Question

In the "the black cat"the narrator begins the story by speaking directly to the reader.the narrator continues this practice periodically throughout the story.How does the author's use of this structure create mystery in the story ?

Answer 1

Knowing that the narrator is speaking directly to you as the reader and giving only his perception of what happened leads to questions of whether or not he is a reliable narrator and lends an air of mystery to the story. In the opening of the story he even says he does not expect to be believed and that his “senses reject their own evidence,” so the reader cannot be sure of what is true....