Y. The Black Cat. By: Paige McCray, Nicole Lobkov, Leah Aspinwall, Tammy
Chan,. Alyssa Henderson, and Maddy Montivino ...
Y
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 • • • • •
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
