Unreliable narrator 未删版.docx

Unreliable narrator 未删版.docx

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Unreliablenarrator未删版

Unreliablenarrator

Anunreliablenarratorisanarrator,whetherinliterature,film,ortheatre,whosecredibilityhasbeenseriouslycompromised.[1]Thetermwascoinedin1961byWayneC.BoothinTheRhetoricofFiction.[2]Thisnarrativemodeisonethatcanbedevelopedbyanauthorforanumberofreasons,usuallytodeceivethereaderoraudience.[1]Unreliablenarratorsareusuallyfirst-personnarrators,butthird-personnarratorscanalsobeunreliable.

Thenatureofthenarratorissometimesimmediatelyclear.Forinstance,astorymayopenwiththenarratormakingaplainlyfalseordelusionalclaimoradmittingtobeingseverelymentallyill,orthestoryitselfmayhaveaframeinwhichthenarratorappearsasacharacter,withcluestohisunreliability.Amoredramaticuseofthedevicedelaystherevelationuntilnearthestory'send.Thistwistendingforcesthereadertoreconsidertheirpointofviewandexperienceofthestory.Insomecasesthenarrator'sunreliabilityisneverfullyrevealedbutonlyhintedat,leavingthereadertowonderhowmuchthenarratorshouldbetrustedandhowthestoryshouldbeinterpreted.

Historicalnovels,speculativefiction,andclearlydelineateddreamsequencesaregenerallynotconsideredinstancesofunreliablenarration,eventhoughtheydescribeeventsthatdidnotorcouldnothappen.

Contents

∙1Examplesofunreliablenarrators

o1.1Historicaloccurrences

o1.2Novels

▪1.2.1TypesofUnreliableNarrators

o1.3Films

o1.4Television

o1.5Comics

∙2Notableworksfeaturingunreliablenarrators

∙3References

o3.1Footnotes

o3.2Textbook

o3.3Externallinks

[edit]Examplesofunreliablenarrators

[edit]Historicaloccurrences

OneoftheearliestusesofunreliabilityinliteratureisPlautus'comedyMilesGloriosus（2-3centuryBC）whichfeaturesabraggstersoldierwhoconstantlyembellisheshisaccomplishments.Theliterarydeviceofthe"unreliablenarrator"wasusedinseveralmedievalfictionalArabictalesoftheOneThousandandOneNights,alsoknownastheArabianNights.[3]Inonetale,"TheSevenViziers",acourtesanaccusesaking'ssonofhavingassaultedher,wheninrealityshehadfailedtoseducehim（inspiredbytheQur'anic/BiblicalstoryofYusuf/Joseph）.Sevenviziersattempttosavehislifebynarratingsevenstoriestoprovetheunreliabilityofthecourtesan,andthecourtesanrespondsbynarratingastorytoprovetheunreliabilityoftheviziers.[4]TheunreliablenarratordeviceisalsousedtogeneratesuspenseinanotherArabianNightstale,"TheThreeApples",anearlymurdermystery.Atonepointofthestory,twomenclaimtobethemurderer,oneofwhomisrevealedtobelying.Atanotherpointinthestory,inaflashbackshowingthereasonsforthemurder,itisrevealedthatanunreliablenarratorconvincedthemanofhiswife'sinfidelity,thusleadingtohermurder.[5]

AnotherearlyexampleofunreliablenarrationisGeoffreyChaucer'sTheCanterburyTales.In"TheMerchant'sTale"forexample,thenarrator,beingunhappyinhismarriage,allowshismisogynisticbiastoslantmuchofhistale.In"TheWifeofBath",theWifeoftenmakesinaccuratequotationsandincorrectlyremembersstories.

[edit]Novels

WilkieCollins'earlydetectivestoryTheMoonstone（1868）isanearlyexampleoftheunreliablenarratorincrimefiction.Theplotofthenovelunfoldsthroughseveralnarrativesbydifferentcharacters,whichcontradicteachotherandrevealthebiasesofthenarrators.AcontroversialexampleofanunreliablenarratoroccursinAgathaChristie'snovelTheMurderofRogerAckroyd,wherethenarratorhidesessentialtruthsinthetext（mainlythroughevasion,omission,andobfuscation）withouteverovertlylying.Manyreadersatthetimefeltthattheplottwistattheclimaxofthenovelwasneverthelessunfair.Christieusedtheconceptagaininher1967novelEndlessNight.

Manynovelsarenarratedbychildren,whoseinexperiencecanimpairtheirjudgmentandmakethemunreliable.InAdventuresofHuckleberryFinn（1884）,Huck'sinnocenceleadshimtomakeoverlycharitablejudgmentsaboutthecharactersinthenovel.

KenKesey'stwomostfamousnovelsfeatureunreliablenarrators."Chief"BromdeninOneFlewOvertheCuckoo'sNestsuffersfromschizophrenia,andhistellingoftheeventsoftenincludesthingssuchaspeoplegrowingorshrinking,wallsoozingwithslime,ortheorderlieskidnappingand"curing"SantaClaus.NarrationinSometimesaGreatNotionswitchesbetweenseveralofthemaincharacters,whosebiastendstoswitchthereader'ssympathiesfromonepersontoanother,especiallyintherivalrybetweenmaincharacterLelandandHankStamper.ManyofSusanHowatch'snovelssimilarlyusethistechnique;eachchapterisnarratedbyadifferentcharacter,andonlyafterreadingchaptersbyeachofthenarratorsdoesthereaderrealizeeachofthenarratorshasbiasesand"blindspots"thatcausethemtoperceivesharedexperiencesdifferently.

