The Black Cat Trivia Quiz

Answer: A rat

The narrator commences his story with a framing of his own character, specifically that of a man with a tenderness and generosity towards domestic animals, having grown up in the company of much-loved pets. Upon marrying, he and his wife continued to take in animals. As he notes, "we had birds, gold-fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat."

As exotic as a monkey sounds, the idea of owning a simian isn't new to Poe. Two years earlier, an orangutan was an important piece of the mystery in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". One would have to presume that the simian in "The Black Cat" was much better-behaved.

Answer: Witches

An old classic, the throwaway superstition here depicts an ill portent in the early part of the story, particularly because it would seem that no events leading to this point in the narrators life would lead to horror of any sort. The narrator's wife may be joking when she recites the old wives tale that a black cat is always a witch in disguise, but the aging feline, especially when it's placed into duress, proves to be a bit of a dark figure.

The narrator's wife, as it seems, doesn't see anything particularly wrong with the cat through the story, herself being of similar countenance to her husband, at least in regards to pets.

Answer: Pluto

The ruler of the Greek underworld to some, Pluto is a particularly ironic name for the cat in the story, at least before anything problematic happens. Before the cat takes on its second self, it appears to be one of the narrator's closest companions, even being so close as to rarely leave his side while he's home.

Unfortunately, the black cat's bad luck appears to be brought onto the narrator by himself; their years of friendship turn to a tale of karmic revenge.

Answer: Intemperance

Poe, himself, was known to be a violent alcoholic, and with his wife's passing in 1842, it's believed by many that "The Black Cat" is amongst the works where he inserts much of himself into the protagonist's role. As the narrator describes in the lead-up to the story's inciting incident, it's his drinking that leads to his irritability, and this irritability gives way to changes to his disposition that cause him to harm those around him...including Pluto.

Answer: The eye

It's during one particularly rough, alcoholic night that the protagonist takes his rage out on his long-time companion. When he attempted to pick up the cat while rough and intoxicated, Pluto bit him on the hand, sending him into a fit of violence. With that, he pulled out his pen-knife, grabbed the cat by the neck, and used it to remove one of its eyes.

Naturally, the narrator remembered little of this until morning, when he woke up after the incident and felt great remorse. It was unfortunate that the vicious cycle continued; he drowned the remorse in more wine while the cat slowly recovered.

Answer: His home is set on fire

Once Pluto starts avoiding the narrator out of obvious fear, the sense of guilt turns, once again, to a sense of frustration that's only exacerbated by drinking. On one such occasion, he commits a more heinous deed, capturing the cat, stringing a rope around its neck, and hanging it from a tree in the yard, an act he realizes is wrong even as he's doing it, but feels he can't stop himself from doing.

That night, the narrator was awakened from his sleep by fire licking up the curtains of his bed. He, his wife, and his servant were able to escape the blaze, but all of their belongings, and the house, were lost to the fire.

In visiting the ruins at a later date, the narrator believed he saw the image of a cat, a noose around its neck, emblazoned in scorch marks on the walls.

Answer: Down its breast

In the coming weeks and months, following the fire, the narrator continues to see phantasmal images of Pluto as he goes about his routines. The reminder of guilt persists, but eventually materializes; the narrator finds a cat watching him from atop a hogshead in his office. It seems to be identical to Pluto in every way save for a white marking across its breast, almost as though a spectral cord of rope were strung around it.

He brings the cat home as, it seems at least, the cat is eager to follow, and it is reconfirmed that it is real by his wife. In fact, it seems to like his wife more-- something which frustrates the narrator a great deal-- and after a short time, it becomes clear that the cat is purposely trying to harm him. It leads to a certain dread of the beast and...eventually...a plan to put it out of its misery once again.

Answer: An axe

The true fury lingering under the narrator's surface comes to a head when he and his wife head into the cellar on one occasion to complete an errand and the black cat runs between his legs in what he believes is an effort to cause him to tumble down the stairs. Enraged, he picks up an axe and attempt to swing at the cat only for his wife to stay his hand.

It's not enough to direct his anger elsewhere and he swings for her head instead, killing her instantly. The cat manages to survive the encounter

Answer: In a wall

In another trope of classic Poe, the narrator buries his murdered wife in the cellar wall, painstakingly bricking her up in the basement like a monk in the Middle Ages while he has the cover of night. He manages, quite well, to replicate the old wall in both bricks and plaster to create the illusion that nothing was ever touched in his home, and with that he sets out to finish the job and locate the awful cat.

It doesn't reappear though-- not that night, and not in the next few days. The relief he feels almost masks the guilt.

Answer: No

Four days after the murder and cover-up, the narrator is called on by the police who, investigating the disappearance of his wife, scour his home for any proof of her whereabouts. He's able to keep them at bay when all searches prove futile and, at one point, he even plays a bit cocky, referring to the amazing work on the structure of the building, all while they're nonethewiser.

But things change the minute a sound is heard from behind the cellar wall-- the shrieking howl of a demon cat. The police tear open the bricks to find the rotting, missing corpse, and seated atop it, a one-eyed cat, sealed into the wall with it.