The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

Vocabulary & Questions

Unburthen - To unburden; to unload.
Expound - to make a detailed statement; to explain;
interpret
Baroque - extravagantly ornate, florid, and convoluted in
character or style; irregular in shape
Rigorous - severely exact or accurate; precise: rigorous
research
Inscrutability - not easily understood; mysterious;
unfathomable
Swooning - to faint; lose consciousness
Stupefied - crazy, magnificent, unbelievable, amazing
Docility - easily managed or handled
Sagacious - having or showing acute mental discernment
and keen practical sense; shrewd
Tinctured - to imbue or infuse with something.

1. Describe the narrator as a child and compare it to his life as

an adult. Use text evidence to support your answer.
According to the text, When I was a baby everyone thought I
had a sweet gentle personality. While I was growing up, I loved
animals. My parents, who loved me very much gave me many
pets to care for(2). His childhood was full happiness and love,
but is adulthood not so much. The story says, You see, I was
slowly developed a weakness for alcohol, that cursed poison
that destroyed so many lives. The more I drank, the worse I
behaved. Life became more gloomy, and depressing as I drank
more each passing day (5). His adulthood was full of sadness
and misery. His childhood was definitely more happy because

he only experienced love and animals, but once he started

drinking his life became worse and never got better.
Pg #: 3 and 4
2. On what does he blame his evil ways? Use text evidence to
support your answer.
The narrator said, I am a poor victim, a man haunted and
doomed by and evil black cat, a cat more powerful and
frightening than death itself(1). He blames his deeds on a cat
that him and his wife shared. He believes that cat is out to get
him because he says, We heard a cry from behind the wall that
was so loud, so frightening, and so terrible that welcome the
grave that will receive me tomorrow so that I might forget it's
terrible sound and, It was the cry of that cursed cat that put
me here in this prison, and that follows me to my grave!. He
believes that the cat dragged him into the prison because he
cried so the police would find out.
Pg #: 1 and 6
3. Describe Pluto. How do the narrator and his wife initially
react to him? Use text evidence to support your answer.
At first he was first described, This animal was a very large and
beautiful feline that appeared on our porch one day and was
quickly adopted into the family..........It was entirely black, and
very smart. The cat was very affectionate... (3). This was the
narrator's first thought of him before he started to drink. When
he started to drink more and more, he described him as a thing
that haunts him until his grave and, more powerful and
frightening than death itself(2).
Pg #: 2 and 3

4. A. What does the narrator first do to harm Pluto?Use t ext

evidence to support your answer.
He was very drunk that day and when he called Pluto and he
did not come right away, he started to strangle the poor animal
and grabbed a knife and cut out his eye out of his socket. THis
is true because it says, I called for the cat while I was taking off
my coat, but he didnt come immediately come to me. I felt his
rejection was an unforgivable insult, and, when he finally
appeared, I grabbed him by the neck as if to strangle the poor
animal. I was in a drunken rage. While I was holding him by the
neck, I took the knife from the kitchen table, and consciously
cut out of his eyes from his socket!(5).
Pg #: 3
B. Why do you think he does this?
He was drunk, when you are drunk you can not think straight,
so when he called the cat to come and he did not come
immediately, he felt rejected, if he was not drunk he would not
have felt that rejection he got that day.
C. How does Pluto react to him after this incident?Use t ext
evidence to support your answer.
After a while, he no longer felt pain, but he looked terrible and
was afraid to go near the narrator. The text states, He looked
terrible, with one empty eye socket, but he no longer appeared
to suffer any pain. He ran around the house as usual, but he was
afraid to come near me(7).
Pg #: 4
5. How does the narrator rationalize killing Pluto? Use text
evidence to support your answer.

His reasoning for killing Pluto was because he could not see that
cat anymore because it reminded him of all the things he did
wrong. The text says, I killed him, even my eyes were running
with tears, because I could not stand the sight of this animal,
while only reminded me of how evil I had become
Pg #: 5
6. What happens the night after the narrator kills Pluto?
The night after he kill his cat, his house caught fire. His wife and
he escaped before the roof fell. There was also a fire-scarred
brick, which was a outline of a cat.
7. What does he discover the next morning? What do you think
this indicates?
He saw stray cats in a dark alley when he was walking home
from the bar. This indicates that the cat is always watching and
will always he by the main character.
8. How does the new cat differ from Pluto? What do you think
this trait symbolizes?Use text evidence to support your answer.
He had rather mixed feelings about this animal, but with Pluto
he loves him. The text states, My feeling for this animal were
mixed...(14).
Pg #: 6
9. Explain the circumstances concerning the murder of the
narrators wife. Use text evidence to support your answer.
He was worried about that he would get hanged and that he
would go to prison if anyone found out that he killed his own
wife. The story says, The only thing I could do was save myself
from the gallows, so, like any other common murderer, I began
to think of how to get away with this terrible crime (17)
Pg #: 7

10. Compare The Black Cat to The Tell Tale Heart. Identify 3
things that are similar between the two stories.
1. Both kill a person
2. Both said that there were not insane or crazy
3. Both told in first person

RUBRIC
RL.8.3: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the
action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
Not Yet Meeting

Approaching Standard

Meeting Standard

Exceeding Standard

Struggled to identify
where particular lines
of dialogue or events in
a story or drama propel
the action, reveal
aspects of a character,
or cause a certain
decision to be made

Identified where particular

lines of dialogue or events in
a story or drama propel the
action, reveal aspects of a
character, or cause a certain
decision to be made, but did
not explain how.

Explained how
particular lines of
dialogue or events in a
story or drama propel
the action, reveal
aspects of a character,
or cause a certain
decision to be made

Explained how particular

lines of dialogue or events in
a story or drama propel the
action, reveal aspects of a
character, or cause a certain
decision to be made AND
supported an argument for
how this is important to the
overall story