HumbertHumbert,themaincharacterandnarratorofVladimirNabokov'sLolita,oftentellsthestoryinsuchawayastojustifyhispedophilicfixationonyounggirls,inparticularhissexualrelationshipwithhis12-year-oldstepdaughter.Similarly,thenarratorofA.M.Homes'TheEndofAlicedeliberatelywithholdsthefullstoryofthecrimethatputhiminprison–therapeofayounggirl,andsubsequentmurderofaman–untiltheendofthenovel.

Insomeinstances,unreliablenarrationcanbringaboutthefantasticinworksoffiction.InKingsleyAmis'TheGreenMan,forexample,theunreliabilityofthenarratorMauriceAllingtondestabilizestheboundariesbetweenrealityandthefantastic.ThesameappliestoNigelWilliams'sWitchcraft.[6]AnInstanceoftheFingerpostbyIainPearsalsoemploysseveralpointsofviewfromnarratorswhoseaccountsarefoundtobeunreliableandinconflictwitheachother.[7]

MikeEngleby,thenarratorofSebastianFaulks'Engleby,leadsthereadertobelieveaversionofeventsofhislifethatisshowntobeincreasinglyatoddswithreality.[8]

ZenoCosini,thenarratorofItaloSvevo'sZeno'sConscience,isatypicalexampleofunreliablenarrator:

infactthenovelispresentedasadiaryofZenohimself,whounintentionallydistortsthefactstojustifyhisfaults.Hispsychiatrist,whopublishesthediary,claimsintheintroductionthatit'samixoftruthsandlies.[9]

[edit]TypesofUnreliableNarrators

Attemptshavebeenmadeataclassificationofunreliablenarrators[10]WilliamRiggananalysedinhisstudydiscernabletypesofunreliablenarrators,focusingonthefirst-personnarratorasthisisthemostcommonkindofunreliablenarration.Adaptedfromhisfindingsisthefollowinglist:

∙ThePícaro:

anarratorwhoischaracterizedbyexaggerationandbragging.ThefirstexampleprobablybeingthesoldierinPlautus’comedyMilesGloriosus.ExamplesinmodernliteratureareMollFlanders,SimpliciusSimplicissimusorFelixKrull.

∙TheMadman:

Anarratorwhohasseverementalillnesssuchaschizophreniaorparanoia.ExamplesincludePoe’sMontresorin'TheCaskofAmontillado’orBarbaraCovettinNotesonaScandal.

∙TheClown:

Anarratorwhodoesnottakenarrationsseriouslyandconsciouslyplayswithconventions,truthandthereader’sexpectations.AgoodexampleisTristramShandy.

∙TheNaíf:

Anarratorwhoseperceptionisimmatureorlimitedthroughtheirpointofview.ExamplesincludeHuckleberryFinnorHoldenCaulfield.

Thistypologyissurelynotexhaustiveandcannotclaimtocoverthewholespectrumofunreliablenarrationinitsentiretyorevenonlythefirst-personnarrator.Furtherresearchinthisareahasbeencalledfor[11]

Italsostillremainsamatterofdebatewhetherandhowanonfirst-personnarratorcanbeunreliable.

[edit]Films

OneoftheearliestexamplesoftheuseofanunreliablenarratorinfilmistheGermanexpressionistfilmTheCabinetofDr.Caligari,from1920.[12]Inthisfilm,anepiloguetothemainstoryisatwistendingrevealingthatFrancis,throughwhoseeyesweseetheaction,isapatientinaninsaneasylum,andtheflashbackwhichformsthemajorityofthefilmissimplyhismentaldelusion.Amuchmorerecentfilm（andplay）touseasimilarplotdeviceisAmadeus.ThistaleisnarratedbyanelderlyAntonioSalierifromaninsaneasylum,whereheclaimstohavemurderedhisrival,WolfgangAmadeusMozart.Itisleftunclearwhetherthestoryactuallyhappened,orwhetheritistheproductofSalieri'sdelusions.

InCitizenKane（1941）,thestoryofCharlesFosterKaneistoldbyfivedifferentacquaintancesofhis,eachwithvaryingopinionsofthecharacter.

Inthe1996film,CourageUnderFire,DenzelWashington'scharacteristaskedwithresearchingtheeventsrelatedtoaposthumousMedalofHonornominationforafemalehelicopterpilot（playedbyMegRyan）.Theresearchinvolvesgettingaccountsoftheeventsfromtheotherpeoplepresent,othermilitarymemberswhosurvived.Theiraccountsareseenasflashbacksandwhilethebasicfactsarethesameineachmemory,thedetailsvarygreatly.

The1945filmnoirDetouristoldfromtheperspectiveofanunreliableprotagonistwhomaybetryingtojustifyhisactions.[13][14][15]

InPossessed（1947）,JoanCrawfordplaysawomanwhoistakentoapsychiatrichospitalinastateofshock.Shegraduallytellsthestoryofhowshecametobetheretoherdoctors,whichisrelatedtotheaudienceinflashbacks,someofwhicharelaterrevealedtobehallucinationsordistortedbyparanoia.[16]

ThefilmRashomon（1950）,adaptedfromInaGrove（1921）,usesmultiplenarratorstotellthestoryofthedeathofasamurai.Eachofthewitnessesdescribethesamebasiceventsbutd