The Black Cat (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe
- First Published: 1843
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The mid-nineteenth century
- Setting: An unnamed American city
- Principal Characters: The narrator, His wife, Pluto, A second black cat
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Murder or homicide, Guilt, Capital punishment, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Mental illness, Obsession, Substance abuse, Cats, Arson
- Locales: United States
The Story
Told in the first person by an unreliable narrator (a term designating one who either consciously or unconsciously distorts the truth), the story can be seen to be divided into two parts, each of which builds toward a climactic physical catastrophe: in the first part, the narrator's mutilation and later murder of a favorite pet, as well as a fire that destroys all he and his wife own; in the second part, the narrator's ax murder of his wife, followed by his arrest and death sentence.
Opening with both suspense and mystery in his revelation that he wants to...
[The entire page is 1790 words long]
See Also:
Edgar Allan Poe (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Edgar Allan Poe (Poetry)Edgar Allan Poe (Short Fiction)Edgar Allan Poe (Mystery and Detective Fiction)Edgar Allan Poe (Dictionary of World Biography)Theory of Short Fiction (Topical Overview--Short Fiction)
See Also:
- - Read the The Black Cat text online.
- - The Black Cat summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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