According to Robert Evans in The Kid Stays in that Picture, “There are three sides to every story: my side, your side and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently” (tvtropes.org). The two sides of a story and the truth relates to Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Black Cat. In The Black Cat, the unnamed narrator demonstrates unreliable narration. In The Black Cat, the unnamed narrator shows characteristics of unreliable narrator: weak reasoning, weak sense of morality and isolation through his actions. To begin, by trying to prove that the unnamed narrator is not crazy, the narrator demonstrates weak reasoning. In the scene where he kills Pluto, the cat, the mystery character demonstrates weak reasoning. “I
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I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity” (Poe 2). In this scene, the unnamed narrator shows weak reasoning when killing Pluto. He clearly shows that he will get nothing good out of killing the cat. By killing the cat for no reason, this shows that he acts without thinking portraying the qualities of an unreliable narrator. Aside from killing Pluto with a knife, he kills another pet showing weak reasoning. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; -hung it with tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; - hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; -hung it because I knew that in …show more content…
At the beginning of the short story, the narrator insists that he is not crazy. Poe writes, “Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet mad am I not…” (Poe 1). Although he continue to insists that he is a normal person, the narrator’s judgement is untrustful because his actions are not based off of a good morality. Since the narrator lacks a good morality, this gives him a poor sense of judgement, proving he is unreliable. Furthermore, in the scene where he kills Pluto, he portrays qualities of having a weak sense of morality. “I took from my waistcoat - pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity” (Poe 2). As previously mentioned, the unnamed narrator ends up killing Pluto for no personal gain showing weak reasoning. By killing his beloved pet Pluto for no personal gain, the narrator not only shows weak reasoning but also shows a weak sense of morality. Not only does he show a weak sense of morality when killing Pluto, the mystery character also shows a weak sense of morality when killing another pet. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; -hung it with tears streaming from
I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity” (Poe 2). In this scene, the unnamed narrator shows weak reasoning when killing Pluto. He clearly shows that he will get nothing good out of killing the cat. By killing the cat for no reason, this shows that he acts without thinking portraying the qualities of an unreliable narrator. Aside from killing Pluto with a knife, he kills another pet showing weak reasoning. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; -hung it with tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; - hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; -hung it because I knew that in …show more content…
At the beginning of the short story, the narrator insists that he is not crazy. Poe writes, “Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet mad am I not…” (Poe 1). Although he continue to insists that he is a normal person, the narrator’s judgement is untrustful because his actions are not based off of a good morality. Since the narrator lacks a good morality, this gives him a poor sense of judgement, proving he is unreliable. Furthermore, in the scene where he kills Pluto, he portrays qualities of having a weak sense of morality. “I took from my waistcoat - pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity” (Poe 2). As previously mentioned, the unnamed narrator ends up killing Pluto for no personal gain showing weak reasoning. By killing his beloved pet Pluto for no personal gain, the narrator not only shows weak reasoning but also shows a weak sense of morality. Not only does he show a weak sense of morality when killing Pluto, the mystery character also shows a weak sense of morality when killing another pet. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; -hung it with tears streaming from