Narrator

What types of narrators are there? The first major distinction critics make about narrators is by person:

a FIRST PERSON narrator is an "I" (occasionally a "we") who speaks from her/his subject position. That narrator is usually a character in the story, who interacts with other characters; we see those interactions through the narrator's eyes, and we can't know anything the narrator doesn't know.

a SECOND PERSON narrator speaks in "you." This is an extremely rare case in American literature, although we will read a few examples.

a THIRD PERSON narrator is not a figure in the story, but an "observer" who is outside the action being described. A third-person narrator might be omniscient (ie, able to tell what all the characters are thinking), but that is not always the case. Third-person narration may also be focalized through a particular character, meaning that the narrator tells us how that character sees the world, but can't, or at least doesn't, read the mind of all the characters this way.




The role of the narrator is integral to the success of our narrative, the narrator is somewhat outside the cast, in the main observing rather than taking part in the action of the story. What can the way in which the narrator relays the story give us an insight into the persona of the narrator? In many ways the narrator seems to be in a place of authority as it is he/she who decides what parts of the story are revealed to us.

One example that came to mind (though certainly not resolved) is the boy who narrates in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" , Mark Haddon. The 15 year old relays in minute detail the story even though much of it is beyond the realm of his understanding. But what, I found myself asking would happen if the narrator either was unable to tell the story or chose not to? Is it possible to have an untruthful narrator?

Perhaps most importantly, why is the narrator bothering to tell the story at all?


image via hello friend