Question

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Which quotation from "The Black Cat" best supports the inference that even though the narrator explains how the image of the cat appears after the fire, he does not wholly believe it?

A. “For months I could not rid myself of the phantasm of the cat;…”

B. “Although I thus readily accounted to my reason,…it did not the less fail to make a deep impression upon my fancy.”

C. “When I first beheld this apparition—for I could scarcely regard it as less—my wonder and my terror were extreme.”

D. “I went so far as to regret the loss of the animal,…”

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Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Read this excerpt from “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe.

One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree;—hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart;—hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence…

Which statements describe the effect of the unreliable narrator in this passage?

Select each correct answer.

Readers experience a sense of suspense about what the narrator might do next.

Readers realize that the narrator has a dependable explanation.

Readers acknowledge the honesty contained in the narrator's account.

Readers question the validity of the narrator's explanation of his feelings.

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Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Read this excerpt from “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe.

One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence. I seized him; when, in his fright at my violence, he inflicted a slight wound upon my hand with his teeth.

How does the first-person point of view affect the meaning of the text?

A. Readers gain insight into why the cat avoids the narrator.

B. Readers learn the narrator's own analysis and explanation for his treatment of his wife.

C. Readers get an inside perspective on how the narrator feels when the cat ignores him.

D. Readers learn about the narrator's excuse for his behavior.

Answer 1

1- The correct answer is B.

This sentence from the story "The Black Cat" expresses the narrator's disbelief of the cat's appearence. It shows how, even though the narrator's reason told him that it was not real, the image still lingered in his thoughts, troubling him.

2- The correct answer is C.

The narrator of "The Black Cat" is unreliable since he wants the reader of his letter to feel sympathy for him and his situation. This provokes skepticism in the reader, leading them to question the truth of the whole story.

3- The correct answer is D.

This passage explains the reason that the narrator gives for having killed his own pet. The man explains that he felt ignored by the animal, and that later it bit him, which, in his mind, provided an excuse for his violent behaviour.

Answer 2

Answer:

1. C. “When I first beheld this apparition—for I could scarcely regard it as less—my wonder and my terror were extreme.”

2. Readers experience a sense of suspense about what the narrator might do next.

    Readers question the validity of the narrator's explanation of his feelings.

3. C. Readers get an inside perspective on how the narrator feels when the cat ignores him.

Explanation:

Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Black Cat" tells the story of how our unnamed narrator had been convicted of murder and why he was in prison. Told from a first person narrative point of view, the story shows the narrator from his own perspective.

The story tells how the narrator had, in drunkenness, killed his beloved cat Pluto and how he had adopted another cat who looked the same. Then, unintentionally, he also killed his wife whose body he hid in the walls. But it was this same new cat that led the policemen to discover the hidden body. Thus his conviction and eventual death sentence.

For the first question, sentence C shows how he couldn't believe the image of the cat that was made after their house burned down. The use of the word "apparition" shows he still couldn't believe it, "my wonder and my terror were extreme.”

For the second question, the unreliability of the narrator can be felt in the sentences "Readers experience a sense of suspense about what the narrator might do next" and "Readers question the validity of the narrator's explanation of his feelings". The passage did show the feelings of the narrator and his remorse of what he did, but it seems more like he was trying to make us readers sympathize with him.

Lastly, sentence C shows how he felt when he thought his cat was avoiding him. This first person point of view gives us the emotion of the narrator, his opinion and also why he did it. This affects the narration as it gives us the side of the story only from his perspective.