The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe [PDF]
by InfoBooks
In The Black Cat the only character with a name is the cat. The narrator never tells you his own name or his wife's: Pluto is the one name in the whole confession.
This version of The Black Cat in PDF is our own edition from Project Aldus: the complete text, laid out so the whole confession reads in one sitting, with nothing pulling your eyes off the page.
The download is free and needs no sign-up. One click and you have the full story, from the narrator's cell to the cellar wall.
The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
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Information: The Black Cat
- Author: Edgar Allan Poe.
- Publication Date: 1843.
- Main Characters:
- The narrator: A condemned man who writes his confession from his cell, insisting that he is not mad.
- Pluto: The narrator's black cat.
- The narrator's wife: Her name is not mentioned in the story, but she plays a significant role.
- The second cat: A large black cat that, like Pluto, has lost an eye, with a white mark on its breast that slowly takes a shape the narrator dreads.
- Brief Summary: "The Black Cat" is a psychological horror tale told by a condemned man on the eve of his execution. Known since childhood for his love of animals, the narrator is turned cruel by drink, maims and hangs his cat Pluto, and is then followed everywhere by a second black cat that leads him to his ruin.
- Thematic Analysis: "The Black Cat" explores guilt, alcoholism, and what the narrator calls the spirit of perverseness, the urge to do wrong only because it is wrong. He insists he is not mad and sets the events down without comment, leaving the reader to judge how much of the horror is supernatural.
- Historical Context: "The Black Cat" was first published on 19 August 1843 in the Saturday Post of Philadelphia, a time when the horror short story genre was flourishing. Edgar Allan Poe is known for his gothic horror tales and his ability to delve into the human psyche in his characters.
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Books by Edgar Allan Poe
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