Refer to explorations in literature for a complete version of this narrative. which statement best describes the narrator's reliability in "the black cat"? the narrator is reliable because he willingly relates details of his breakdown into insanity. the narrator is unreliable because he claims he is telling the story factually. the narrator is unreliable because his emotions about the cat run from attentive and loving to cruel and violent. the narrator is reliable because he attributes his horrific actions to his alcoholism and to his hatred of the cat.

Took the quiz and the answer was "The narrator is unreliable because his emotions about the cat run from attentive and loving to cruel and violent."

first of all the mood needs to be defined: it is obviously a mood of deceitful relief and serenity. why? because the cape horn is one of the most violent maritime regions of earth and although it has been left behind, it is a personification of ahab’s delirium and the fact that the end of the passage speaks about it about being “hidden” but “raving” immediately conveys the feeling the calm is not permanent but fleeting.

furthermore, the oxymoron “mild stun'sails” is the first instance of such feeling as the adjective “mild” is associated with “stunned” underscoring the fleeting nature of this “tranquil” moment. and the contrasts keep piling up, with the opposition between “dark den” and “blessed light and air” to end with the final conclusion that leaves the reader with the uneasy knowledge that this is just a reprieve.