Unreliable Narrators - Essay Example

Unreliable narrator Introduction Different employ different methodologies in their literal works in the goal of captivating their audience. This difference is artistic style makes the respective author’s work unique and captivating. One of these distinctive styles is the use of confessions by a narrator. This is characterized by the description of a narrator’s life by confessing inner feelings and attitudes. The reader is normally thrust into the personal world of the narrator. However, this style is more often than not unreliable. This is hinged on the untrustworthiness of the source of information. In most of the cases, the narrator is an individual with addictions or personal issues that they are yet to effectively comprehend. This will be exemplified by the three classical texts that I will endeavor to employ in the illustration of the nature of an unreliable narrator. These three texts are "Emergency" by Denis Johnson, "Off" by Aimee Bender and "Beach" by Roberto Bolano. Each text would be analyzed on its own while illustrating the flaws of the narrators who are rendering them unreliable. Subsequently, a comparison of the traits of all these three authors will be made. Finally, the authors will be contrasted with each other. The first text that I am going to analyze is “Emergency” by Denis Johnson. The realization that the central character is known as Fuckhead immediately confirms the theory of an unreliable narrator. I am of the opinion that once a story is narrated by an individual called Fuckhead, all reliability and trust is thrown out of the window. This is further compounded by the fact that the narrator is a constant drug abuser. As such, his account of events is suspect. Additionally, the narrator’s friend is also a drug abuser called Georgie. This friend, we are told he steals pills from the cabinet at the hospital and also comes to work drunk. If this is the nature of friends the narrator entertains, then I can conclude that he can only be akin to Georgie; a drunkard and an addict. The narrator’s constant drug use is illustrated when he gives a description of the nature of drugs he took from Georgie (Johnson, 274). This constant use of drugs results incoherent and at times incomplete information. This is further coupled with incidences of clear hallucinations. This is best exemplified in the event when the two were driving aimlessly and stated hallucinating about winter. This is contrary to the setting of the text which is clearly in summer. The core feature that I wish to elucidate is the manner in which the unreliable narrator is able to see other individuals as the ones with the problems. They are apparently blind to their own shortcomings. In this instance, Fuckhead thinks that he is different from Georgie. He perceives Georgie as the social misfit. As such, this unreliable narrator is hypocritical in nature. However, in the end, the narrator comes to an awakening. He realizes that he is not actually different from his friend. This is line with storylines with unreliable narrators who more often than not come to an awakening at the end. The second text is “Off” by Aimee bender. This story is set in a party. It is about an obnoxious girl who endeavors to kiss three different men by the end of the night. The narrator assumes the personality of the girl. The goal of kissing three different men by the end of the night is, according me, a rather trivial attempt to justify her existence. Just like Fuckhead in “Emergency”, she adopts the notion that she is okay and it is the rest of the people that are wrecked emotionally. This is best exemplified by her remark that her paintings were somewhat extraordinary and that she was by far the prettiest woman in the party. Her attempts to validate herself are further confirmed by her frequent jealousy of other woman at the party. Her actions bring out her materialistic and cynical nature. The narrator just like Fuckhead is judgmental and blind to their misgivings. However, at the end, the girl is depicted as a victim of her situation. She is seen to have true feelings for her ex-boyfriend Adam. This is unlike the narrator in emergency who does not exhibit any sort of feelings for anyone else other than himself. Although in comparison, both narrators come to an awakening albeit in different forms. The girl is awakened by her feelings for Adam while Fuckhead is awakened by his realization that he may not after all be different from Georgie. A significant contrast between these two narrators, I believe is sourced from the belief on indifference. Fuck head initially assumes that he is different from Georgie only to realize that they are not so different. However, in the case of the girl at the party, she is sure that she is different from all others. As such, she appreciates Adam for noticing this fact and ends up falling for him again (Bender, 116). The third text is "Beach" by Roberto Bolano. The narrator here is a struggling addict who is straining to kick out his addiction to heroine. I am of the opinion that he is struggling owing to his use of methadone. This is a drug that is used by addicts that have been unable to wholly master their addition. As such, I find it hard to rely on a narrator who has been unable to master and put his addiction in check. The empty nature of his life is depicted by his apparent lack of anything else to do except lazy-ing around for the entirety of the whole day (Bolano, 1). Additionally, the narrator is a lonesome individual. In the span of the story, which is about two weeks, there is no note of any sort of social interaction that characterized his life for that duration. His unreliable nature is further confirmed when he is unable to recall the exact period he has been coming to the beach. Akin to Fuckhead and the narrator in “Off” , Bolano also does not view himself as the one with the problem, rather he views the skinny man as the one who is about to die. This is confirmed by his reference of his head merely as a skull. He is oblivious of his own dire situation. Hallucination also characterize his life. He believes that once the old man eventually dies, there will be a tsunami and or a tidal wave. He constantly focuses on the deplorable state of the skinny man while ignoring his deplorable emotional state. Additionally, his judgmental nature is depicted by his assumption that the Russian girls were whores. This ascertains his nature of always having negative attitudes towards others. This is in line with the narrator in “Off” who is blunt and judgmental. However, in the end, he assumes a position similar to that of Fuckhead. He opens up that he is indeed a thirty five-year old guy who has nothing in his life. This awakening is facilitated by his forecasting of the thoughts of the wife of the skinny man. Again, this feature of awakening is discovered. Just like Fuckhead who attains awakening via Georgie, the girl at the party attains wakening via Adam, her ex-boyfriend, so does this narrator at the beach via the old woman. All these narrators, except for the narrator in “off”, are all unreliable and sympathetic. They all come to realize their error except for the girl. Conclusion All these narrators are unreliable. However, at the end of each story, I am convinced that they all found a new lease and look on life. Their respective awareness is enabled by an individual who is thought least probable to achieve so. Fuckhead and Bolano each source their unreliability primarily from their constant use of drugs. However, the narrator n “Off” sources her unreliability from her newly gained wealth that renders her incapable of effective social interactions. Work Cited Bender, Aimee. Willful Creatures: Stories. New York: Doubleday, 2005. Print. Roberto Bolano (Translated By Riley Hanick). Accessed on 25th March 2013 < [http://eyeshot.net/bolanobeach.html]. 25 March 2013>. Johnson, Denis. Jesus' Son: Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1992. Print. Read More