Character Analysis THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
Active characters move the story along by consciously and deliberately making changes to their
surroundings. Passive characters do the opposite – they do not actively change their surroundings,
but are simply affected by the changes going on around them. Some characters may be active in
some ways and passive in others, or they may change from one to the other as the story progresses.
Fill in the table below with information about the characters in The Raven, and put ticks in the
boxes to identify whether they are active or passive (remember, you can tick both boxes if you think
they are both, or that they change from one to the other!). Give evidence from the story to back-up
the boxes you have ticked.
Relationship
to other Physical Personality Active or
Name characters description description passive? Evidence
Active
NARRATOR
Passive
Active
WIFE
Passive
Active
PLUTO
Passive
Active
NEW CAT
Passive
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Matching exercise THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
1. Match each phrase from the story with an image.
I alone fed him, and he attended me
wherever I went about the house.
It was even with difficulty that I could 1 A
prevent him from following me
through the streets.
My original soul seemed, at once,
to take its flight from my body;
and a more than fiendish malevolence, 2 B
gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre
of my frame.
– hung it because I knew that it had
loved me, and because I felt it had
given me no reason of offence; - hung it 3 C
because I knew that in doing
so I was committing a sin.
my attention was suddenly drawn
to some black object, reposing upon
the head of one of the immense
hogsheads of Gin, or of Rum, which 4 D
constituted the chief furniture
of the apartment.
When it reached the house
it domesticated itself at once, and
became immediately a great favorite 5 E
with my wife.
Uplifting an axe, and forgetting,
in my wrath, the childish dread which
had hitherto stayed my hand, I aimed
a blow at the animal which, of course, 6 F
would have proved instantly fatal
had it descended as I wished.
I had walled the monster up
within the tomb! 7 G
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Glossary THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
Barroque (adj) bizzare, extravagant, ornate Hogshead (n) a large barrel
Sagacious (adj) wise or shrewd Evince (v) indicate
Paltry (adj) petty or trivial Odious (adj) extremely unpleasant
Gossamer (n) a thin, delicate material or Pestilence (n)
substance Endear (v) ([this] only endeared it to my wife)
Fidelity (n) faithfulness Pertinacity (adv) a fatal epidemic disease
Tinctured (adj) containing a small amount of Felon (n) a person who has committed a serious
Fiend (n) evil spirit or demon crime
Intemperance (n) lack of moderation or restraint Chimera (n) something illusory or impossible
Peevish (adj) irritating Gallows (n) a structure used to hang criminals
Malevolence (n) hostility Incarnate (adj) embodied in human form
Debauch (n) the act of excessive indulgence Forthwith (adv) immediately
Equivocal (adj) ambiguous, open to Expedient (n) convenient and practical
interpretation Forebore (v) restrain
Perpetual (adj) constant, never-ending Felicity (n) happiness
Consummate (v) to bring to completion Inscrutability (adj) impossibility to detect
Conflagration (n) an extensive fire Phrenzy (n) a period of uncontrolled excitement
Thenceforward (adv) from that point onwards Bravado (n) a bold manner
Ammonia (n) a colourless gas Anomalous (adj) abnormal or unexpected
Haunts (n) a place where someone goes regularly Exult (v) to display triumphant happiness
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Quiz THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
Please choose the best option for each of the following questions:
1. What can you see throw the small window of 4. How many rabbits can you see in the narrator’s
the narrator’s cell on page 1? * photographs of his animals? *
a. A skeletal tree a. 2
b. A grand old house b. None
c. A cobweb c. 1
d. A hangman’s noose d. 5
2. What does the narrator say he was noted
5. Who was the narrator’s favourite pet?
for as a child? Choose all that apply.
a. His cat, Pluto
a. Docility
b. His sagacious dog
b. Fragility
c. His clever little monkey, Apollo
c. Wild temperament
d. His two goldfish, Demeter and Ares
d. Humanity
e. Tenderness of heart
f. Fear of the future
6. How did the narrator’s disposition change during
the period of he and Pluto’s close friendship?
a. He became happier than he had ever been
3. From which peculiarity of character does the na-
b. He became moody, irritable and abusive
rrator draw on of his principal sources of pleasure?
c. He began to have long periods of blank memory
a. His fear of the future
d. He became terrified of leaving the house
b. His love of animals
c. His inability to feel romantic love
d. His love of reading
*For these questions, refer to iClassics iPoe2
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Quiz THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
7. What does Pluto do when the narrator returns 13. What does the narrator find many people
drunk and grabs him? examining in the ruins of his house?
