Question

Read the excerpt from "The Tell-Tale Heart.”

TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses—not destroyed—not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily—how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

Read the excerpt from "The Black Cat.”

For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not—and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul.

Which statement best compares these two excerpts?

A. Both narrators appear to be completely rational, which makes them both reliable narrators.

B. Both narrators admit to suffering from madness, which makes them both unreliable narrators.

C. Both narrators admit to having enhanced senses, which makes them both reliable narrators.

D. Both narrators appear to be irrational, which makes them both unreliable narrators.

Answer 1

They're both definitely unreliable, but the second answer(B) it doesn't seem like the narrator of "The Black Cat" seems insane, so I'm gonna think its D. I might be wrong though...

Answer 2

Answer: D. Both narrators appear to be irrational, which makes them both unreliable narrators.

In these excerpts, both narrators appear to be irrational. They are most likely mad, even though neither one of them admits to it. The first excerpt tells us that the narrator has enhanced senses, and that he can "hear many things in hell," which is an illogical thought. The second narrator claims that his senses reject their own evidence. This is simmilarly irrational. Therefore, we can conclude they are both unreliable narrators.