The Many Faces of the Unreliable Narrator
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The Many Faces of the Unreliable Narrator: An Analysis and Typology of Young Adult Novels and their Narrators by Lacey Hall B.A., The University of Fraser Valley, 2014 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Children’s Literature) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) June 2018 © Lacey Hall, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: The Many Faces of the Unreliable Narrator: An Analysis and Typology of Young Adult Novels and their Narrators submitted by Lacey Hall in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Children’s Literature Examining Committee: Carl Leggo, Language and Literacy Education Supervisor Rick Gooding, English Supervisory Committee Member Margot Filipenko, Language and Literacy Education Supervisory Committee Member ii Abstract This thesis examines the style of unreliable narration, through the analysis of three young adult novels: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman. Drawing on Theresa Heyd’s theories on detection and classification of unreliable narration using the Gricean maxims, this study sets out to demonstrate how unreliable narration is defined and to highlight the degree of intentionality each narrator possesses. This study also gives attention to the real author of each text, in order to combat the outdated and over studied ‘implied author’ previous research has focused on. This research highlights the narrative technique, while adding to the limited number of resources available on unreliable narration within children’s literature. iii Lay Summary Unreliable narration is a narrative technique that is comprised of the narrator lying or omitting the truth in his or her recount of the story he or she tells. Using Theresa Heyd’s theories, I examine three teen novels: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, and Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman. In my thesis, I outline the ways by which to detect a narrator’s lies, as well as the various reasons why the narrator may be lying, including limited life experience and mental illness. I also credit Chbosky, Lockhart and Shusterman for constructing each narrator, in an attempt to recognize the real author behind each work. iv Preface This thesis is the original, unpublished, independent work of the author, Lacey Hall, as a partial requirement of the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program at the University of British Columbia. Figures 1, 2 and 3 are used with permission from applicable sources and are cited from Heyd, Theresa. “Understanding and Handling Unreliable Narratives: A Pragmatic Model and Method.” Semiotica: Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies/Revue de l'Association Internationale de Sémiotique, vol. 162, no. 1-4, 2006, pp. 217-243 doi:10.1515/SEM.2006.078. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ............................................................................................................................... iv Preface ............................................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... x Dedication ..................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation for the Study .................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Purpose of and Questions for the Study ............................................................................. 3 1.3 Rationale and Criteria for Primary Text Selection ............................................................. 5 1.4 The Significance of the Study ............................................................................................ 8 1.5 Overview of Chapters ....................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Detecting and Defining the Unreliable Narrator .............................................................. 13 2.1.1 Grice’s Cooperative Principle and Maxims .............................................................. 21 2.1.2 The Many Forms and Faces of the Unreliable Narrator ............................................ 23 2.1.3 Intentionality ............................................................................................................. 30 Chapter 3: Methodology ............................................................................................................. 34 vi Chapter 4: The Perks of Being a Wallflower ............................................................................. 36 4.1 Violating the Quantity Maxim ......................................................................................... 36 4.2 The Downside of Being a Wallflower .............................................................................. 41 4.3 Sam ................................................................................................................................... 44 4.4 The Struggle Between Child and Adult ........................................................................... 51 4.5 Mental Health ................................................................................................................... 58 4.6 Intentionality and the Real Author ................................................................................... 65 Chapter 5: We Were Liars .......................................................................................................... 72 5.1 Post Traumatic Amnesia .................................................................................................. 73 5.2 Literal Writings ................................................................................................................ 82 5.3 Family Dynamics ............................................................................................................. 84 5.4 Intentionality and the Real Author ................................................................................... 91 Chapter 6: Challenger Deep ....................................................................................................... 97 6.1 Reality: Paranoia, Delusions and ‘You’ ........................................................................... 98 6.2 Oh Captain, My Captain…of my Hallucinations ........................................................... 101 6.3 Blending of Worlds ........................................................................................................ 107 6.4 Intentionality and the Real Author ................................................................................. 110 Chapter 7: Conclusion and Discussions .................................................................................. 114 7.1 Summary of Findings ..................................................................................................... 114 7.2 Limitations and Areas for Further Research .................................................................. 117 7.2.1 Lack of Scholarship ................................................................................................. 117 7.2.2 Reader Subjectivity ................................................................................................. 117 vii 7.2.3 Fluctuation of Unreliability ..................................................................................... 119 7.2.4 The Reliable Character ............................................................................................ 119 7.3 Concluding Thoughts ..................................................................................................... 121 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................... 123 viii List of Figures Figure 1. Communicative Model Depicting Dual Framework (Heyd) .................................... 19 Figure 2. Outline of Communicative Structure of Unreliable Narration (Heyd) ...................... 23 Figure 3. Scale of Intentionality and Unreliability (Heyd) ....................................................... 31 ix Acknowledgements I offer my utmost gratitude to Dr. Carl Leggo, whose gentle guidance and vast knowledge provided the support needed in the creation of this work. Thank you also to the other members of my committee, Dr. Rick Gooding and