a. He goes limp in his arms a. The dead bodies of all the narrator’s varied pets
b. He turns into a witch b. A warning message burnt into the floor
c. He disappears in a cloud of smoke c. A section of wall engraved with the figure of a cat
d. He bites him out of fright d. Pluto, alive and well, with both eyes intact
8. What does the narrator do soon after waking up 14. What does the narrator see on top of a
in the morning? hogshead?
a. Decides to give up alcohol for life a. A completely black cat
b. Takes his dog for a long walk b. A black cat with a white breast patch
c. Begins to drink again c. A brilliantly white cat
d. Cries to his wife that he doesn’t know what he’s d. An ungainly grey hound
done
15. What can you see behind the narrator’s wife
9. What happens when you tap Pluto as he hides as she holds their new pet? *
behind the pile of books? * a. The outline of Pluto blasted on the wall behind
a. He moves further behind the books, out of sight them
b. He turns into a person b. An evil face peering menacingly out of darkest
c. He jumps out, snarling shadow
d. Nothing happens c. A tree covered in pristine snow
d. The narrator staring angrily at them from his arm-
chair
10. What is the spirit of perverseness?
a. An evil ghost that manufactures disaster
b. The desire to do wrong for wrong’s sake 16. What shape does the new pet’s markings
c. An intoxicating elixir gradually take?
d. A demonic presence a. That of the gallows
b. That of a dead cat
c. That of a skull
11. How does the narrator consummate Pluto’s d. That of a flower
injury?
a. He drowns Pluto
b. He hangs Pluto from a tree
c. He gives Pluto a glass eye
d. He turns Pluto loose into the wild
12. How does the narrator lose his worldly wealth?
a. It is destroyed in a fire
b. He sells it to fund his alcohol addiction
c. His wife kicks him out of the house
d. He is arrested and his assets confiscated
*For these questions, refer to iClassics iPoe2
Education Program www.iclassicscollection.com
Quiz THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
17. What stops the narrator from hitting the cat 21. How does the narrator feel in
with the axe? the aftermath of the murder in the
a. His own feelings of remorse basement?
b. The cat throws itself claws-first at his face a. He feels the heavy burden of
c. The hand of his wife guilt weighing down his soul
d. A ghostly apparition b. He feels furious with the world
and descends into a dark rage
c. He feels nothing ever again
18. Who does the narrator kill in the basement d. He sleeps tranquilly and feels
under his house? free and happy
a. The cat
b. His wife
c. Himself 22. What does the narrator do as
d. His dog the police begin to ascend the stairs of the base-
ment?
a. He smiles secretly and doesn’t say a word
19. How does the narrator decide to dispose of b.He suddenly screams a hysterical confession nd
the corpse of his victim? runs up the stairs
a. Burning it c. He sees the cat at the top of the stairs and breaks
b. Sending it off in the post into maniacal tears
c. Walling it up in the cellar d. He boasts about how well constructed the house
d. Burying it in the garden is and raps on the wall with his cane
20. What materials does the narrator make his 23. What causes the police to start tearing down
plaster out of? Select all that apply. the wall?
a. Cement a. A long, inhuman scream
b. Mortar b. The narrator’s screamed confession
c. Eggs c. The black cat pointing with its paw
d. Sand d. Nothing – they leave the house none the wiser
e. Gravel
f. Hair
g. Skin 24. What do the police find behind the wall?
h. Bird droppings a. The corpse of the narrator’s wife, alone
b. The corpse of the narrator’s wife and the cat
c. Nothing!
d. The burned outlines of all the creatures the narra-
tor has ever harmed
*For these questions, refer to iClassics iPoe2
Education Program www.iclassicscollection.com
Writing THE BLACK CAT by Edgar Allan Poe
iClassics Collection - iPoe2
Imagine you are the head jailer at the prison where the narrator is awaiting his execution. You are
about to retire, and you have to write descriptions of all your inmates to give to the person taking
over from you. Write a description of the narrator from the Black Cat. Make sure you:
a. Explain the crime he was committed and how he was found out.
b. Describe his personality in detail. You will have read various testimonies of his friends
and neighbours describing him before the murder, so make sure to include how his
personality may have changed over time and what may have caused this.
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