Audrey Munger
From our very early discussions of the novel, we have established that Richard is not a trustworthy narrator. Lying comes very easily to him. In chapter one, we see how naturally Richard lies about having a car needing repairs to get money out of a professor. This interaction’s main purpose in the novel is to show the readers Richard’s character flaw in lying to create what he sees as a more respectable persona for himself. Even as readers, we are not filled in on the full picture of Richard’s life. In chapters one and two, Richard mentions previous girlfriends and other acquaintances such as his uncomfortable history with Judy Poovey at Hampden which reminds us that we don’t fully know Richard. We are only given a small peek into Richard’s life during his time at Hamden. The novel is written entirely from Richard’s memory of his year at Hampden with the Greek students. The Greek students also participate in heavy drinking. They spent most of their social time together drinking expensive liquor. A constant state of being either drunk or hungover is sure to have a negative effect on their memories of the year. In the passage I chose, Richard is an unreliable narrator because his already untrustworthy nature is worsened by intoxication.
In this passage, Richard is eating lunch with Bunny. We learn in the prologue that Richard has been through a very traumatic history with Bunny. In chapter two, it is clear that tensions in the group are high, especially as Richard becomes closer to Henry. Richard respects Henry, so it is very likely that Richard’s opinions of Bunny change as he sees Henry’s true feelings. When humans go through traumatic events, we are likely to forget things or have an unreliable memory of the events. An event as significant as participating in Bunny’s murder would surely alter Richard’s memories of his times with Bunny before his death.
The unreliability of Richard’s narration is increased in this passage by his intoxication. In this particular scene, Richard and Bunny have been drinking alcohol for several hours. Bunny has ordered an excess of food and drinks to try to get a free meal out of Richard, but Richard hasn’t been able to notice Bunny’s character flaws yet. Richard describes his surroundings as “growing dimmer” and he “struggled to focus.” The waiter is described as ghost-like while “concentrating toward us its spectral rays of hate.” This description makes me believe Richard is too tipsy to give an accurate report of his afternoon with Bunny. If he can believe that their waiter is capable of channeling supernatural hate toward them, he is not thinking straight. He also gives a strange description of his perceptions at the restaurant. Given that Richard cannot even remember his surroundings in the restaurant, it is unlikely that his recollection of conversations and interpretation of time are accurate or trustworthy.
Sources:
- Tartt, Donna. The Secret History. Penguin, 1992.