Psycho, Patrick Bateman. The Madman: The Madman does not intentionally lie or exaggerate, but rather suffers from a mental illness or trauma, such as schizophrenia, paranoia, or post-traumatic dissociation.For example, in Daniel Defoe’s 1722 novel Moll Flanders, the titular character and narrator lies about being born to a mother in prison so she can wed wealthy men. The Pícaro: This narrator has a tendency to lie or exaggerate, usually to boost their own image or social standing.From his study, five distinct types have been adapted by literary analysts. In a 1981 study, writer William Riggin identified and analyzed different types of unreliable narrators. What Are the Types of Unreliable Narrators? The island is home to a hospital for the criminally insane, and the pair is there to investigate the disappearance of a murderess-but Teddy soon uncovers shocking realizations about the island and himself. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives on Shutter Island with his partner, Chuck Aule. Warning: Spoiler alerts follow! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Examples of Unreliable Narratorsīelow are 3 examples from literature of unreliable narrators in thrillers, and the effects they had on their stories. This can also help you to better assess a character’s motivations. Just because a narrator is unreliable doesn’t mean they are necessarily “bad” or dishonest it simply means there may be more to the story, so it’s important to consider how their perspective and biases might influence the way they tell a story. Other times, their inaccurate reporting might be the result of an innocent misunderstanding or distorted memory. Writers often use the literary device of the unreliable narrator to make readers consciously doubt or question whether there’s more to the story, and it’s also a common thriller trope that many writers use to keep readers on their toes and at the edge of their seats.Ī narrator can be unreliable because they intentionally misrepresent key facts. In real life, we’re all unreliable narrators when we tell personal stories, because our individual experiences shape our perceptions, so it’s rare for even just two people to recall every detail of an event in the exact same way.īut in literature, a narrator is considered unreliable when we have reason to doubt what they tell us (or wonder what they aren’t telling us). That’s placing a lot of responsibility and power in their hands, because the narrator essentially shapes the whole story! But should you believe everything they tell you? Defining the Unreliable Narrator As a reader, you rely on the narrator of a story to guide you through the story’s events.
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