THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe Summary & Analysis

English homework giving you trouble?
In this video I'm talking about "The Black Cat," a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. If you're looking for more information about Poe's life or some of his others stories or poems, check out my full playlist: • Homework Help: Edgar A...
SUMMARY 0:34
ANALYSIS
Narrator's mindset 9:32
The first cat 10:31
Alcoholism 10:50, 14:30
Domestic violence 11:40
The first cat dies 12:40
Views on God 14:03, 17:04, 20:37
The house fire 14:30
The new cat 15:48
The murder 17:59
Getting caught 19:36
Links to other stories 21:38
Hope that helps! If you have questions or you were interested in a different story or author, let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do. Good luck!
The Humane Society of the United States offers information on the links between animal abuse and domestic violence. For more information, visit their website: www.humanesoci...
Poe, Edgar A. "The Black Cat." The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales, The New American Library, Inc., 1960, pp.103-112.
© 2020 Carrie Hoover

[@radhikasapkota995]

I love the way you explain this story; Very helpful for my assignment. thank you so much!

[@CarrieHoover]

You're welcome! I'm so glad it was helpful!

[@FarmersAreDummies]

Meh..

[@catherinecao4810]

There’s a short animated film called the “Riddle of the Black Cat” Basically, the narrator is on trial, and another Poe character, C Auguste Dupin, is the prosecutor. It offered an interesting interpretation on what happened, as the detective pointed out somethings in the book that I didn’t notice before.

[@brianmorrow5350]

For some reason, the first time I read this, I was blindsided when he brought down the axe. I was shocked way more than the narrator. I think your suspicion of pre-meditation is on point..........

[@placebo5466]

I googled the "darkest" Poe short story and read this. Man, that was a messed up story lol.

[@tomobrien563]

Carrie….your EAP vids are fantastic! I’ve developed a whole new level of insight and appreciation for his stories because of you. Thank you so much!!

[@camilleobcemia4643]

What is the Theme of the story?

[@CarrieHoover]

That’s so kind of you! Thank you so much!

[@mynameissiddharth]

This story shares several similarities with another story by Poe called "The Tell-Tale Heart". What is important to understand is that "The Black Cat" does indicate the prevalence of the paranormal unlike the other one, which dealt mainly with madness, hallucination and a guilty conscience.

[@harmonlanager2670]

I like that it seems to be the inversion of a typical ghost story where the narrator is not a believer but rather skeptical, yet his ‘logical explanation’ is so far fetched that it forces one to consider the possibility of the supernatural

[@eddahmanizouhair]

How come you only have this small amount of subscribers ? You definitely deserve more! Thank you so much for this amazing analysis!

[@dougronald561]

I actually never thought of your point that the narrator had an axe and masonry equipment handy just at the point when he killed his wife. He obviously was prepared for her murder, and it was more intentional than he led the reader to believe.

[@catherinecao4810]

Maybe he stuck the cat in the tomb as well. Maybe he was looking for it to ensure that it never escaped. Maybe he cut its eye out as well. He only noticed that the eye was missing the morning after he brought it home.

[@solalabell9674]

One thing I’d like to mention at 18:50 axes were very much commonplace especially around a fireplace (which if I’m not mistaken is near where he covers the body) this is why there was a large amount of axe murders in that time period because they were commonly kept by most families so they were a weapon of convenience is the terminology if memory serves. I also don’t think that there was mortar given that it only took a few people prying to tear down the wall so it seems the bricks were simply laid dry. I do think it was a crime of passion without premeditation given the narrator has been shown to be extremely impulsive and violent for no reason obviously to the point of killing Pluto and hurting his wife before the axe just happened to be in his hand this time.

[@tugatgalut]

It's a pleasure to listen to Carrie Hoover's wisdom 👍 Even though i did not like this particular story I decided to subscribe. It is my hope that Carrie will read some of my stories some day 💔💔

[@juliapark4611]

한국 방송통신대에서 그 재미없는 영문학수업중 재미있게 읽던 블랙캣을 만나니 반갑네요 .1800년대에 이런 소설있었나 놀라웠고 당시 Poe 에 대해서 다시 찾아봤었어요

[@cosma8441]

omg this was so helpful!! actually more entertaining to follow than the actual story, thank you!

[@CarrieHoover]

I’m so glad you liked it!

[@majdahilali3410]

OMG! I LOVE YOUR ANALYSIS SO MUCH .THANKS

[@CarrieHoover]

Thanks for watching!

[@Cynyanko]

Amazing analysis, thank you. Also love your personality.

[@studyingpeach6691]

Thank you so much for the amazing analysis! Helped me so much in my course work.

[@CarrieHoover]

Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@vgpurple6887]

No English homework...54. Trying to read more. Good for my aging brain. 😀

[@MikeFrench101]

My favorite Poe story is The Masque of the Red Death. I'd love to hear your thoughts and analysis on it!

[@alfredsolari9172]

Thank you very much indeed for such a straightforward analysis. You are cystal clear and professional.

[@FeelingMotivated_03]

Thank you this video helped me with my homework.

