As the
narrator is so thoroughly unreliable, we can't know for sure what his precise motivations are.
But as his confession is taking place on the eve of execution, perhaps one could argue that he's
trying to elicit sympathy for his plight. The narrator knows that he'll soon be dead, so he has
limited time available to say the things he wants to say. He thus proceeds to give a very
detailed account of how he came to kill not one but two cats, as well as his wife.
Though incredibly detailed, his account is nonetheless unreliable. At no point does the
narrator take responsibility for his heinous crimes; he prefers to blame either the effects of
alcohol or the malevolence of a cat. That he is being so dishonest right up until the end
indicates a strong desire for control on the part of the narrator. He's not about to tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That would be to concede too much. Instead,
he'd much rather give a partial account of what happened, the better to remain in control of his
life's narrative right until the bitter end.
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