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Concept Mastery
Key Words
Unreliable Narrator
3
-
1
Narrator – one who tells a story
2
Always Present
Sometimes Present
Never Present
lacks credibility
1st, 2nd, or 3rd person p.o.v.
gives flawed information
is (innocently) mistaken
A forthright, accurate, and
balanced account
has implications for the
author’s message & purpose
is biased
is manipulative
is deranged or mentally ill
Examples:
Intruder in Poe’s–”Tell Tale Heart”
The Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales
misremembers stories & quotes
Is obvious or subtle in his or her
distortions
omits info. , contradicts, him or
herself, reveals biases
6
Practice with
new example
•Grendel
Charlie in Flowers for Algernon
•Tim Obrien – The Things They
Carried
Early historical example: gnostic gospels –
rejected by early church
•Propaganda – polit. campaign
commercial
Nonexamples:
3rd person narr. of 1984
Elie Wiesel - Night
Othello (no “narrator” in most plays)
Jeanette Walls – The Glass Castle
Slave narratives
•Gatsby’s Nick Carroway
7 Tie down
definition
While no narrator is perfect, an unreliable narrator is a narrator that (significantly) lacks credibility and
gives flawed information. The unreliable narrator has implications for the author’s purpose and message.
Concept Mastery
Key Words
Unreliable Narrator
3
Always Present
1
Narrator – one who tells a story
Sometimes Present
2
Never Present
-
Examples:
Poe –”Tell Tale Heart”
Nonexamples:
6
Practice with
new example
•Grendel
(1st p POV)
•Tim Obrien – The Things They
Carried
•Propaganda – polit. campaign
commercial
•The Matrix
7 Tie down
definition
An unreliable narrator is a narrator that …
3rd person narr. of 1984