Aug 21, 2008

The Black Cat | The Black Cat

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]

The Black Cat | The Black Cat

At a glance:

The Story

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