Final answer:
Character C, the small child, best exemplifies an unreliable narrator because the child's limited cognitive abilities lead to a flawed understanding of events, making their account of the story naturally unreliable.
Step-by-step explanation:
An unreliable narrator is a crucial literary device that can make a story more intricate and compelling. In determining which character best exemplifies an unreliable narrator from the options provided, it is important to analyze their credibility and whether their perspective skews the facts of the story due to dishonesty, moral ambiguity, or their inherent inability to understand the situation accurately.
Character C, 'A small child who always misses the point of what the adults around her are doing', is the best example of an unreliable narrator. The key trait of an unreliable narrator is their lack of reliability in giving an accurate account due to personal biases, limitations, or flaws. A small child has cognitive limitations and an undeveloped understanding of adult behaviors and motivations, which leads to a distorted or incomplete portrayal of events. This creates a discrepancy between what is actually happening and the child’s interpretation of the events, which makes the child the ideal example of an unreliable narrator.
While characters A, B, and D may have biases or particular perspectives, they do not fit the definition of an unreliable narrator as perfectly as character C. A child’s innocence and undeveloped cognitive abilities inherently affect the reliability of their narration, often leading the reader to question the accuracy and completeness of the account given.