THE BLACK Cat by Bocar AtLAN Poeom a Goon In 1409, Amacan pom sorta we ad ei. Hi meer (ed when bo we seo year ld He wos rough us by the atchane Ja Fbtined potme anonrmeuty end wore shor seve for mogeznes, ne of which =e. Found in 9 Doe” ~ or a pte 1699, Wot os editor on lotous eras jour ved in Now Yet ano Daliore In #840 he pub Tales of pe Grocue and AaDexqve. Mar fi cect of Young a 4229, he rated Fenmond, where he were Ie poem "Anabel LePre-reading, 4 Ate you mpersiou? 2 Whardoss mean Ifyou see 0 black ext? ‘on mi uost nun, yet mast homely narrative which am about to pen! I nether expect nr alet heli. Mad indeed would 1 ‘be to expect in sca where my very sanes reject theis un ‘evidence. Yet mad am I not — and very surely do Tnot dream But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would anburthen? my soul, My Immediate purpose i o place before the world, plainly, succinctly, ant without comment, # series of mere household events, In theit onsequences, these events have terrified — have tortured — have Aestoyed me. Yet will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented tie but Horror — to many they will seem less tribe than 10 barroqus Hereafter, perhaps, some itallect may be found which will reduce my phantasm tothe commonplace — some intellect more cal, ‘move logical. and far less excitable than my owe, which will peresiv, in ‘btn aon Gah) cepount ein, argue a: pas ass,GAR ALAN FOE the circumstances I etal with ees nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes anf ‘rom my lnfoney Iwas nate forthe docility and humanity of my Aispontion. Ny lendemess of heart was even so conspicuous &5 to make ine he est of my companions wesespedially fond of animal, and as fnalged by my parents” with a gract variety of pts. With these Lspent ist of my time, and sever wae so Inppy as when feeding and caressing them This peculiarity of character goew with mp growth, and, in my ‘manhood, I derived from it ane of ny peincipal sources of plessure. To ‘Bone who have cherished an aetna fr fitful and sagaciows” dog. T need hardly be atthe trouble of explaining the nature or the inonsty Of the gratifcation thus dervabla, There & something in the unselfish and [olesuerifeing love ofa brute? which goes directly tothe heart of his. tho has had feequent occasion to tet the paltry 1 friendship and osama fidelity of mere Ma, T msassod cal, and as happy 0 fied in my wife a disposition not uncongenial with my own. Gbsering my parity for domestic pet, the lost no opportunity of procusing those of the most agreeable kind ‘Weed beds golds, a fine dog, abbits, «small monkey, and rt “This latter was @semackably lege and beautiful eniral, ential black, and sagacious to an astonishing degree, In speaking of his {ntelligence, my wife, who at heust was not a ile tinctured with, ‘Speraion, made frequent allusions the ancient popular notion, which ezacded al black eats as witches ia disguise. Not that she wes ever {evs upos this point — ang {mention the mater 3 ll for no beter reason than att happens justnov, to be remembered fat pe bleh ge yey pony sen ren ny be 2 pesos oper lies 1 ts bent ni pag th 12 emerge ver 15 stencngetal compile‘Ta lack Cot Plato — this was the cts nase — wat my favourite pt and playmate. lone fed i, nd he tended ne wherever I went sou the house feos even wth fol tht eld prevent him om sawingme trough he rest ‘ur enti en i manner for seerl yar daring hi ny gene temperament ad character — ough te nstumentaly the Fiend Inemperancs = bad ash ones experince + case! aeration for the wore T ges, day by da mare moody, owe intl, more earls ofthe feelings of ober I sufered ® mya fe ss lterperat language to my wife At hgh Teen feted her enol lence My pet, of cour, ere sade el the change Sisposten ot nly eget, bat sed them, For Pt, howe, {clined ace regard ors ne from ating Nia Irae erp of aesing th abit the ony, or een the og then by acento though fein, hey cme in ny way. Bat) {lsene grew upon me ~ for what sas sie Alcohol! — and a iengik eran Muto who was now becoming od, and consequently somevia pees’! — even Fao began experienc the fc of ny inemper ‘One night, returning home, mach intoxicated fom one of mp ste bout face th the et vied my preven, ze in whe, nhs ght ty lence, he nist» ihe woud por ony han with i eth The frye demon tani posse le sysl no nga My etl elses at once, tbe ht from my boy, anda ore than Henehmleolnce. red, = 19 Aten eg Aber ng ie rena 232th: br non a past pated epee. 2 huni repevii 25 lenamed cued yaFBGA ALAN FOE thalled every fibre of my frame. [took from ay walscoat pocket & penknife opened i, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and falberately ait one of ts ees from te socket! bash, burs I shudder, ‘while {pen the damnable toc. "When seagon retucned with the waming — when