Unreliable Narrator In The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe

Proof of the Delusive Narrator
Few stories possess a certain type of narrator whom the reader cannot truly trust and rely on when it comes to opinionated statements or any other form of information given. And even fewer show this to the extent “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe does. Whether it be his or her mental state or condition, the reader has no dependence on what the text says from the narrator’s point of view. This is called reading from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. There are different types of unreliable narrators, each of them having distinct characteristics limiting them from supplying the reader with adequate or completely true information. In the short story, “The Black Cat,” Poe portrays the first person narrator …show more content…
He either calls them off as something less important that they apparently are, in other words, an understatement, or he makes one of his habits as the faulty manner causing him to act the way he does. For instance, the narrator refers to his doing as a “series of household events,” making them seem ordinary and normal (Poe 3). However, later on, the reader comes to find it quite unambiguous that his actions were quite severe and anything but ordinary. This type of unreliable narration would be classified as criminal, and since he is one, he finds his actions justifiable. Furthermore, the narrator of “The Black Cat” is shown to understate the austerity of his actions when he blames them on his alcoholism. He states that his “disease grew upon [him]-for what disease is like Alcohol!” (Poe 5). This displays his calling off of his thoughts, doings, etc. on his habit of drinking rather than his perverseness, or desire to do against what is acceptable. Clearly, this does not seem to be the case, as several moments where he would act quite maliciously and without reason, he was in fact not drunk but seemingly sober. The narrator’s lack of ability to perceive his actions as what they are proves his unreliability, as it also initiates question regarding the extent of his …show more content…
A few factors support this idea including the narrator’s perception of his actions, his actions themselves, and his aftermath of his doings. Together, these things help the story develop in a sense that keeps reader continuously thinking and questioning the justification behind the narrator’s thoughts and actions. As mentioned, the narrator of “The Black Cat” is unreliable, and this indisputable. Though a reader may want to know everything about a story they decide to pursue, it is often a stirring experience when reading from a point of view that can’t be completely