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By: Paige McCray, Nicole Lobkov, Leah Aspinwall, Tammy Chan, Alyssa Henderson, and Maddy Montivino
The Black Cat
Summary
In Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat, the main character is a man leading a
happy life with his wife and many household pets. His favorite of his pets is a black
cat, Pluto. The main character, however, becomes overwhelmed with alcohol and
in turn, becomes more irritable. He also becomes paranoid that the cat is avoiding
him for some reason. The main character begins to hate his former friend. One
night, after coming home intoxicated with alcohol, Pluto scratches the man’s hand
and in turn has his right eye cut out. The cat fears the man now, hiding from him at
every turn. The man becomes enraged, and out of anger and sorrow at his lost
friend, hangs the cat by the neck from a tree branch. Almost as suddenly, a new
cat appears; a black one with only a splash of white on his chest can tell him apart
from Pluto. Eventually the man grows to loathe this cat as well and attempts to
murder him with an axe. His wife stops him and is rewarded with an axe in her
head. Attempting to hide the corpse, the main character buries his dead wife in the
cellar wall. He raps on the wall in front of some policemen cockily showing he has
nothing to hide but then the cat is heard screeching from inside. He had
accidentally walled the cat up in the tomb. The police reveal what the man has
done and his punishment is to be hung.
Literary Devices
Element and Quote
Impact on Mood
Metaphor- “I took from my waistcoatpocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor
beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the
socket! (Page 2)”
This metaphor impacts the mood of the story by creating a grim
feeling around the black cat, Pluto. Pluto is a main character
throughout the entire story so when you better understand how the
man feels about him, your mood on the book changes. The grim
feeling also continues since the “poor beast” is missing an eye
and whenever the cat comes up you think of that.
AlliterationThe alliteration used in this sentence gives you a bigger impact by
“In their consequences, these events have terrified —have tortured being used more often. This makes the mood more chilling and
frightening for Poe emphasizes how miserable the consequences
—have destroyed me. (Page 2)”
were for what he is going to tell you have happened. You feel the
thrill from the emphasis.
Internal Rhyme“The monster, in terror, had fled the premises forever! (Page 7)”
This exclamation gives the reader a relieved feeling knowing the
problem has left the story which had been causing the major
tension. The internal rhyming just adds a flare of Poe’s taste.
RepetitionA horrific and tense mood is formed by this phrase. The repetition
“I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of that is used makes you fear for the future because you hear the
the feelings of others. (Page 3)”
building up of irritability which may lead to a deadly snap.
Grim Humor“Again, I deliberated about…packing it in a box, as if
merchandize…(Page 6)”
Poe uses grim humor in a dark and evil way to make you intrigued
but against the main character for his rude and cruel joking.
Subjects of Horror and Supernatural-
“…a wailing shriek, half of horror and half of triumph, such as might have
arisen only out of hell, conjointly from the throats of the damned in their
agony and of the demons that exult in the damnation.(Page 9)”
This moment in the story makes the mood bloodcurdling and horrendous.
Poe gives you the idea of shrieks from demons and not many things would
scare a person more. You are truly transported into the story for this one
instance because of the deadly connection.
Mood and Tone Continued
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Atrocity: state of something being brutal or cruel
Unfathomable: cannot be understood
Pestilence: epidemic disease
Perverseness: turned away or rejecting what is right, proper, or good; wicked
or corrupt.
Phantasm: a creation of the imagination or fancy; fantasy
Words such as atrocity, perverseness, or phantasm create the mood and
tone in a story. In the short story: The Black Cat, Edgar Allen Poe presents
his writing to be mysterious and weary. Many of his pieces of writing reflect
off of his life, which included much sorrow and loss of loved ones. Both the tone and mood creates the “feel” for the reader of what the author
is trying to say. Poe’s characteristic can be seen from the short story: The
Back Cat, through the tones and moods.
Literary devices also help create the mood and tone in a work of literature.
They help make stories powerful and meaningful to the audience. Literary
devices also help transform the moods to have a larger "effect" on the reader.
The
Open
Mind
Authors
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Summary: Written by Alyssa Henderson,
edited by Paige McCray
Literary Devices: Written by Nicole Lobkov
and Paige McCray
Mood and Tone: Written by Tammy Chan
Power Point: Created by Leah Aspinwall
Poster Coloring, and Head Image: Created
by Maddy Montivino