I ad slept off the fumes of the night’ debauch ® —[ exporienced a sentiment half of otro, half of semorse forthe erie of which Ehad been guy: But it vas, a best, a feeble nd equivoes! feling, and the soul remsinee! lantouched, Tagiin plunged nto exes, and soon dzowned in wine al memory ofthe deed. nthe mesntize the cat slovey recovered. The socket ofthe lost eye resend, ils tue feghtul appesrence, but he no longe appeared to fuller any pala. He went about the house as usual, but, as might be expected, led in extreme trot x my approach. had so much of my oe Ips et to beat ist greved by this evident dike onthe part of resture which had once $9 loved mv. But this fling soon 229 place to Initaion: And then eae 8 oan final and revocable veetyov, the spirit of pnvensesess Of his spelt pllsophy takes no account Yet Tam rot more suse tht my sou lives, aa Tan that perverseness one ofthe peinitive impulses of the human hast — ane of the snavisile primary faculties, or sentiments, which give diestion tothe character of Man, Who has not, hundred times, found himself committing vile or «lly ‘clon, foro other reason than becuse he knows he should no? Have Ive not a perpetual inclination, in toe Gath of our best judgment, to late that sehich i Law, merely benuse wo undaretand itt be such? ‘This spit of pervertenem, Cany, come to my final overthrow It was this unfathomable ® longing of the sul to vee islf—to oer violence to its orn abuse — to do verong forthe wrong’s sae only — that urged siebnc orts)-oa iplred-ctranet opt Intent dete rane tna :ncnpeei eguseeTe Black Cot se to continue an filly 9 consummate the injury Thad iit upon the unffending Brute. One moming, in eool blood, I sipped» nase’ shout is neck and hung to the limb of tree; — hung it wi the teas "eating (om my eyes and with the Biterestremoe at ay hours — hung tosis knew that tha loved me, and bese [eles hed given sme no season of offence; — hung fbecnue I knew thet in so doing Twas ‘osamiting a sin —a deny sin that would go jeopardize my immoral fo a8 to place it — if such a thing were possible — even Beyond the each of he infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible Goa (On the ight of the day on which this crue! deed was done, I was roused fron sleep by the ey offre, The curtains of my bed were Flames. The whole house as blazing. Iwas with grestaificly hat my ‘sie, servant. and myself, made our escape from the conflagration. The Cestrcton vse complet, My entire worldly wealth sae swelled p, nd resigned melt henceforward to despair I.gm above the wesknes of sking to establish a sequence of cause and effect, between the disaster and the atrocity. But Cam detailing = ‘hain of facts — and wish not to leave evan a possible ink imperfect: On the day succeeding the fire, {visited uke suins. The walls, with one ‘exception, had fallen in. This exception was found in a compartment ‘wall not very thick whick stood shout the middle of the house, and against which had rested the head of my bed. The plastering * had her, ‘in grest assure, resisted the aon ofthe dee — a fact which atte to its having bn recent spread. About his wall a dense cowd ware cllate, an many persons seed to be examining a particular portion ‘of i with very minute and eager attention. The words ‘strange! “singulac!” and other simélar expressions, excited my curiosity T approached aid say, as if graven in kas elif upon the white surface, 21 notes nop baad ofa pleats 32 pun ep ptt iloriage 18 fhenefonan; fon ae paring tre of bce cana a oe oe 36th 2S pavensened apaar ALN FOE the figure of a giganie i, The imprison was given ith an accuracy truly marvallous, There was rope about the animals neck ‘When frst beheld ths apparion — for T could scarcely sega it 5 est my wonder and my terror wer extrema, But a engi selection fame to my sid. The cat 1 remembered, had been hung in s garden Sdjscent to the howe, Upon the alarm of fie, this garden had been Immediately filled by the crowed — by some one of choos the asia smut have been cut ftom th tee and thro, through an open window, {Buoy chamber, This ad peobablybren done withthe vew of arousing the from seep. The fling of other walls had compressed the victim of ny eeulty into the substance ofthe feshly-spread plaster the lime * ot ‘hich eth the lames, and the smnoni [com the carcass, had then ecomplished the porwatare as Lsaw i aekoush {thus readily acount to my reaton if not stogsthor to my conacencs, fr the staring Ect ut deta, it id notte bss fil to inake # deep impression upon my fancy. For months I could sot ri ‘nyeel of the phantasm ofthe eat; nd, during tis period, there came beck into my spint «halézentiment hat seemed, but Was no, remorse went 20 far a5 fo regret the loss of she animal, an to Took about me, ‘mong the vile haunt which now