The Unreliable Narrator in Fiction

The Unreliable Narrator in FictionThe Unreliable Narrator in FictionIn fiction, as in life, an unreliable narratoris a character who cannot be trusted. Either from ignorance or self-interest, this narrator speaks with a bias, makes mistakes, or even lies. Part of the pleasure and challenge of these first-person stories is working out the truth and understanding why the narrator is not straightforward. It also can be a tool a writer uses to create an aura of authenticity in his work. The term originates from Wayne C. Booths 1961 Rhetoric of Fiction, and though it is a key component of modernism, unreliable narratives are found in classics like Wuthering Heights, throughboth Lockwood and Nelly Dean, and Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels. The Unintentionally Unreliable Many stories presented in the first-person point of view are told by a child or an outsider who believes he is telling the complete truth. The reader, though, quickly learns the narrator is not fully aware of the circ umstances around them.This is the case, for example, with the protagonist of J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, and with Scout, the narrator in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird. The unintentionally unreliable narrator invites the reader to think beyond the writing and to become an adult observer. What is really going on in Holden Caulfields life? Is he truly the only non-phony in a world of liars? What is Scout really seeing when she describes the behavior of her teachers, classmates, and father? This device gives the reader insight and perspective into how the narrator views the world. The Intentionally Unreliable While unintentionally unreliable narrators can be endearing and naive, intentionally unreliable narrators often arefrightening. Typically, such characters have sinister motives, ranging from guilt, as in the case of Nabokovs Lolita, to insanity, as in the case of Edgar Allen Poes short story The Tell-Tale Heart. Some of the most interesting uses of intentionally unreliable narrators are in the mystery genre. Why might the narrator of a mystery story be intentionally unreliable? fruchtwein likely because he or she has something to hide. Such stories are especially intriguing because when they are well done, the reader is completely unaware of the narrators true character. Creating an Unreliable Narrator A key reason to use anunreliable narrator is to create a work of fiction with multiple layers with competing levels of truth. Sometimes the narrators unreliability is made immediately evident. For instance, a story may open with the narrator making a plainly false or delusional claim or admitting to being severely mentally ill. A more dramatic use of the device delays the revelation until near the storys end. Such atwist endingforces readers to reconsider theirpoint of viewand experience of the story. For this writing mechanism to be effective, readers must be able to discern more than one level of truth. While your narr ator might be an unreliable source of information, it is absolutely essential that you, the writer, understand and eventually reveal the reality behind the misleading words. It is essential for readers to be able to recognize the narrators unreliability and the reality that is being hidden.