Unreliable Narrator

According to the video, "an unreliable narrator is one who perceives and/or presents the events of a story in a way that is either skewed or disconnected" from what's really happening.

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​An unreliable narrator is a 1st person narrator who is UNTRUSTWORTHY.​

​Reliable Narrators

... are narrators that the reader can trust. They are honest, accurate, and aware of their both surroundings and what is happening to them. For these reasons, most authors use reliable narrators in their stories!

Unreliable Narrators

... are narrators that the reader cannot trust. For one reason or another, unreliable narrators do not tell the reader the most accurate information about what is happening.

A narrator may be unreliable for many reasons, but some of the most common reasons are...

Why use an unreliable narrator?

• Unreliable narrators are often found in mysteries such as crime stories because they cause the reader to question what really happened.

• For these reasons, this is Edgar Allan Poe's most favorite narrative technique!

Watch the next few videos then answer the questions that follow!

Multiple Choice

In that clip from Forrest Gump, why was the narrator unreliable?

• He had low intelligence/was very innocent

• He was lying as he told the story

• He was mad or clinically insane

• He was biased towards another character

Multiple Choice

Based on that clip from Liar Liar, why might the protagonist (Mr. Reede) be considered unreliable?

• He is lying to everyone he speaks to

• He is mad or clinically insane

• He is too young to know what's really going on

• He is hallucinating

Multiple Choice

In that clip from ET, the older brother, Michael, does not believe a word his brother is saying. Why does he assume that his brother, Elliott, is unreliable at first?

• He thinks Elliott is too young to know what he is talking about

• He thinks Elliott has a grudge towards him

• He thinks Elliott is narcissistic (full of himself)

• He thinks Elliott is lying to him

Multiple Choice

In that clip from The Office, why can the viewer infer that Michael Scott is unreliable?

• He is narcissistic (full of himself)

• He is mad or clinically insane

• He suffers from dementia or hallucinations

• He is too young to know what's really going on