the black cat by poe

qus & ans

1. Classwork on “The Black Cat”
Name:
ID:
1. What is the setting of the story?

Ans. In a prisoner’s cell on the day before he is to be killed by hanging.

2. Mention one of the rising actions.
Ans. When he starts drinking and abusing the cat Pluto.

3. How was the narrator as a young boy?

Ans. He was gentle, sympathetic and soft hearted or mellow person.

4. Identify the climax of the story with page number.

Ans. When the cat trips the narrator on the stairs on his way to the basement, he lifts an axe to
kill him; however, he is interrupted by his wife, and in a fit of anger, he kills her with the axe
anyway. (pg. 11)
5. Is the narrator a flat or a round character?
Ans. The narrator is a round character because he holds a wide range of characteristics.

6. What does Pluto symbolize?
Ans. Pluto symbolizes the evil force that has an effect on the narrator, turning him into a
monster.

7. Give examples from the story of the following gothic elements:

a. Supernatural: The narrator's black cats appear to have mystical abilities. “my wife,
who at heart was not a little tinctured with superstition, made frequent references to
the ancient common thought, which considered all black cats as witches in disguise,”
the narrator's wife confronts him with this thought (p.1, l.27f).

b. Reincarnation: Second Black Cat like the first black cat and might be a reincarnation
of the latter, according to the narrator. It was as huge as Pluto and had a missing eye,
much like Pluto. It was identical to him in every way except for one: it had a white
mark on its chest.