Unreliable Narrator
Literary Devices
Advanced
📝 Quick Definition
A narrator whose credibility is compromised
📚 Detailed Explanation
An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is questionable or compromised. This can be due to mental illness, bias, limited knowledge, deliberate deception, or other factors that make their account suspect.
💡 Example
The narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart, Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye.
⚠️ Common Mistake/Confusion
Reader must question narrator's version of events.
🏷️ Tags
📌 Notes/Source
Creates ambiguity and engages readers in active interpretation.