Question

Explain the use of an unreliable narrator in a text that you have read or experienced outside of this class. This text may be a book, movie, graphic novel or other narrative form. Analyze the effectiveness of this device in adding interest to the story and enhancing the overall theme. Your answer should be at least 250 words.

Answer 1

An unreliable narrator can actually be any type of narrator—limited, omniscient, or limited omniscient.  What unreliable means is that the narrator can’t be trusted because he or she has provided accounts that prove to be incorrect either on purpose or because of some mistakes in assessing a situation.  An unreliable narrator can increase the true-to-life aspect of a work (which tends to make things more interesting) because of how humans are far from perfect and can, too, be prone to lying and being incorrect.