Unreliable Narrator In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

This affect of creating characters who are unaware of how they are perceived by others is expertly shown in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The narrator of the story establishes that he too is also a character. In his book, even though he calls himself Chaucer, the reader should be cautious to take his words as his own opinion. In the Prologue the narrator depicts himself as an amicable character, but then he is blamed to be sullen. Relying on his memory, the narrator describes his impressions of the other pilgrims based on whether or not he likes them, and what specifically he chooses to remember, or not to remember. This method is referred to as a unreliable narrator. In the case of the "Pardoner" Chaucer's narrator is a very unreliable character.