habitually frequented, for another pet tf the same species, and of somewhat simlar appearance, with which (2 supply is place ‘One night as sat, half tupfied na dan of more than infamy, attention was sudenly data to sone black object, reposing upon the head of one ofthe immense hogshead © of gin, or of rum, which Constltuted the chiotfaralture ofthe apartment. I had been looking Seadily atthe top ofthis hogskend for some minutes, and what now Crone ie surpise asthe fact hat had aot sooner perceived the object theeeupon.T approached it and touched with my hand, Ie was a black 95 ne ):hepoeer aado b ss 57 pane ten pen. Bonded 39. daniel hte dering ce hace :barla‘he Bleek Cot cat — avery lange one — fully a large at Pluto, and covey cesembling Fim every respect butene, Pluto fad nota whitehair upon any porson of his body; but this eat had a large, although indefinite splotch # of ‘white, covering nesely the whole region ofthe reas. ‘Upon my touching hi, he immediately azose, purced © lowly, rubbed agrinst my hand, and appeared delighted with my notice. Th than, was the very creature of which I was in Search. Fat once offered to purchase i ofthe landlord; but dis person made ao cai 19 It — Kew othing of tad never son it before Toontinued my caresser and, when {prepared to go home, the aniral evinced © a disposition to accompany me.I permitted it to do 50; ‘occasionally stooping and patting i a I proceeded. When it reached the house it domestcted ize tones, and became immediatly a guat favourite wil ny wile For my own pas 1 soon found a dislike tit arising within me. This svasjust the reverse of whet had anllpsd but —T hove not bow or ‘why it way — its evident fondness for myself rather disgusted and annoyed me. By slow degrees these feelings of disgust and annoyance rose int the bittemess of hatred. Iavoided the creature; a certain sence of shame, and the remembrance of my former deed of custy, preventing te from physically abusing #1 did not, for somo wooks, strike, oF ‘thersise violent use bat gradually — very gradually —Teameto took upon It with unaterabl © loathing. and to fee silty fom it ‘dius presence ae fom the Bresth of pestilence, What added no doubt 0 my hatred of the beast was the discovery, on the moening fies I brought it home, tha, lke Fut, i lo had born {eprived cf one of is ayer. This ceumetance however, only endaaree i to my wil? who, as [have already ssid, possessed, in a high dag, 1 spech tigi 42 puma pps wham plas 18 tice stowed 1H stoping bending he wpprbae teat 1. anverbes oni 46 lanaing (tte hawGAR AL FOE ‘hat humanity of fsing which had once been my distingushing tit, fn the source of maay of my simplest and purest pleasures ‘With ny aversion to this ct howere, its petty for myself seemed to incest. followed my footsteps witha petnacty which it would be ‘ifical to make the render compishend, Whenever Isa, it would couch ‘beneath my chale, oF spring upon my knees, covering me with its Toathsome eareses FL arose to walk it would get between my fost and has neaely throw me down, oe fstring © i long and shasp claws in sy dees, clamber, in his manner, tomy brsast. At such mes elthough { Tonge to destoy it with alow Iwas yet withheld trom so doing, partly ‘bya memory of my fener rime, but hey — let me confess eat ence — bp absolute dad ofthe beast “This dead wos not aya read of physical eil—~ and yet shoul be at lows hv othesiee to define t Tam slmost ashamed © own — tyes even i this felons cal Tam sls ashamed to oven — that the fervor and horror with which the animal inspired me, had been heightened by one of the merest chimeras it would be possible £0 Conceive. My wife hed called my station, more than once, to the ‘Sarater of the mack of white haz of which T have spoken, ana which onetiated the sole visible diffrence bewoan the srange besst end the fone Thad deseoyed, The radar vil remember tat this mark afthoush {args had been originally very in daft; but by slow degrnes degrees reel impereepble, and which fora Jong tne my reason stregged 19 reject a5 fancifal — it had, af Length assumed a rigorous disinines of Dulline Tras aow the representation of sa object that I shudder to fame — and fortis, above all, osthed, and dreaded, and would have Td ogo ofthe monster hid I dara — it was ove, sy, the image of & 8 penny iene 1 ening tse in haa a em oF. 50 ce) he to of ale is done oitahideous — of ghastly thing — ofthe casows®* ~ oh, mourn nd teribe engine ® of Horror and of Crime —of Agony and of Deatht ‘And now wa Inde wretched beyond the vretchedness of mere Humanity, And 2 brite bras! ~ whose fellow I had contemptuouily Aestroyed — 2 brute beast to work owt * for me — for me, 8 man fashioned ® in the image of the High God — so mack of insufersle ‘wool? Alas! nether by day nor by night knew I the Bessng of