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The narrator of the poem has not personally seen the cat and dog fight. He narrates what he learned from the old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate, which were there in the room that night, where the duel took place.
- Male
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
The narrator (obviously an unreliable narrator, in the typical vein of Poe's criminally mad narrators) claims to have lived a childhood whose greatest comforts involved animals.
The duel described in the text is between a gingham dog and a calico cat, with a Chinese plate and an old Dutch clock as very unwilling witnesses, whom the poem's narrator credits for having described the events to him.
One night, under the influence of alcohol, he sensed the black cat was avoiding him and so chased him and picked up the animal. The animal bit him slightly on the hand, and the narrator – possessed by a sudden rage – took a pen-knife from his pocket and gouged out one of the cat’s eyes.
Among birds, goldfish, a dog, rabbits, and a monkey, the narrator singles out a large and beautiful black cat, named Pluto, as his favorite. Though he loves Pluto, the narrator begins to suffer from violent mood swings, predominantly due to the influence of alcohol.
The narrator of "The Black Cat" tells us of his boyhood, which was easy. He had a particular love of animals and had a lot of pets and this love only increased into adulthood. He thinks there is something in the loyalty and unselfishness of a dog that you can’t get from a man.
Among birds, goldfish, a dog, rabbits, and a monkey, the narrator singles out a large and beautiful black cat named Pluto as his favorite. Though he loves Pluto, the narrator begins to suffer from violent mood swings, predominantly due to the influence of alcohol.
