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Narrator Story Authors Readers Unreliable Character Tells Make

Id ESLPod_0752_CN
Episode Id ESLPod 752
Episode Title Working With Unreliable People
Title The Unreliable Narrator
Text

A "narrator" is the character or person who tells the story in a book, show, or play. A "first-person narrator" is a character in the story who tells the story from his or her perspective, using the word "I." A "third-person narrator" is an "observer" (someone who sees what is happening, but does not participate in the action). A third-person narrator can be "omniscient" (knowing everything about what is happening and why, including what other characters think) or "focalized" (presenting information about a particular character, but unaware of other characters' thoughts).

Narrators can also be "reliable" (dependable; able to be trusted) or "unreliable." Some authors use "unreliable narrators" to "deceive" (trick; make someone believe something that is not true) the readers. This is often used in "mysteries" (stories where the readers wonder who did something and why, and do not find out until the end).

Sometimes the unreliability of the narrator is "clear" (obvious) at the beginning of the story, because what the narrator says obviously cannot be true. But in other cases authors make the narrator's unreliability "apparent" (able to be seen) only later in the book. This "revelation" (realization; something that shows the truth) changes how the readers "interpret" (understand) the part of the story that they have already read, since it was presented by a narrator whom they now understand to be unreliable.

Sometimes it isn't clear whether a narrator is reliable or not. Authors can use this technique to leave their readers "questioning" (wondering what is true) the narrator's reliability. This might create a sense of mystery and allow their writing to be interpreted in one or more ways.

Topics Business

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