For adults, when they discover the author is using an
unreliable narrator, they must question everything they thought they knew about
the characters and the story. The story becomes more interesting. This literary
device encourages readers to keep reading to discover what else the author is
hiding and why.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins uses an unreliable
narrator. Rachel, the main character, also a drunk, thinks she witnessed a murder.
As she investigates, she becomes personally involved with the case and
entangled in the lives of the other characters. Can the reader believe a black-out drunk?
There are three types of unreliable narrators:
1. Deliberately unreliable: Narrators who know they are
lying. They lie because the point of view is theirs and they can tell the story
whichever way they want.
2. Evasively unreliable: Narrators who aren’t aware they are lying. This can be the author’s way
of telling a story so that it proves something or serves their purpose.
3. Naively unreliable: Narrators who tell the truth, but
lack the information. For example, child narrators are truthful, but don’t understand
the way the world works or understand the consequences of what they’re seeing
or hearing.
If you use an unreliable narrator, make sure your narrator
has a reason for deceiving the reader. Confuse the reader just enough so the
reader doubts or questions the narrator; is the author lying, and why?
Below is my source and a link to the top ten unreliable
narrators.
No comments:
Post a Comment