[@adrianveidt3600]

very excellent miss hoover. this is a good coverage for my college project

[@jonathancato3608]

Dude tysm for your Red Death video, went above and beyond especially at the end all the biblical points you made.

[@danielk4155]

That's amazing. We read this story in american gothic fiction, and it's my fave!

[@CarrieHoover]

That sounds like a fun class! What else are you reading?

[@danielk4155]

@@CarrieHoover It was in 2013 at University of Missouri Kansas City. We read other poe, Virginia Wolf, Sylvia Plath, maybe Lovecraft, but my all time favorite was Norman Mailer, and especially I love the whole collection Dennis Johnson's Jesus' Son. Hey.. I wrote a gothic short story myself... Would you be able to find time to read it and basically let me know if it makes any sense?

[@danielk4155]

I wrote it in short stories class 2014, but I missed the day I had my review so I didn't get any feedback, it was the last day of class. I would like to know if it's worth trying to publish. It's gothic religious allegory kind of...

[@danielk4155]

@@CarrieHoover Are you a teacher or you just do this for fun? Mine is written from the coma/dream point of view, out of body lessons, etc. It's a trip. If you're a teacher, you are a good one. I dig it.

[@danielk4155]

@@CarrieHoover Poe is my hero... you may like it if nothing else, I don't need feedback. But I'd pay you if you did.

[@bobsquires4521]

I've owned three black cats. This is not a story for the faint of heart or for a cat person and makes me convinced I should have gone into law enforcement to set straight any of the morons who think they might get away with casual abuse of either their pets or their significant others blaming 'their daemons' or their alcohol use. Terrific analysis and fine video - thank you very much for posting.

[@angelic25heart]

I thought the same thing!

[@sharafsuhayl4439]

This was very helpful for my exam I gotta sit for tomorrow! Thank You so much

[@EnglishWithMrBakhri]

Wow! What an amazing analysis! You deserve more followers, really!

[@CarrieHoover]

That's so kind of you! Thank you for watching!

[@EnglishWithMrBakhri]

You're very welcome! 😊 Best of luck in your noble mission!

[@oliwiakupczyk]

this was amazing, thank you so much!!!

[@CarrieHoover]

Thanks for watching!

[@englishwithmikemouad.8824]

thank you so much, your analysis is really helpful. there are many things you mentioned that I didn't pay attention to while reading.

[@syvandao8243]

Love your video, thank you so much!

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching! I hope it was helpful!

[@user-vw2wi2hs7n]

Very good analysis : D

[@shakespearaamina9117]

Thank you Carrie

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching!

[@shoresofpatmos]

There Also apears to be a link between psychopathy and animal cruelty. Children that Develop psychopathy often Show a tendency to animal cruelty in early stages of childhood.

[@CarrieHoover]

It's a very disturbing element of Poe's story. I added a link to the Humane Society's page on domestic violence in the video notes.

[@deborahpablo786]

Yes very helpful! This gives me so much to work with🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@4eyeoptics856]

Im really enjoying you summaries. I enjoy reading the stories and listenimg to your reviews.

[@jalpatel7789]

Thankyou so much this video was very helpful my rhetorical analysis essay. Keep it up.

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching! Good luck on your essay!

[@ironmean5228]

Thank you so much!! You really help me from midterm crisis

[@user-iksssojhhhwhba]

What an excellent explanation! It helped me a lot. Thank you so much

[@CarrieHoover]

I’m so glad it was helpful!

[@englishwithmikemouad.8824]

thank you so much for this analysis.

[@dystopiafan580]

I have just read The black cat and one of the first thoughts that came to my mind was : ,,What if the second cat was never there? What if it was the symphtom of Delerium thremens and his guilt?" What do you think about this theory? There are a lot of cool theories about this story; one of them is that he frst killed his wife than the cat. You can find it online.

[@nathanmiller1014]

WHOOP WHOOP! 300th subscriber!!

[@CarrieHoover]

Haha, thank you!

[@Bella00011]

Thanks a lot this is very helpful ❤

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching!

[@ayoubnokra5439]

Thank you sou much that was really helpful I have exams next week please keep going I wish you all the best ❤❤❤

[@CarrieHoover]

Best of luck!

[@MarcvdMeulen]

Clear and comprehensive, thank you for sharing! Great for people like me who don't need it for school, but just want to dive a little deeper into the story :)

[@houneidabenmahidi6039]

Amazing!!!

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching!

[@cynthialuis5923]

Thank you 🙏

[@CarrieHoover]

You're welcome! I hope it was helpful!

[@laurasaur9]

Omg! Thank this is SAVING MY SANITY for exams I can’t thank you ENOUGH💕

[@CarrieHoover]

You're welcome! Good luck on your exams & thanks for watching!

[@juanadiaz6576]

You the best gurl 👏🏻👏🏻

[@CarrieHoover]

I hope it was helpful!

[@MrMicahthemagician]

That was fantastic. Thank you 🙏

[@footballscoutingreport]

I’m so freaked out with her background and how the wall is so much of a different pattern than the rest.

[@davemidua6138]

Maybe she also covered something behind it?

[@Jazz-dh2ds]

@@davemidua6138 Perhaps a black cat?

