THE BLACK CAT
What type of conflict do you see in the story? Is it external or internal?
I see an internal conflict in the story. This is because the man is paranoid inside his own head which is creating the conflict. In other words he is fighting himself.
"I had walled the monster up within the tomb! "Who is the monster and who is I?
I was the narrator and the monster was the cat. This is because the narrator was the one who locked the cat behind the wall with his dead wife
What did the narrator believe was the cause of this changed personality and behavior?
The narrator believed alcohol was the cause of his change personality and behavior. Also, he says that everyone gives into the spirit of perverseness at one point in their life.
Where is the narrator as he retells the story?
The narrator is in jail as he re-tells his story. I know this because he would be arrested for his crime and put in prison for a long time.
How did the narrator lose all of his worldly possessions?
The narrator loses all of his worldly possessions in a huge conflagration (destructive fire).
"I rapped heavily, with a cane which I held in my hand upon that very portion of the brick work behind which stood the corpse of the wife of my bosom." why did the narrator rap up on the wall?
The narrator rapped up on the wall because he was so confident in his work. This means he knew that the wall wouldn't crumble because of his crafty work. Also, he wasn't worried if the police would look at this portion of the wall because he knew they wouldn't see anything. In other words he taunted the police because he was so proud and arrogant.
Physically, what's seem to be different on the second cat? What might this physical characteristics symbolize?
The second cat had white hair on its chest, while the first one was all black. This could symbolize a rope tied around his neck.
Provide one example of Grim humor shown in the story.
One example of grim humor shown in the story can be found on page 5. It says, "I looked around triumphantly, and said to myself- 'Here at least,then, my labor has not been in vain.'"
Name two literary elements Poe used in both the telltale heart and the black cat. provide evidence of these.
One literary element that poe used in both stories is imagery. For example on page 3 it says "Pluto had not a white hair upon any portion of his body; but this cat had a large although indefinite splotch of white, covering nearly the whole region of the breast. "This creates a vivid picture of the cat in the readers mind. Another literary element that Poe uses is repetition. For example, he repeats that the story was " mere household events" multiple times.
What was the strange figure on the wall of the narrators chamber?
The strange figure on the wall of the narrative chamber was the figure of a gigantic cat with the rope around the animals neck.
The narrator continually refers to his actions as, "mere household events." What does this tell us about the personality of the narrator?
This tells us that the personality of the narrator is nonchalant and in denial. For example, he acts in a nonchalant manner when he stabs out his cats eyeball. This means he made it seem like it wasn't a big deal when it really was.