Coucou

Inial Insight
1. “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story about a man who becomes increasingly
abusive and cruel under the inuence of alcohol. The story is narrated by a man who is about to
be executed for the murder of his wife. He tells the story of how he became an alcoholic and how
his life took a dark turn aer he adopted a black cat named Pluto.
2. The narrator of “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe is an unnamed man who is waing is
execuon for the murder of his wife. He is an alcoholic and becomes abusive and cruel under the
inuence of alcohol. He is also a pet lover and has a black cat named Pluto, which he inially
adores but later he becomes the object of his violent behavior. The narrator is unreliable, and his
account of events is distorted by his guilt and madness. He is aware of his mental problem and
recognizes the change that is occurring within him, but he nds himself unable to reverse his
descent into the problems.
Reader’s Response
1. Some of the controversial elements in “The Black Cat” include the narrator’s alcoholism, his
violent behavior towards his wife and pets, and the supernatural elements in the story. These
elements are necessary to further the storyline as they help to create a sense of tension and
suspense that keeps the reader engaged.
2. The events in “The Black Cat” evoke me a range of emoonal responses, including fear, disgust,
and sympathy. The narrator’s descent into madness and his violent behavior towards his wife and
pets can be disturbing, while the supernatural elements in the story can be both eerie and
intriguing.
3. The narrator of “The Black Cat” is an unreliable character who is dicult to sympathize with. His
alcoholism and violent behavior make him an unsympathec character, while his descent into
darkness and the eventual murder of his wife make him a tragic gure.
4. It is possible that the narrator is movated by a desire to explain his acons and to jusfy his
behavior. The narrator is aware of his guilt and recognizes the change that is occurring within
him, but he nds himself unable to reverse his descent into madness. By sharing his story, he may
be aempng to make sense of his own acons and to come to terms with the consequences of
his behavior.
5. I think that there is a logical explanaon for this phenomenon. The narrator suggests that the
imprint is a natural result of the re, and it is possible that the heat and smoke from the re
caused the image to appear on the wall. It is also possible that the narrator’s guilt and madness
have caused him to see things that are not there, and that the imprint is a product of his
imaginaon.

6. The story ends in a way that is unexpected and shocking. The narrator’s confession to the murder
of his wife and his subsequent execuon are surprising twists that leave me with a sense of
discomfort.
Language Focus
1. Homely : Commonly seen or known / small negave
2. Sagacious : Has a good sense of smell / posive
3. Paltry : Ridiculously small / negave
4. Uncongenial : Not friendly / posive
5. Agreeable : to one’s liking / very posive
6. Peevish : irritaon / negave
7. Fiendish : diabolically cruel / negave
8. Vile : extremely unpleasant / posive
9. Odious : extremely unpleasant; repulsive / negave
10. Ghastly : Causing great horror or fear; frighul or macabre / negave
Close Reading
1. A)
2. From a prison cell
3. His aecon from animal
4. Inexplicable and primive
5. He drinks a lot / deal with
6. The portrait of his cat
7. The second cat has a white mark / The main character focuses a lot on this dierence, and it is
what starts his inner rage.
8. He despises and fears the second cat because the white patch develops his paranoia.
9. D)
10. The main character points to the spot in the wall. They nd the corpse of his wife behind that
wall.
Analycal Reading
1) The narrator’s rst home: The narrator’s rst home is not described in detail, but it is implied to be a
comfortable and happy place. The narrator describes how he and his wife were “united in the bonds
of the happiest marriage” and how they shared a love of animals.