[@anshu1596]

Who knows?

[@yasmineyasmine8894]

Thanks

[@armandolandecho376]

Really helpfull, thanks a lot miss

[@user-lz8uv1tb1p]

Thanks for your efforts I study this topic at the total phase II English Department I am very agent but with a few words I have made it thanks for the Middle East in Iraq l hope speak about the story open window thank you

[@shaolongchen]

hey u just want to say thank you

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching!

[@martashaza6486]

amazing analysis. exactly what i needed

[@reri9832]

I loved your analysis...this helped me with my exams✍🏻Thank you

[@CarrieHoover]

I'm so glad! Thanks for watching!

[@liquidpuffin5267]

I get a hint that the cat is a metaphor for the narrators conscience.

[@lawstintranslation]

this was an amazing analysis, thank youuu!!

[@juliiiiiiiiii6119]

Love this !!! ♡♡♡

[@tota2778]

Super 😻♥️!

[@CarrieHoover]

Thank you for watching!

[@hamadhys]

Thank you for the analysis. I wonder if you have analysed Hemingway’s the short days of Mrs Mc Comber!

[@maya_existing6273]

Thank you so much!

[@frederikschulp]

Thank you so much, english is not my native language, and the grammar the writer used was pretty complicated. So I could be wrong about this, but I thought he sealed of his wife in the place where the chimney used to be.

[@CarrieHoover]

The entire scene takes place in the cellar, but the speaker does choose the spot in the wall where a fireplace or false chimney used to be. One explanation is that, at one point, the cellar of the building may have been used as living space, but has since been converted to storage.

[@PatrickPrejusa]

I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS

[@nnn.nnn2]

Thank you this really helped me alot💖

[@ganceanndullahan5361]

At least Pluto got a better name than H.P. Lovecraft's cat.

[@mikib8980]

thank you so much

[@user-up3tk2uv4r]

I’ve just red this 3 times there wasn’t a wall with a cat outline on it and it was a knife not an axe I don’t understand I’m reviewing this for a college paper and your analysis of it has caused great confusion I have no idea what you read

[@VDchacon]

Why is it one of the darkest?!? Joking. But in all seriousness this was sooo dark. 😬 it doesn't help I love cats lol.

[@yennhiphamnguyen3918]

I really love your analysis, but I still have confused on who caused the fire on his house 🥹 is that himself?

[@Adlotuseater]

Wow🌹❤️🙏

[@benhuether5474]

Do the ghost stories of M.R. James 👻

[@benhuether5474]

Do The Outsider by H.P. Lovecraft

[@user-up3tk2uv4r]

Please explain

[@musicweirdo1]

It's simply a cautionary tale of the horrors of alcoholism!!

[@mvfernando2197]

Can you please comment, the evidence on the story where he tells 'that this story is normalized and we all have done something like this' part?thxxxx

[@CarrieHoover]

The speaker tries to justify killing the cat by saying, "Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a stupid action, for no other reason then because he knows he should not?" The speaker is trying to normalize his actions by claiming that everyone has experienced those emotions. Also, by including the phrase "a hundred times," the speaker is attempting to minimize his actions. He is trying to reduce what he's done down to the level of cutting in line or hiding a sibling's toy. I hope that answers your question! Thank you for watching!

[@kishanparmar4021]

i try to english speaking but i cannot speak english, can you please gaide me?

[@angelbonita]

10:31

[@SimpleeTarot]

The cat is his alcoholism.

[@amilyaaa9425]

Please read first before watching this! Omg it’s crazy

[@shaolongchen]

bruh i wish i could see this video earlier

[@amilyaaa9425]

859th subscriber who is going to be 860?

[@catherinecao4810]

Is it possible that the narrator is still drunk when all this is happening? Maybe the splotch on the wall looks like a cat because he’s drunk when he saw it. Maybe he’s having alcohol-induced blackouts, so his memory is a bit spotty. Maybe the white spot on the cat is changing because he’s drunk and his eyes are clouded from the tears.

[@CarrieHoover]

Absolutely; that's a really good idea! He could also be dealing with paranoia and/or hallucinations resulting from his continued alcoholism. Here's an abstract I found on alcohol-related psychosis: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459134/

[@catherinecao4810]

@@CarrieHoover Well, another of Poe’s narrators from the story “Ligeia” is an addict, so I guess it was a common choice for characters

[@tugatgalut]

I admire Poe's poetry and short stories. However, 'The Black Cat' wasn't a story that I cherish or ever will because it involves murder. I could by no means sympathize with the storyteller. It hurts me when people hurt animals.

[@catherinecao4810]

Fun Fact: sociopaths are known to show “fondness” for animals. It’s not really kindness or love, but a passing “oh, that’s cool” thing. Maybe the narrator was never a good person, and his alcoholism let him do whatever he wanted. Maybe his “confession” is him trying to manipulate the audience. He’s either likes using high flatulent language, or is condescending to us.

[@jonathancato3608]

If you consider the case of Dennis Reynolds yo, you're absolutely right. He shows fondness for cats many times in the show and he's clearly unhinged.

[@lesterstone8595]

👁♥ur 🧠