The Black Cat

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Summary of The Black Cat
The Black Cat, Edgar Allan Poe's short story, implicitly deals with the consequences of alcohol abuse.
The narrator begins by saying that he wants to share some past events that have terrified him. These events took place years before, when he was well-known for the humanity of his heart. He was happily married and lived with several animals. However, he was particularly fond of a beautiful black cat named Pluto. Though he loved Pluto and his wife, he succumbed to alcoholism and began mistreating his wife and his pets. One night, he came home drunk from one of his haunts about town and grabbed the cat, who bit him in fear. In response, the narrator attacked the cat with a penknife and cut one of Pluto's eyes out. At first he felt grieved, but then, a perverse impulse grew on him and he murdered Pluto by hanging him …show more content…

That same night, his house was set on fire and, fortunately, he, his wife and the servant managed to escape unharmed. The day after the fire, he notices that, on the only wall standing, there was an image of the murdered cat, which made him feel guilty and full of remorse. One night, while he was out drinking, he saw another black cat, which looked exactly like Pluto, except for a white patch on its breast. He liked the cat. However, he began to loathe it when he notices that one of the cat's eyes was missing and that the white patch had taken on the shape of the gallows. One day, the narrator tripped on the cat. He got so furious that he grabbed an axe to attack the animal, but his wife stopped him. In a rage, he struke her with the axe, thus killing her. Since he had to cover up his crime, the man decided to wall the body up with plaster in the cellar. The cat was missing. After a few days, the police arrived at his house to investigate his wife's disappearance. Just when they were about to

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