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15th out of 527 books
—
349 voters
The Black Cat
„The Black Cat“ is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt.
10 pages
Published
(first published 1843)
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GOODREADS POLL QUESTIONS: What did you think of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, THE BLACK CAT?
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READER RESPONSES:
OUCH....well I didn’t hate this anti black cat hit piece as much as the unbiased poll respondents did, but I didn’t really like it either. Of course, as a member of the GLASS Association (Get Lousy Drunk and Sing Showtunes), I will say that I found the negative portrayal of excess alcohol consumption to be both misleading and offensive and may have allowed that anger to color my opi...more
...
READER RESPONSES:
OUCH....well I didn’t hate this anti black cat hit piece as much as the unbiased poll respondents did, but I didn’t really like it either. Of course, as a member of the GLASS Association (Get Lousy Drunk and Sing Showtunes), I will say that I found the negative portrayal of excess alcohol consumption to be both misleading and offensive and may have allowed that anger to color my opi...more
Poe is a literary genius. Maybe I am just a sucker for titles dealing with cats. But, Poe is famous for a reason. As much as I say Stephen King is the master of horror....I have to say, Poe is the original horror master. Such a creative mind, beautiful words and prose.
6 likes
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The quintessential Poe tale.
2 likes
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قرأت نسخةً مترجمة للعربية, إلكترونية و لا بأس بالترجمة, تكفي لأن تظهر أسلوب و مبتغى إدغار آلان بو و مراده من القصة ..
بدت طبيعة الروح الكتابية و القصصية عند إدغار في قصة القط الأسود : بروحٍ خيالية ميتافيزقية تشوبها السوداوية المعهودة عنه ..
يحكي فيها شخصاً كان يحب إقتناء الحيوانات الأليفة و المنزلية, و ما عُهد عنه أنه نشأ بطبيعة حساسة و مرهفة للغاية
لدرجة أنه كان مثار سخرية و تندّر من أصدقائه بإفراطه الشعور نحو حيوانات منزلية و قضائه أغلب وقته معها.
فجأةً يطرأ أمر ما بعد مرور سنين , و نتيجة إدمانه ا...more
بدت طبيعة الروح الكتابية و القصصية عند إدغار في قصة القط الأسود : بروحٍ خيالية ميتافيزقية تشوبها السوداوية المعهودة عنه ..
يحكي فيها شخصاً كان يحب إقتناء الحيوانات الأليفة و المنزلية, و ما عُهد عنه أنه نشأ بطبيعة حساسة و مرهفة للغاية
لدرجة أنه كان مثار سخرية و تندّر من أصدقائه بإفراطه الشعور نحو حيوانات منزلية و قضائه أغلب وقته معها.
فجأةً يطرأ أمر ما بعد مرور سنين , و نتيجة إدمانه ا...more
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Funny story, really.
There I was two days ago, thinking that I better read something that is not part of my course's core reading. The black cat, I though; short, simple and will not take more than 15 minuets of my precious study-time-time. Wrong.
Absolutely haunting short story. The protagonist and narrator is an animal loving, kind, sympathetic and caring man; the sort I would fall face down for IF he EXISTED out there in real life. What happens? He turns in to an alcoholic bastard; mistreating...more
There I was two days ago, thinking that I better read something that is not part of my course's core reading. The black cat, I though; short, simple and will not take more than 15 minuets of my precious study-time-time. Wrong.
Absolutely haunting short story. The protagonist and narrator is an animal loving, kind, sympathetic and caring man; the sort I would fall face down for IF he EXISTED out there in real life. What happens? He turns in to an alcoholic bastard; mistreating...more
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Sep 22, 2012
Ken Moten
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Poe lovers, cat lovers
Recommended to Ken by:
11th Grade English class
This is a story about THE CAT FROM HELLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!
Actually no.
This short story is actually about a man not controlling his impulses very well (a common Poe theme/character trait) and a cat that refused to let him get away with that fact. This story is very interesting to me because it leaves things open to interpretation (unless I'm missing something) as to whether events are supernatural or if the protagonist is simply insane. Like The Raven we have in animal that is obviousl...more
Actually no.
This short story is actually about a man not controlling his impulses very well (a common Poe theme/character trait) and a cat that refused to let him get away with that fact. This story is very interesting to me because it leaves things open to interpretation (unless I'm missing something) as to whether events are supernatural or if the protagonist is simply insane. Like The Raven we have in animal that is obviousl...more
Read this in class today, and after thoroughly analyzing this shiz (as we usually do), I think it's safe to say that The Black Cat is probably my favorite story by Mr Poe to-date. It was definitely a character-driven story, a first-person narrative in which you cannot trust the narrator at all. Super creepy - like Poe's stories usually are - and for some reason as I was reading along, I kept on thinking about what Poe infamously said... how he
" became insane, with long intervals of horrible san...more
" became insane, with long intervals of horrible san...more
I just read this particular short story on a Wiki site:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Sat...