rest my tots! During the former the create left me no moment alone: an in the lata started, hourly, fom dreams of unutterable fer, o find the hot breath of he ing upon my face, and its vast weight — an incarnate nightmare that Thad no power to shake off — incumbent eterally upon ny hart! ‘Beneath the pressure of torments such as these the feble remnant of ‘he good within me succumbed, Evil thoughts became my sle intimates the daskest and mos vil of thoughts. The moodiness of my usual tper| Jncpansed to hatied ofall things and of all mankind; while from the sudden, Lequent and ungovernable outbutsts of fury to which I now lindly abandoned anysalf, my uncomplaining wile alas, was the most tual ad the noe patent of slfres, (One day she accompanied ma, upon some household eran, ino the cellar ofthe old building which our poverty compelled us to inhabit. The fat followed me down the steap stlss, and, naarly throwing me Iheadlong exspersted me to madness. Upliing an axe and forgoing, in my wrath the cilish dead which had Mherto stayed my hand 1 simed a blow sf the animal which, of course, would have proved ‘nstantly fatal had it descended as T wished. But this blow was aeresed ioe an soding ‘alloys: woden ame wh rnin hg ‘rcne ach eed ei: ey star wh el -aeng seuagee{OGAR ALLAN FO by the and of my wile. Condes bythe interference nto a rage more than emoniacal 1 withdsew my am om ber grasp and busied the ase luther bai, She fll ese! upon the set, without a gros. “his hideous murder secomplished 1 set myself forthwith, end with centee deliberation tothe tas of concn te body, Tineve thet 1 cul rot cemove it from the bows, either bday ox by night, without the isk Dt ting observed by the neghbors, Many projects entred my sind. At tne period I thought of cating the corpse into minwte fragments, and ‘Sesoying them by fie. At another, resolved to dig a grave for it in the oor af the clot. Agsn, I delberted about casting i inthe well the yard — about packing i a box, 36 if merchandize, with the useal feungement, ends getting «porter to take i fom the house Finally T Ih upon ht consiered a fae beter expedient than either ofthese. leremgemne | © ° eo o a 2 Hw would you deine the role of he prorogonis wife? {8 The nao atin he sory have some Feones a cornmen, Fil ithe rable RST CAT oe) SECOND CAT eaurts, enirely Boch GO) | lrge (50), lock perch of whit har (1525). Sepmied of one of eyes 176) “arenged re wherer(wenr (S) “hor fects eiferantons the nwa con? How ii hones? Wht does Ir symbolize? Does the nooror ever dlgces rom the so?ocak ALA FE Uterary Analysis syle 41 Moeteemih-cennny rine syle (20 ols “ia Von Wik) temples In statute (omadern Ergin reds fo prefer hor secences) tne fomnal Comore, Lata, tigustive word). Cosi nes 204-5; "his ideousmucder accomelisid, | et yal forth and wth ete deliberator 1 he tsk of coneeaing the boy change the undefined word inte mare common expesions ond the them ro rephrae the sentence in more meer Engh 2 Words in tos. Look of nes 82, $8, 87, et, Wha n your epinion the effec of hese roe? Key words Moke cts of word or exprentions rm he story hich exe rypleal of @ vemperonee tole of whlch ele racking and ored=v Pot 41 oes inoduton of the weltsruzued por was 0 ifuence alates ‘Amatenn shor star wien It carats of on opening, developmest ‘ning pol. nol weslaan (oes o suse ending). Can you teeny the mising hoses in theroble Below? — weaning araganar dave fororenalpes eelooment Tung pa ruerat we Fal scienThe Back Cot 2 The nonerorfequemly pn ou th histori bur up an @ sequence of caus’ ond efec (see nes 15 and 102-10), Together vit ine wellsracuted par is enor condone fare of Poss ‘ertig. Fle eho CAUSE rect 1 ooeiny Hoenn 8) Bommuing se) 3 ihe protpanar ean eo derian ape cu OU POS eye ST) Plas oon 3 Teo me howe OS Pupowiownm | Wishiew (6545, 15640, 4198, 104, 1884) 7. is cine found ou Summing Up 1 Decus ihe clement af wich, ronsmigiaton, prophecy and oto iathe fe 2 Which re the main fecrures har suggest thar ity alongs to he Boman peti? 8. Tre protagonist's lovelhae for enim is mone by hi olaion from mankine, Diss, 4 Look tthe naroors definion of parverseness (80:5), What do you fr abourEDGAR ALL FOE Production 4. You peobobly hod eer when yor were achd. Describe your telenonship with, Do nar nesta ra mention ying ses YOU 4d 0 05110 urau fr chien To ffl cuety on domesic nim 2 Think fo normal sition (29. walking hams rom the coer et righ). Now my to desarbe Iria fghtening Woy using some worslexpresionsjplol of har sires. 8 Look back orthe pre-feng acy. What ofr wnentons do you have in your cout (e.g, waking under o oar sing sot]? 4 Looic back or he exercee on cous and afse ond wie © shor ory falowing it paren $5 Do you think Deore owing accrrely reflects he ofmesphere of he sor? Fin refetances fo the sor athe dusraron.