Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow the link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can explain how a narrator’s reliability affects a narrative and a reader’s understanding of events and characters. (Guide: “Why reliability matters”; Practice Question 9)
- I can name sources of unreliability: self-interest, bias, limited knowledge, emotional state, naivety. (Guide: “Sources of unreliability”; Practice Questions 3 and 5)
- I can explain that some narrators provide details that others cannot, and that multiple narrators may contradict each other. (Guide: “What narrators can and cannot know”; Practice Questions 4 and 8)
- I can tell a limited narrator from an unreliable one. (Guide: FAQs and “Sources of unreliability”; Practice Question 5)
Skills
- I can list signs of unreliability: self-contradiction, over-insistence, defensive address, mismatch of telling and showing, contradiction by others, gaps. (Guide: “Signs to look for”; Practice Questions 1, 2 and 3)
- I can use specific words or phrases as evidence of unreliability. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Questions 1 and 7)
- I can analyse two contradictory accounts by weighing vantage point, motive and other evidence. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Questions 4 and 8)
- I can write a paragraph that argues for a narrator’s unreliability with evidence. (Guide: Worked example 1 model sentence; Practice Question 7)
Reasoning
- I can explain why an unreliable narrator makes a story richer rather than empty. (Guide: “Common misconceptions”)
- I can argue that a contradiction is itself the point, when the text supports that reading. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Question 8)
- I can use a public-domain story, such as The Tell-Tale Heart or The Cask of Amontillado, to illustrate unreliability. (Guide: “Public-domain examples to learn from”; Practice Questions 1, 2, 6 and 9)
All ticked? Move on to the Topic 7.5 study guide, Symbol and Imagery in Fiction.