Character TrialAn Activity on Unreliable Narrators

First-person narrators are notoriously unreliable.

In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” &

Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator’s reliability is questionable.

In this activity, you will explore one of the narrators and weigh the evidence to decide whether or not the narrator can be trusted.

Directions:1. Select one short story (“A Rose for Emily,” “Why I live at the PO” or “The Tell-Tale Heart”) to analyze. 2. Then answer the three questions below. 3. Find quotes from the story as evidence to support your responses to each section of the worksheet.4. Look at all the evidence to make your final decision about the narrator’s reliability.

Name of Story:_________________________________________________________

1. For what reason do you believe the narrator is telling the story? (This is the character’s reason for talking – not the author’s reason.)

2. Give examples where the narrator is unreliable.

3. Give examples where the narrator is reliable.

4. Review all of your notes. Overall, do you think the narrator is reliable or unreliable? 

Reliable Unreliable

Warm – Up Exercise

You do not have to turn this in.

You will use this writing for the next activity

(which you will turn in).

Now that you have made a decision about the

narrator, we are going to do a bit of role playing.

We are going to pretend that we are all licensed psychologists. The narrators we have just analyzed

have testified in a court of law. The court now wants you to tell the jury whether or not to believe the

narrator’s testimony. You will use what you just wrote to convince the jury whether or not to dismiss the

narrator’s statement as evidence in the court case.

You will only have to do 1 of the speeches (not all)!

If you chose “A Rose for Emily” read this page. If not, go to the

next page.Did you decide the narrator was unreliable? If yes, use the directions below. If not, go to the next page.

Your narrator took the stands as a witness. He (or she) told the jury evidence that may condemn Miss Emily for the crime of murdering Homer Baron. The law firm, Jacob & Lawrence, which has been hired to defend Miss Emily Grierson has hired you. It is your job to prove to the court that the narrator is not a reliable witness and anything he (or she) said against your client, Miss Emily Grierson, should be dismissed.

You must make a speech to the jury about the witness’ reliability. Your statement must open with your verdict that the narrator is unreliable, followed by a list of proof why you think the narrator is unreliable (use your writing from the previous activity), and conclude by telling the jury they should not listen to the narrator’s statements.

If you chose “A Rose for Emily” read this page. If not, go to the

next page.

Did you decide the narrator was reliable? If yes, use the directions below. If not, go back to the previous page.

Your narrator is being called to the stands as a witness in the trial for the murder of Homer Baron. He (or she) told the jury evidence that may condemn Miss Emily for the crimes of murdering Homer Baron. You were hired by the state district attorney’s office. They are trying to prosecute Miss Emily Grierson. It is your job to prove to the court that the narrator is a reliable witness and is capable of taking the stand to testify against Miss Emily Grierson.

You must make a speech to the jury about the witness’ reliability. Your statement must open with your verdict stating that the witness is reliable, followed by a list of proof why you think he (or she) is reliable (using what you just wrote), and conclude by telling the jury they should allow the narrator to take the stand and testify.

If you chose “The Tell Tale Heart” read this page. If not, go to the

next page.Did you decide the narrator was unreliable? If yes, use the directions below. If not, go to the next page.

Your narrator is being tried for murder in the first degree. You represent the law firm, Jacob & Lawrence, which has been hired to defend the narrator. It is your job to prove to the court that the narrator is not a reliable witness and should not stand trial. You are arguing that your character should be declared insane and committed to a mental institute.

You must make a speech to the jury about the witness’ reliability. Your statement must open with your verdict that the witness is not reliable, followed by a list of proof why you think he is unreliable (using what you just wrote), and conclude by telling the jury they should commit the narrator to a mental institute.

If you chose “The Tell-Tale Heart” read this page. If not, go to the

next page.Did you decide the narrator was reliable? If yes, use the directions below. If not, go back to the previous page.

Your narrator is being tried for murder in the first degree. You represent the state district attorney’s office which has been hired to prosecute the narrator. It is your job to prove to the court that the narrator is not insane and is competent to stand trial and not be committed to a mental institute.

You must make a speech to the jury about the witness’ reliability. Your statement must open with your verdict that the narrator is sane due to his obvious intellect and careful planning, followed by a list of proof for why you think he is sane (using what you just wrote), and conclude by telling the jury they should allow this narrator to stand trial and not be committed to a mental institute.

If you chose “Why I live at the P.O.” read this page. If not, go to

the next page.Did you decide the narrator was unreliable? If yes, use the directions below. If not, go to the next page.

The US post office discovered Sister was living at the post office. You are working for the defense attorney who is trying to convict Sister of trespassing and the theft of government property. In her defense, she has taken the stand and told her story. It is your job to convince the jury that Sister is unreliable and not telling the truth.

You must make a speech to the jury about the witness’ reliability. Your statement must open with your verdict that Sister is not reliable, followed by a list of proof why you think she is not telling the truth (using what you just wrote), and conclude by telling the jury they should disregard anything that Sister told them.

If you chose “Why I live at the P.O.” read this page. If not, go to the next page.

Did you decide the narrator was reliable? If yes, use the directions below. If not, go back to the previous page.

The US post office discovered Sister was living at the post office. They are going to try her for trespassing. In her defense, she has taken the stand and told her story. It is your job to convince the jury that Sister is reliable and telling the truth.

You must make a speech to the jury about the witness’ reliability. Your statement must open with your verdict that the narrator is telling the truth, followed by a list of proof for why you think she is reliable (using what you just wrote), and conclude by telling the jury they should not disregard what Sister told them.

Turn in your speech.Go to the “Assignments” link on the left hand tool bar.Submit your work under “Chapter 2 Activity #2”

Hopefully, this was a fun activity

to help you become familiar with unreliable

narrators and to practice

analyzing how narrators function

within these specific readings.