The second house: The second house is described as old and in disrepair. The narrator and his wife
move into this house aer their rst home burns down, and the narrator becomes increasingly
violent and abusive towards his wife and pets.
The bar (den) where the second cat is found: The bar where the narrator nds the second cat is
described as a dark and dingy place. The narrator is drunk when he enters the bar, and he is
immediately drawn to the cat, which he describes as “a remarkably large and beauful animal,
enrely black”.
The cellar: The cellar is important in the story, as it is where the narrator hides the body of his wife
aer he murders her. The cellar is described as a dark and cramped space, and the narrator is
tormented by the sound of his wife’s heart beang beneath the oorboards.
The prison cell: The story ends with the narrator in a prison cell, awaing his execuon. The cell is
described as a small and cramped space, and the narrator is consumed by guilt and despair.
2)
a) Explanaon: The conict between the narrator and his wife is an example of character vs. human
conict. The narrator’s alcoholism and violent behavior towards his wife leads to a breakdown in
their relaonship.
Passage: paragraph 6
b) Explanaon: The conict between the narrator and the black cat is an example of character vs.
nature conict. The narrator’s violent behavior towards the cat leads to a series of supernatural
events that ulmately result in his downfall.
Passage: paragraph 7
c) Explanaon: The conict between the narrator and himself is an example of character vs. self
conict. The narrator struggles with his own guilt and madness throughout the story, and he is
aware of the change that is occurring within him.
Passage: paragraph 6
d) Explanaon: The conict between the narrator and society is an example of character vs. society
conict. The narrator is ulmately punished for his crimes and is sentenced to death.
Passage: paragraph 32
3) In “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, the most important conict is character vs. self, as the narrator
struggles with his own guilt and madness throughout the story. The other three types of conict in

the story are character vs. human, character vs. nature, and character vs. society. These conicts help
to create a sense of tension and suspense in the story and highlight the destrucve power of guilt
and madness.
4) As the story develops, the narrator undergoes a signicant change, as he becomes increasingly
violent and abusive under the inuence of alcohol. This change makes him a dynamic character, as he
undergoes a signicant transformaon throughout the course of the story. The narrator is also a
round character, as he is complex and mul-dimensional, with conicng emoons and movaons.
5) Narrator: The narrator is an acve character, as he consciously makes changes to his surroundings
and takes acons that drive the plot forward. He is responsible for adopng Pluto, mistreang him,
and ulmately killing him. He is also responsible for the murder of his wife and the subsequent cover-
up of her death.
Wife: The narrator’s wife is a passive character, as she undergoes the changes going on around her
and is ulmately a vicm of the narrator’s violence. She is described as a loving and devoted wife,
but she is unable to escape the narrator’s violent behavior and is ulmately killed by him.
Pluto: Pluto is an acve character in the beginning of the story, as he is a beloved pet who brings joy
to the narrator’s life. However, he becomes a passive character aer he is mistreated by the narrator
and ulmately killed. He is no longer able to take acons that drive the plot forward.
Second Cat: The second cat is a passive character, as he is a vicm of the narrator’s violence and has
no agency in the story. He is described as a “remarkably large and beauful animal, enrely black”.
He is inially a vicm of the narrator’s violence, but later becomes a supernatural force that haunts
him.
6) In “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator is an unreliable character who tells the story from
a rst-person perspecve. He is an alcoholic and becomes increasingly abusive and cruel under the
inuence of alcohol. He is also a pet lover and has a black cat named Pluto, which he inially adores
but later becomes the object of his violent behavior. The narrator is unreliable, and his account of
events is distorted by his guilt and madness. He is aware of his mental deterioraon and recognizes
the change that is occurring within him, but he nds himself unable to reverse his descent into
madness.
7) “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe is an excellent example of Gothic con. Here are some of the
most common features of Gothic con and examples from the text:
Dark and gloomy sengs: The story takes place in a series of dark and gloomy sengs, including the
narrator’s home, the bar where he nds the second cat, and the cellar where he hides his wife’s
body.

Supernatural elements: The story contains several supernatural elements, including the appearance
of the second cat aer Pluto’s death and the imprint of Pluto on the narrator’s bedroom wall aer
the re.
Psychological horror: The story is a study of the psychology of guilt and madness, and it explores the
destrucve power of these emoons.
Violence and cruelty: The story is violent and gruesome, with scenes of animal abuse and murder.
Anheroes: The narrator is an anhero, as he is a deeply awed character who commits heinous acts
throughout the story.
Mystery and suspense: The story is full of mystery and suspense, with unexpected twists and turns
that keep the reader engaged.
Use of symbolism: The black cat is a symbol of the narrator’s guilt and madness, and it serves as a
supernatural force that haunts him throughout the story.
These are just a few of the many features of Gothic con that are present in “The Black Cat.”