The Black Cat
What animal is central to the story and the narrator's guilt?
The black cat (Pluto / a black cat).
Whose eye does the narrator say he cannot stand?
The old man's vulture‑like eye (often called the "vulture eye")
Who is the narrator in each story?
Both narrators are unnamed first‑person narrators (the murderers in their own stories)
Both narrators claim something about their mental state. What is that claim?
Both narrators claim they are not mad/insane.
Both stories are written from what point of view?
First person (the narrator tells the story).
What does the narrator say happens to him after he begins drinking more heavily?
He becomes more violent and cruel; he loses self‑control and abuses animals and his wife.
How long does the narrator say he planned and carried out the murder?
He says he planned it for seven nights (or a week), waiting each night until the eye was closed; he killed him in one night.
Name one important secondary character in either story and describe their role.
The old man (victim in Tell‑Tale Heart), the narrator’s wife (mentioned in The Black Cat) or the cat (Pluto). Role: victim, witness, or symbols
Give one piece of evidence from The Tell‑Tale Heart that suggests the narrator may be unreliable.
Example: The narrator hears a beating heart that others cannot hear; his heightened senses and paranoia suggest unreliability.
Name one theme topic shared by both stories.
Shared theme topics: guilt, madness, violence, unreliable narration.
Why does the narrator first harm the cat? (Give the short, clear reason.)
He becomes angry and in a fit of rage he cuts out the cat's eye (or harms the cat because of irrational anger and hatred).
Why does the narrator insist he is not mad? (What does he use as proof?)
He insists his careful planning and calm while committing the act prove he's not mad.
How do the narrators’ relationships with the victims differ between the two stories? (Short comparison.)
In The Tell‑Tale Heart the narrator’s victim is an old man he cares for or lives with; in The Black Cat the victim is an animal and later the narrator’s wife is also harmed — relationships differ (one is caretaking turned murderous, the other is cruelty escalated to murder).
Give one piece of evidence from The Black Cat that suggests the narrator may be unreliable.
Example: The narrator admits to cruel treatment of animals and displays contradictions in his memory; he confesses to irrational acts while claiming sanity.
How does Poe create suspense in both stories?
Techniques: repeating details, building suspense through slow pacing and vivid sensory descriptions; e.g., repeating the sound of the heart; describing nightly visits.
What visible mark/physical action does the narrator put on his house that eventually helps lead to his arrest?
He knocks a brick into the walls to conceal the cat’s body, and later bragging/renovation reveals the wall with the corpse. (Or the narrator exposes the wall when police inspect — the sound reveals it.)
What action does the narrator take to hide the body of the old man?
He dismembers the body and hides the pieces under the floorboards.
Which story gives more detail about the victim’s physical attributes and behaviors, and what is one detail provided?
The Tell‑Tale Heart gives more detail about the old man (his fear, his eye); one detail: he is old and sleeps, has a "vulture eye."
How does Poe use sensory details (like sound or sight) to show the narrators’ disturbed minds? Provide one example from either story.
Example: In Tell‑Tale Heart Poe describes the sound of the beating heart growing louder to show anxiety; in The Black Cat the narrator describes sights (the cat’s eye, the white mark) to show his obsession.
In both stories, both narrators become overconfident in their ability to conceal the crime that what ends up happening?
They both reveal their guilt to the police.
How does the narrator try to hide his crime with the cat, and what goes wrong?
He buries the cat in the wall of the cellar; later, when police inspect, the cat’s cries from inside the wall reveal the crime.
What finally causes the narrator to confess to the crime?
He hears what he believes is the old man’s still‑beating heart growing louder and confesses because he cannot bear the sound.
Describe how the narrators’ self‑control changes over the course of each story (one sentence for each).
The Black Cat narrator goes from cruelty to violent impulsiveness (escalates); the Tell‑Tale Heart narrator becomes obsessively meticulous then unravels under guilt.
Compare how guilt affects the mental state of each narrator. Give two clear points (one for each story).
The Tell‑Tale Heart narrator is driven to confession by imagined sounds — guilt overwhelms him quickly; The Black Cat narrator tries to hide his guilt but slips into more violence and is exposed — guilt haunts him through signs and confession.
In two to three sentences, explain how the endings of the two stories show the consequences of the narrators’ actions.
Sample answer: Both endings show punishment: in The Tell‑Tale Heart the narrator confesses and is arrested after being driven mad by the imagined beating heart; in The Black Cat the narrator's crime is discovered and he is arrested after the cat reveals the hidden body — both show that guilt and wrongdoing lead to exposure and punishment.