Usually when you open a book and you’re embarking on a new adventure, you believe what the narrator tells you is true. But this is not always the case. Authors use a range of literary devices to build impactful moments, add twists, and create conflict. One of these is the unreliable narrator.
Telling a story from an unreliable narrator’s perspective can be tricky for some writers. In this article, I’ll explain what this storytelling trope is, what purpose it serves in writing, give some examples, and offer you a Story Weapon to help keep your readers on their toes.
An unreliable narrator is a storyteller whose account of events is deceptive, subjective, or flawed (intentionally or not), creating ambiguity and tension in a story. Using this device allows you to craft complex characters, engage your readers’ curiosity in deciphering what’s true, and set up surprising twists that challenge our perceptions of reality.
What is an unreliable narrator?
An unreliable narrator is a storyteller who can’t be fully trusted. The credibility of the story they are telling is compromised. Their perception of events is not objective, and they can withhold information from the reader. This narrator might truly believe their version of events, or be purposefully lying to mislead their audience. Unreliable narrators are most commonly found in stories told from the first-person point of view.
The phrase “unreliable narrator” was first coined by Wayne C. Booth in his book, The Rhetoric of Fiction. However, this literary device was in use for quite some time before Booth’s book was published in 1961. You can find unreliable narrators all the way back in Chaucer’s collection of The Canterbury Tales, and even some Greco-Roman plays.
How is it different from other narration styles?
This type of narration is quite different from other narration styles, which often depict limited points of view or naivety. For instance, in a limited point of view, the narrator only has access to their own perspective. Since they don’t know everything, their knowledge is incomplete, but they don’t lie to or mislead the reader. It’s fairly common to have different chapters devoted to specific characters to tell things from their points of view, such as in the Game of Thrones novels.
Similarly, in the case of the naïve narrator, they are often limited in their authenticity due to innocence or ignorance. In these stories, the narrator tells the story with a sincere intent, but lacks the knowledge or maturity to interpret them correctly. An example of this would be Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. In it, she recounts events with childlike honesty, but is not mature enough to grasp the racial nuance.
Key characteristics of an unreliable narrator
- Deliberate or unintentional deception: The narrator lies, either intentionally or unintentionally, to the reader. This is the defining characteristic of unreliable narrators.
- Subjectivity: Events are presented through their eyes. This means the reader experiences the personal experiences and interpretations of the narrator rather than an objective reality.
- Flawed individuals: Unreliable narrators are not perfect, but often hide some insecurity or flaw. This is often the reason why they lie or deceive the reader.
- Exaggeration of events: These narrators often exaggerate or embellish events and twist or distort their meaning to suit their personal agenda. They also do it to make up for their flaws.
- A deteriorating mental state: Unreliable narrators sometimes grapple with a deteriorating mental state, which affects how they perceive events.
Why use an unreliable narrator?
While at first, it might seem counterproductive to deceive your readers, there is a deeper meaning behind this trope. These narrators see life in subjective terms, just like we do. We’re only human. We allow our biases, values, perspectives, and even shame to color our lives and recollection of past events. In essence, we’re all slightly divorced from reality, and unreliable narrators help explore this nuance.
There are plenty of reasons why a narrator might lie to the audience. They might be guilty of a crime and are trying to mislead the readers as well as other characters. In some stories, they are portrayed as insane, or children misunderstanding the events they are talking about. Regardless of the reasons, it can add an engaging fold to a story to have an unreliable narrator, and it can set up a fantastic twist later on.
Writers choose to use this trope for a multitude of reasons. Here are a few:
- They help create complex characters. Exploring the reasons why the narrator’s version of events can’t be trusted allows the author to write deep and complex characters with diverse personalities.
- They keep readers engaged with the story. Unreliable narrators create tension and keep the audience guessing about their true motivations. This makes the reader more incentivized to read between the lines and decipher the character’s intentions.
- They create conflict between readers and the protagonist. One of the most unique things about the unreliable narrator trope is that it can cause conflict not just among the characters, but also between the reader and the protagonist themselves. When the narrator is unreliable, we might feel misled or wronged. However, it also creates intrigue, and invites questions about who we are and why we feel the way we do.
- They have potential for a great twist. Unreliable narrators create a lot of setup for their eventual reveal. While initially, readers might take the narrator’s word for it, over time, they might find themselves questioning the facts of the story. The twist where they are finally shown to be deceitful is a great exercise in writing and can be cathartic for the reader.
Examples of the unreliable narrator
There are various examples of unreliable narrators across movies, books, and fiction in general. Let’s examine a few of them.
Pi Patel in Life of Pi
The Life of Pi tells the story of Pi Patel, who recounts his experience of surviving at sea with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The story blurs the line between reality and imagination as Pi’s account is unreliable, stemming from his need to cope with the trauma of losing his family. His fantastical account could be interpreted as a psychological defense mechanism, giving his suffering some deeper meaning.
Patrick Bateman in American Psycho
Patrick Bateman, a wealthy Wall Street banker, has a life filled with contradictions and subjective interpretations. His mental instability makes it unclear which of his horrific crimes actually happened, and this uncertainty creates unease in the reader. Patrick’s delusions reflect themes of identity, alienation, and the emptiness of consumer culture.
The Narrator in Fight Club
In Fight Club, the narrator talks about his descent into insomnia, disillusionment, and the creation of the Fight Club. In his story, he is accompanied by a friend of his called Tyler Durden, but the major twist in the story is when the audience realizes that Tyler never existed. He was just a projection of the narrator’s fractured psyche.
Nick and Amy Dunne in Gone Girl
The husband-and-wife duo of Nick and Amy Dunne are at constant war. Their opposite accounts are at odds with each other and the truth. Both of them deliberately mislead the audience. Nick hides the truth about his affair while Amy fabricates her diary entries to paint herself as an abused victim.
Your story weapon: Be subtle in your narrator’s unreliability
As mentioned in the above examples, the untrustworthiness of a character is often linked to their psychology, such as trauma, mental illness, obsession, etc. This gives an opportunity to create drama, and even sympathy by putting the reader in the shoes of someone who suffers from these conditions.
Unreliable narrators give a space for layered storytelling and ambiguity. You can create a detailed story that is rife with contradictions and inconsistencies, sort of like real life.
It can, however, easily become frustrating for readers if they are not sure who to believe. Some writers establish trust initially and leave breadcrumbs for the readers to follow. This then slowly drives the tension further and leads to a cathartic twist.
Use subtle clues to hint at the unreliable narrator’s account of events and keep your readers engaged until the end.
Are you using an unreliable narrator in your story? Map out the key beats of your narrator’s slowly unraveling deception in my next Story Day or 30-Day Outline workshop.
