A narrator is the voice who is telling the story. The narrator is used by the author to deliver information to the readers. The narrator does not have to be a physical person, it can be a separate entity such as a voice, or a fictional or non-fictional character in the story itself. A work can also have more than one narrator. The book Caleb Williams only has one narrator, Caleb.

Because Caleb is a character directly in the story’s plot, he is considered a first-person narrator. If a narrator were telling a story where they were not in the plot, they would be considered a third-person narrator. This first-person narration lets the reader get into the mind of Caleb, letting them feel what Caleb is feeling in the moment. However this can be a disadvantage, as the viewpoint of the reader is limited towards just Caleb, and cannot reliably understand other characters such as Falkland and Gines.

There are also different categorizations of narrators; intrusive, unreliable, and naive narrators. Intrusive narrators interrupt the story to provide their thoughts on some aspect of the plot or a more general topic. Unreliable narrators do not understand the entire plot and therefore makes assumptions and incorrect conclusions about the events they have seen. Naive narrators do not have the knowledge and sophistication to understand the entire plot, even though the reader can understand. Caleb Williams can be categorized as a intrusive narrator, often pausing the timeline of the plot to tell the reader what he is thinking of. This can be seen in his thoughts thinking about human nature, about how he has found himself “subjected, undeservedly on [his] part, to all the disadvantages on which mankind, would hesitate to impose on acknowledged guilt.”

The narrator can often invoke imagery to help the reader to visualize the scenario they are in. In addition, because the reader can hear Caleb’s thoughts the reader can feel sympathy for Caleb.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Narrator.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 14 Feb. 2017, www.britannica.com/art/narrator.

Novel, Now. “First Person Narrative: 7 Tips for Great Narrators.” Now Novel, 15 Mar. 2016, www.nownovel.com/blog/first-person-narrative-7-tips/.