ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Often used in horror or mystery, an unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator of a story whose words the reader is not meant to take at face value. The narrator may be deliberately lying or their words may be influenced by unconscious bias or delusions.

Detailed explanation-2: -One of these classifications of the “unreliable” narrator is that of the “madman, ” a narrator who suffers from a severe mental illness, and this impairment hinders the narrator’s ability to tell their story correctly (Riggan 133).

Detailed explanation-3: -An unreliable narrator can be defined as any narrator who misleads readers, either deliberately or unwittingly. Many are unreliable through circumstances, character flaws or psychological difficulties. In some cases, a narrator withholds key information from readers, or they may deliberately lie or misdirect.

Detailed explanation-4: -The use of an unreliable narrator in a literary work achieves various effects for authors. In the Gothic genre particularly, unreliable narrators generally increase the common elements of suspense and or mystery found within Gothic literature.