6.5 Narrative Techniques
Explore narrative point of view, unreliable narrators, foreshadowing, flashback, stream of consciousness and dialogue.
Narrative Techniques
Every story is a series of choices. The author must decide: Who tells the story? How is time organised? What does the reader know and when do they learn it? How much is said directly and how much is implied? These choices are called narrative techniques, and they shape the reader's entire experience.
Understanding narrative techniques serves two purposes for you as an English student:
1. As a reader and analyst: When you can identify how a story is told, you can write much more insightful literary analyses. Instead of just summarising what happens, you can explain why the author made specific choices and what effect those choices have on the reader.
2. As a writer: When you write your own creative texts — short stories, personal narratives, or exam tasks — you can make deliberate, conscious choices about narrative technique. This is what examiners mean when they say they want to see "awareness of literary devices."
In this chapter, you will study the most important narrative techniques: point of view, the unreliable narrator, foreshadowing, flashback, stream of consciousness, dialogue, and the crucial principle of "show, don't tell."
First person ("I")
The narrator is a character in the story, telling it from their own perspective.
- Pronouns: I, me, my, we
- Advantages: Creates intimacy and emotional connection. The reader sees through one character's eyes.
- Limitations: The reader can only know what the narrator knows, sees, and thinks. Everything is filtered through one perspective.
- Example: "I walked into the room and immediately sensed something was wrong. The chairs had been rearranged, and my notebook was missing."
Second person ("you")
The narrator addresses the reader directly, as if the reader is a character.
- Pronouns: you, your
- Effect: Creates an unusual, immersive experience. Makes the reader feel like a participant rather than an observer.
- Example: "You open the door. The room is dark. You reach for the light switch but your hand finds nothing."
- Rarely used for entire novels; more common in short stories, choose-your-own-adventure books, and experimental fiction.
Third person limited ("he/she/they")
An external narrator tells the story but stays close to one character's thoughts and feelings.
- Pronouns: he, she, they
- Effect: Combines the intimacy of first person with the flexibility of third person. The reader is close to one character but sees them from the outside.
- Example: "She walked into the room and immediately sensed something was wrong. Her heart began to race."
Third person omniscient ("he/she/they" — all-knowing)
An external narrator who knows everything — all characters' thoughts, feelings, past, and future.
- Effect: Gives the reader a god-like overview. Can shift between characters and reveal information no single character knows.
- Example: "She walked into the room, unaware that behind the curtain, her brother was hiding with a birthday cake. In the kitchen, their mother smiled, knowing the surprise would work perfectly."
An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose account of events cannot be fully trusted. The reader must "read between the lines" to figure out what is really happening.
Why might a narrator be unreliable?
1. Youth or naivety: A child narrator may describe events they do not fully understand. The reader sees more than the narrator does.
- Example: In Room by Emma Donoghue, a five-year-old describes captivity without understanding what it means.
2. Mental instability: A narrator with psychological issues may distort reality.
- Example: In The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator insists he is sane while describing increasingly irrational behaviour.
3. Self-deception: A narrator may lie to themselves (and therefore to the reader) to avoid painful truths.
- Example: A character claims "I'm fine with the breakup" while their actions clearly show they are devastated.
4. Deliberate lying: A narrator may intentionally mislead the reader to conceal guilt or create a false impression.
- Example: In Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, the diary entries are deliberately fabricated.
How do you detect an unreliable narrator?
- Their words contradict their actions
- Other characters react differently from what the narrator claims
- Details do not add up or change across the story
- The narrator has a motive to distort the truth
- The tone feels exaggerated, defensive, or evasive
Why do authors use unreliable narrators?
They create suspense, force the reader to think critically, and often deliver a powerful twist when the truth is revealed.
Authors rarely tell stories in simple chronological order. Foreshadowing and flashback are two techniques that play with time to create suspense, depth, and meaning.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is when the author gives hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story. It creates a feeling of anticipation, unease, or inevitability.
Types of foreshadowing:
- Direct foreshadowing: A clear warning or prediction. "If only I had known then what I know now, I would never have opened that door."
- Symbolic foreshadowing: Objects or images that hint at future events. A storm gathering on the horizon before a character's life falls apart.
- Dialogue foreshadowing: A character says something that gains new meaning later. "Don't worry — what's the worst that could happen?"
Flashback (analepsis)
A flashback interrupts the present narrative to show a scene from the past. It provides background, explains a character's motivation, or reveals information the reader needs to understand the present.
How flashbacks are signalled:
- A shift in verb tense (from past simple to past perfect): "She stared at the house. She had lived there as a child..."
- Trigger moments: A smell, sound, or image that reminds the character of the past
- Explicit time markers: "Twenty years earlier..."
Flash-forward (prolepsis)
Less common, this technique jumps ahead to show a future event before returning to the present. Creates dramatic irony when the reader knows what is coming but the character does not.
Why do these techniques matter?
They add layers of meaning to a story. Foreshadowing builds suspense. Flashbacks create empathy by showing a character's history. Together, they make narratives more complex and satisfying.
Telling: "She was nervous."
Showing: "She twisted the ring on her finger, her eyes darting to the clock every few seconds. When the door opened, she flinched."
Both communicate the same idea — but the "showing" version is more vivid, engaging, and convincing because the reader experiences the nervousness through specific details.
How to "show" effectively:
1. Use physical actions and body language
- Telling: "He was angry." Showing: "He slammed his fist on the table, rattling the coffee cups."
