The Black Cat Group at eNotes

Edgar Allen Poe/Tell-Tale Heart/Black Cat

Please see the link below for another answer.

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:05:11 PST

Please see the link below for another answer.

That is almost a trick question. The story has the classic trope of a...

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:03:49 PST

That is almost a trick question. The story has the classic trope of a narrator you can not trust, but from his words we can infer that he lives in a major city. Since Poe lived for much of his life in Baltimore, Maryland and the East Coast, it is no great stretch to believe that the story takes place somewhere in that general region, but as I said before, the unnamed narrator is possibly mad. If he says he lived in a large house, with...

What is the setting of "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe?

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:13:30 PST

What is the setting of "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe?

The reason that the narrator murdered his wife in the first place-at...

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:41:24 PST

The reason that the narrator murdered his wife in the first place-at least so he says-is that his wife kept him from swinging an axe at that very cat to kill it. Enraged, he says, "I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain". So, what was meant to be a blow at ending the cat's life, ended his wife's life. The cat had been tormenting him and getting on his nerves for quite some time, so when it had followed him into...

In the short story "The Black Cat", why is the cat found in the wife's...

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:11:47 PST

In the short story "The Black Cat", why is the cat found in the wife's tomb?

It is strange that he begins maltreating any of the animals at all,...

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:22:46 PST

It is strange that he begins maltreating any of the animals at all, because in the beginning of the story he goest to great lengths to explain that he was "especially fond of animals...With these I spent most of my time, and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them." However, later, he says that he develops a fondness for alcohol, and it altered his behavior for the worse. He states that he starts behaving badly...

In "The Black Cat" why did the narrator initially restrain...

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:11:51 PST

In "The Black Cat" why did the narrator initially restrain himself from maltreating the cat while maltreating the other animals?

Look at the positive or negative words Poe uses to set the mood of these...

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:47:29 PST

Look at the positive or negative words Poe uses to set the mood of these stories. He uses very dark imagery and repetition to set up the horror and fear.

How does the setting in both "The Black Cat" and "The...

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:51:21 PST

How does the setting in both "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" create suspense? (gothic imagery)

All three of these elements contribute to the horror of this story,...

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:23:01 PST

All three of these elements contribute to the horror of this story, "The Black Cat." In the exposition, the diction of the narrator is suggestive of an astute and sensitive mind: " I was noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition." He remarks upon the 'unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute which goes directly to the heart of him who has ...tested the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of...

How do the diction, irony, and suspense affect the short story "The...

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:19:48 PST

How do the diction, irony, and suspense affect the short story "The Black Cat"?

Can you make me a trivia game for The Black Cat?

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 12:07:31 PST

Can you make me a trivia game for The Black Cat?

As a dark Romanticist, Poe may have used the cat as a metaphor for the...

Thu, 4 Dec 2008 14:50:05 PST

As a dark Romanticist, Poe may have used the cat as a metaphor for the darker nature of the narrator. For, the narrator mentions that he loves the first cat, but when he begins to commit evil acts, he mutilates the cat and later kills it.A second cat appears that the narrator perceives as a reincarnation of the first--a resurgence of his darker side, perhaps.So, when he blames the cat for the murder, the narrator is in a sense placing the...

The Romantics possessed a conviction that intuition, and contemplation...

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 22:22:52 PST

The Romantics possessed a conviction that intuition, and contemplation of the natural world is a way of discovering the truth that lies behand mere reality. Dark romantics like Poe also felt that spiritual facts lie behind the appearances of nature; he simply disagreed that these facts are necessarily good. He felt that the Romantics had taken the mystical elements and ignored the dark side. He admits the existence of sin, pain, and evil...

How does the perspective and style of "The Black Cat" by Edgar...

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 19:59:53 PST

How does the perspective and style of "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe compare to that the Romantic period in American literature?

If you look at the story as a racial allegory, as some critics have, the...

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:33:26 PST

If you look at the story as a racial allegory, as some critics have, the significance of this second cat which is not completely black becomes clear. While the first cat could stand for someone of African-American descent, the other cat might represent the ever-diminishing racial lines. This work could be seen as Poe's call for the abolition of slavery in this sense. The hanging of the cat certainly alludes to the lynching of slaves. ...

The patch on the 2nd cats neck reminded of a rode that he used to hang...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:28:01 PST

The patch on the 2nd cats neck reminded of a rode that he used to hang Pluto with.

the husband hit her with an axe in her head and then to hide the...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:25:04 PST

the husband hit her with an axe in her head and then to hide the evidence he hid her body in the wall..whut a crucial murder?

How did the husband kill the wife and were did he hide the body?

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:22:36 PST

How did the husband kill the wife and were did he hide the body?