LITERARY TERM
What is the purpose of the Epigraph?
to foreshadow the plot
Who is the prototype (first of its kind) detective?
C. Auguste Dupin
to show how analytical, logical and perceptive Dupin is
Where does Dupin believe the murderer entered the apartment?
through one of the windows in the back of the apartment (the one with the broken nail)
Who murdered the women?
the orangutan
Paris, France; 1840's
Who is the copy of a detective?
(Hint: the detective who was created based on the character, C. Auguste Dupin)
Sherlock Holmes
After the blood-curdling screams ceased, what did the police and neighbors hear when they reached the second floor of the apartment building?
they heard a gruff voice and a shrill voice yelling loudly
What does Dupin find in the palm of the mother's hand?
a tuft of hair (orange/red in color) *not human hair
Why did the Prefect of Police want Dupin to mind his own business?
He was embarrassed and mad that his own police department did not solve the crime (in other words, he believed Dupin made him and his department look bad)
What character trait is Dupin best known for?
his analytical reasoning
Who was arrested for the murders and why?
Adolph Lebon. He was the last person to see the women alive and had a motive (robbery).
Where did the police and neighbors find the bodies of the women?
they found the daughter's body in the chimney and the mother's body on the patio
What does Dupin discover when he traces the fingerprints around the daughter's neck?
the fingerprints were made by an animal, not a human
What happened to the orangutan?
What is the narrator's role?
he is the foil to Dupin and the "lens" for the reader (In other words, Dupin explains everything to the narrator, which allows the reader to follow Dupin's analytical reasoning)
Why did Dupin believe the person who had knowledge of the murders was a sailor?
He found a ribbon (tied in a knot) at the crime scene that only sailors from the Maltese region wore in their hair.
Where do the police think the murderer entered the apartment?
they don't have a clue
How did the murderer and the sailor get to the fourth floor of the building?
the lightning rod
Accept what is true and don't try to explain what isn't true
Why is the title of the story ironic?
because the word "morgue" refers to a place where dead bodies are kept until they are claimed, and two women were killed on this street ("Death Street")
Why did the sailor bring the orangutan to Paris?
He knew it was a rare and valuable creature and wanted to sell it to a zoo
Why does Dupin decide to investigate the murders?
Why did Dupin put an ad in the paper saying he found an orangutan?
he wanted to lure the sailor to his apartment so he could tell Dupin exactly what happened on the night of the murders
Why did Edgar Allan Poe make an orangutan the murderer?
Poe was inspired by an orangutan exhibit in Philadelphia. People were obsessed with the exhibit and Poe thought it would be hilarious (and twisted) to turn the beloved creature into a killer