2. Use sensory details (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
- Telling: "The room was old and neglected." Showing: "The wallpaper peeled in long strips, and the air tasted of dust and damp wood."
3. Use dialogue to reveal character
- Telling: "She was sarcastic." Showing: "'Oh, brilliant plan,' she said, slow-clapping. 'Can't imagine how that could possibly go wrong.'"
4. Use the environment to reflect emotion (pathetic fallacy)
- Telling: "She was sad after the funeral." Showing: "Rain streaked the car window as she drove home. The wipers beat a slow, steady rhythm that matched nothing inside her."
When is "telling" acceptable?
- For transitions and time-passing: "Three months later, they moved to London."
- For minor details not worth expanding: "The meeting was uneventful."
- When pacing requires speed: In action scenes, brief "telling" can keep the pace fast.
The skill is knowing when to show and when to tell — not applying the rule blindly.
What is stream of consciousness, and how does it differ from regular first-person narration?
Regular first-person narration:
"I walked to school that morning feeling anxious about the test. I had studied, but I wasn't confident about the last chapter. The weather was grey and cold."
This is ordered, logical, and polished. Real thought is not like this.
Stream of consciousness version:
"Grey sky again like every morning this week and the test the test God I should have started studying earlier Chapter 7 was impossible why do they even put that in the exam cold hands forgot my gloves again Mum said don't forget but I was thinking about the test always the test and what if I blank what if I just sit there and nothing comes"
Key features of stream of consciousness:
- Minimal or no punctuation
- Sentence fragments and run-on sentences
- Rapid shifts between topics (just like real thought)
- Sensory impressions mixed with abstract thought
- Associations and jumps that reflect how memory and attention work
Interior monologue is similar but usually more structured — the character's thoughts are presented in complete sentences but still in a direct, internal voice.
Famous examples:
- James Joyce, Ulysses — the final chapter is 40+ pages without punctuation
- Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway — shifts between characters' inner worlds
- Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar — intense interior experience
When to use it in your own writing:
Stream of consciousness is effective for moments of high emotion, confusion, or introspection. A paragraph of stream-of-consciousness in an otherwise conventionally narrated story can create a powerful contrast.
How can dialogue serve multiple purposes in a narrative beyond simply conveying information?
Good dialogue does several things at once. It never just communicates facts — it reveals character, creates tension, advances the plot, and establishes relationships.
Dialogue reveals character through:
1. Word choice and register
- A professor: "I find your hypothesis intriguing, though perhaps insufficiently supported by the evidence."
- A teenager: "Dude, that's a cool idea, but like... where's the proof?"
Both say the same thing, but their language tells us about their age, education, and personality.
2. What is NOT said (subtext)
"How was the party?" she asked.
"Fine."
"Just fine?"
"Yeah. Fine."
The repeated "fine" and short answers suggest the party was anything but fine. The reader understands that something happened, even though the character refuses to say it.
3. Dialogue tags and action beats
- "I love you," he said, staring at his shoes. (The action contradicts the words — he is uncomfortable.)
- "I love you," she said, pulling him close. (The action confirms the words — she means it.)
- "I love you," he muttered, checking his phone. (The action undermines the words — he is distracted and insincere.)
4. Interruption and silence
- "I was going to tell you, but—" "Save it."
Interruption shows power dynamics, anger, or impatience.
- "Do you love me?" Silence. Long silence. "I need to go."
Silence can be louder than words.
Key writing tip: Avoid "said" replacements (exclaimed, bellowed, whispered) except when truly necessary. "Said" is invisible to the reader. Let the words and actions do the work.
A story begins: "I remember the day everything changed. I was sitting in my bedroom when the phone rang." What point of view is this?
Which is an example of "showing" rather than "telling"?
What is foreshadowing?
A narrator says: "Everyone loved me at that party. I was definitely the most interesting person there. People were practically lining up to talk to me." Later, another character says: "Who was that weird person standing alone in the corner all night?" What narrative technique is at work here?
In a story, the narrator describes a beautiful summer day, then casually mentions: "That was the last good day before everything fell apart." What technique is this, and what is its effect?
In a dialogue scene, a character responds to "How are you?" with: "Great. Never better." But the author adds: "He said, not looking up from the table, his fingers shredding a napkin into tiny pieces." What literary principle is the author applying?
An author writes a story about a war from the perspective of a six-year-old child who describes soldiers as "the loud men with heavy boots" and bombs as "the sky breaking." Why might the author choose this perspective rather than an adult narrator?
A student writes a short story for an exam. The opening reads: "Sarah was sad. She was sitting in a dark room. She was lonely and missed her friend." The teacher comments: "This is all 'telling.' Try to 'show' instead." Which revision best applies the "show, don't tell" principle?
Oppsummering
In this chapter you have learned:
- Point of view: Who tells the story (first person, third person limited or omniscient) and how it shapes the reader's understanding.
- The unreliable narrator: A narrator whose account cannot be fully trusted.
- Time techniques: Foreshadowing hints at what is to come, while flashback returns to earlier events.
- Show, don't tell: The principle of revealing through detail and action rather than direct statement.
Key terms
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Point of view | The perspective from which a story is told |
| Unreliable narrator | A narrator who cannot be fully trusted |
| Foreshadowing | Hints about what will happen later |
| Show, don't tell | Conveying meaning through detail, not statement |
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