Unreliability of Narrators as a Literary Device in the Yellow Wallpaper, the Tell-Tale Heart, and Strawberry Spring

As outsiders, we may find ourselves compelled to exclaim, “You’re crazy!” about certain characters. This ability to judge credibility comes from two sources. Firstly, the audience is not involved in the incident – there is no reason to be biased when there is no emotional or personal connection involved. Secondly, reasoning and analysis play a significant part. The capability to review and revise an understanding of a situation is a privilege that not everyone possesses. This concept of unreliability has been employed as a literary device for centuries, portrayed through characters like Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, and even “Beowulf,” dating back to the 8th century.

Stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Strawberry Spring” by Stephen King, each explore this concept in different ways. However, it is the caretaker in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” as depicted by Edgar Allan Poe, who appears as the most unreliable character amongst these three stories.

The woman in “The Yellow Wallpaper” appears distinctly unreliable as well, a fact that is hardly contested. Both she and the caretaker exhibit erratic and borderline schizophrenic behavior. Some may argue that since the woman’s story consists of fixed ramblings from a diary, she is perhaps genuinely insane and therefore more unreliable than the caretaker. However, this woman has no reason to deceive herself; her diary is private, and it is not meant for anyone else’s viewing. Early in her diary, she writes, “John is a physician, and PERHAPS (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind)” (Gillman 1). A diary is a sanctuary for secrets, a space to voice private thoughts; it is not intended to be read by others, especially those who know of its existence. Thus, the woman can be trusted to share her perspective without any fabrication. On the other hand, “The Tell-Tale Heart” justifies some degree of fabrication in the text. The caretaker explains, “And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night” (Poe 1). The narrator uses dissimulation when conversing with the Old Man. He manages to lie effortlessly to avoid arousing suspicion about his plans. If he could do it successfully with the Old Man, why not with the reader? There is a clear unreliability associated with this character, making the caretaker not just seemingly insane, but a liar as well.

Now, in “Strawberry Spring”, Stephen King has crafted a narrator who struggles with memory issues throughout the entire story. In both “Strawberry Spring” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, murders occur – it can be logically assumed that both narrators are the murderers of their respective stories. However, the caretaker is more unreliable because he is not only aware he killed someone but also justifies it and is proud of it. He exclaims “There was nothing to wash out – no stain of any kind – no blood-spot whatsoever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught it all – ha ha!” (Poe 3). Unlike the caretaker, the narrator in “Strawberry Spring” is not even aware he could have been a suspect – all he remembers are rumors. There is a lot of emphasis on rumors; a majority of the commentary comes, not from the narrator’s perspective or insight, but from things he has heard.

“We all knew her. Her name was Gale Cerman (pronounced Kerr-man), and she was an art major. She wore granny glasses and had a good figure. She was well-liked, but her roommates had hated her. She had never gone out much, even though she was one of the most promiscuous girls on campus. She was ugly but cute. She had been a vivacious girl who talked little and smiled seldom. She had been pregnant and she had had leukemia. She was a lesbian who had been murdered by her boyfriend. It was strawberry spring, and on the morning of 17 March, we all knew Gale Cerman.” (King 1)

The use of several paradoxes in this description is ironic; it proves that nobody truly knew Gale Cerman. These are just rumors. This makes the narrator of “Strawberry Spring” slightly more reliable. As the reader, to an extent, can trust that this basic story is testified by a majority of the college campus, it is just narrated through the perspective of the narrator, who would have no reason to lie or twist things, as he cannot even remember he was ‘Springheel Jack’. Conversely, the caretaker inserts his own commentary into the story; he is the only one alive who is involved. He explains,

“Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief –oh, no!– it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well… I knew what the old man felt… His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not.” (Poe 2)

In this story, Poe attempts to make the caretaker seem omniscient, having him try to read the emotions of others. Although his insight is likely correct in this case, he seems to narrate the story with such bias that it makes him appear supernaturally powerful. This approach provides more evidence of him twisting the story, seemingly spinning it the way he wants it to be heard. An amnesiac is more trustworthy than a liar.

Lying does not just count as directly saying a false statement. It also includes hiding certain details and making sweeping generalizations or summarizations that are taken largely out of context. Whose account would you trust more: a woman suffering from severe postpartum depression, an amnesiac, or a blatant, schizophrenic liar? The answer is clear: the caretaker from “The Tell-Tale Heart” is the most unreliable of these three narrators.

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