Unreliable Narrators

Unreliable Narrators
Imogen Roscoe
Mr. Doubt
Block: B
Unreliable narrators are characters that are dotted around in the book to create a personality whose validity is compromised. Authors form this idea to produce, usually a deliberate effort to mislead the reader or to mask what will later be revealed. In this particular story Mr. Stevens seems to be too self involved, after being told that Miss. Kenton’s’ aunt had just recently passed away as he offered no sympathy. By the time he had finished being self indulgent he thought he should offer his condolences but his time was wasted on thinking about himself and he was too late. At the end of the passage Mr. Stevens goes onto talk about being on the lookout for when he will next see her that he should offer his sympathy. But was that really his intention for trying to find her again? No, as the story goes on we then disclose Miss. Kenton wanted more from her master and showed him more than just friendship which Mr. Steven’s turned a blind eye to. His goal for finding her was to try and cover up the patches that were left between them after Mr. Steven’s rejected her. At the beginning Steven’s is portrayed as a kind hearted man but later when he next runs into her, his choice about offering his condolences to her go straight out the window and passes his judgment on her supervision over the two new maidservants. Steven’s then realized that he had mixed these two stories up and was in fact when he embarrassed her by rejecting her love for him and that was the reason he thought for her crying behind the closed door.