"The Black Cat" Comprehension Questions
What is a metaphor?
A comparison not using like or as
What is on the one wall that did not burn of the house?
An imprint of a cat with a noose around its neck
What is an example of foreshadowing in the story?
The white splotch that looks like the gallows--hints that death will find our narrator
What is personification?
Giving nonhuman things human characteristics
How does our narrator change from how he was when we was younger?
He begins to drink. He is mean to his wife and animals.
What does the narrator first do to the black cat after he comes home drunk one night?
He cuts the cat's eye out after the cat bites him.
How does the narrator kill his wife?
He drives an axe in her head.
How does the new black cat act with the narrator?
He follows him everywhere. He is there all the time--even when the narrator is sleeping.
How does the narrator kill Pluto?
He hangs him from a tree in the garden.
What does the new cat have on his chest?
He has a white splotch that is shaped like a hangman's noose.
How does the narrator get caught in his crime?
He hits the wall with his cane, and the cat lets out a horrible sounding scream.
Why does the narrator originally not kill the (second) black cat?
He is ashamed of what he did to Pluto. He dreads the cat.
What are some hints that Poe's gives us that our narrator is in jail and will be executed?
He says he will die tomorrow in the first paragraph. He says he is in a felon's cell. He says the cat sent him to the hangman.
Why did people make fun of the narrator when he was younger?
He was sensitive and tender hearted.
What happens on the same night that the narrator kills Pluto?
His house burns.
Does our narrator feel guilty for killing his wife?
No
What is the first black cat's name?
Pluto
Why does the narrator kill Pluto?
Pluto loved him. He knew it was wrong. He knew it was a sin. Pluto did not give him a reason to do it.
What does the narrator do with the body of his wife?
Puts her in the wall of the cellar
Who does the narrator want to kill instead of his wife?
The black cat
Where does the new black cat come from in the story?
The cat follows the narrator home from a tavern one night. He was sitting on top of a hogshead.
Why does the narrator kill his wife?
The cat trips him, and he gets mad. He turns and in a fit of passion kills his wife.
What does intemperance mean?
excesive consumption of alcohol
What does felicity mean?
happiness
What is foreshadowing?
hints given that tell readers what may happen in the story
What is characterization?
methods used by a writer to introduce or describe characters to readers
What is a speaker?
the narrator of a poem
How old was Poe when he died?
40
What do Pluto and the new cat have in common?
They are black. They are missing an eye.
Who does Poe marry?
Virginia, his first cousin
What was the narrator's name?
We are not told this information.
What is prose?
Writing in everyday language; written in paragraphs
Does our narrator feel guilty for killing Pluto?
Yes
What is a simile?
a comparison using like or as
What is a conflagration?
a large fire
What is an allusion?
a reference that the author expects you to know
What is a plot twist?
a sudden, unexpected change in a story