& found it truly gruesome. I can understand why some might not connect with it. Poe's tale of a descent into madness & violence is somewhat illogical for the normal person, but for the addict or alcoholic... well, he describes it perfectly - unsurprising when you consider his history of abuse. I believe he poured his soul into the telling.
The man's brief description of his prior life told me t...more
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Sat...
& found it truly gruesome. I can understand why some might not connect with it. Poe's tale of a descent into madness & violence is somewhat illogical for the normal person, but for the addict or alcoholic... well, he describes it perfectly - unsurprising when you consider his history of abuse. I believe he poured his soul into the telling.
The man's brief description of his prior life told me t...more
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Pluto, a black cat, was the most loved pet among other pets. He was always by his owner’s side and he had never felt any harm from him until the day he was murdered by his owner. The narrator (Pluto’s owner) suffered alcoholism, thus he used to harm people and animals around him but Pluto was different to him. He hanged the poor cat on the tree at the garden, and he felt more and more deeply in his illness. One day at the bar he found a cat which resembles to Pluto, but he had a white fur spot a...more
I could hardly stomach this one giving the animal cruelty, but it presents a theme similar to the Telltale Heart: that of the futility of trying to 'bury' or rid ourselves of our guilt. The narrator in The Black Cat feels the guilt of his ill-turned character because his pets love him undeservedly. The story reveals the perverseness we sometimes show, in that we don't necessarily appreciate or embrace unconditional, steadfast love, but mistreat and even resent it for the flaws in us it brings to...more
May 12, 2013
Rao Umar
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
J.H
Recommended to Rao by:
Ali
Shelves:
short-story
The black cat managed to please me first in bits but soon became extremely existing and creepy.
The story was full of extraordinary details explaining every bit as feeling,emotion and actions. More over the actual forte of the story was the direct deliverance by the narrator who elaborates his affection to towards animal before becoming an alcoholism, then his distraction by the black cat and finally the remorse. However the ending turns every thing upside down and as the final sentence says "I h...more
The story was full of extraordinary details explaining every bit as feeling,emotion and actions. More over the actual forte of the story was the direct deliverance by the narrator who elaborates his affection to towards animal before becoming an alcoholism, then his distraction by the black cat and finally the remorse. However the ending turns every thing upside down and as the final sentence says "I h...more
This is a great, genuinely creepy story. Poe is a literary genius; without Poe, we wouldn't have some big name horror writers such as Stephen King, and many others. This was a very good story. It is about this narrator who gets a black cat for him and his wife. But as it turns out, the black cat is making this man go crazy. It is very creepy, and surprisingly disturbing. It is one of the best horror short stories I have ever read by Poe (except for Cask of Amontillado and Tell-tale heart). Just...more
The Tell-Tale Heart was the first short story I read by Edgar Allan Poe. The Black Cat was my second. From just two pieces of writing, Poe has became one of my favourite short story writers. His material has an extra spark which illuminates and sets his stories apart from others. The morbidity of his pieces is what makes them impossible to forget. They don't seem to ever stop lurking in the depths of one's nightmares.
Yes, there were similar elements in both stories and they follow the same trend...more
Yes, there were similar elements in both stories and they follow the same trend...more
Disturbing and gory story about a man going crazy and killing his beloved pet. Difficult to read if you love cats but the cat does comes back to haunt him and then things really get creepy. I enjoyed this story. It's one of Poe's better ones.
It's a story about guilt and how it can torture one poor man's soul... even when the object of that guilt is a cat. I really liked it, but being a cat lover and having one cat myself, I couldn't help but feel pity for the poor cat of the story..
Nov 06, 2010
Tamela Quijas
added it
Evil and perverseness at it's greatest, all led by the demon brew. Beautifully written, Poe's own madness shines through in this short story that makes the reader question if a cat can have a sense of revenge.
I was like 7 years old when I Read this book... I had nightmares every night. It's not like a scary movie, it won't make you scream, but it keeps on your mind forever. It's not a book you can easily forget.
The book the Black Cat is an exceptional book and I highly recommend it for any of you to read. The book is written the one and only Edgar Allan Poe. Just saying the name "Edgar Allan Poe" already makes this story phenomenal. The Black Cat is a story about a crazed animal lover who has a cat who causes him to product very insane actions. This book is a short story which makes each page that much more significant. The Black Cat is a very disturbing tale, that shows the real high point of crazines...more
I've had cats, I've had black cats. I love black cats the best. The way that the people and animals in this story were abused and murdered made me extremely uncomfortable. Yes, the violence was awful, and it probably does offend today's sensibilities. However, I was also uncomfortable because the narrator had once loved his pets and then became unhinged and tormented by their very presence, to the point that he was driven to murder. It really takes so little to drive us from love and adoration t...more
"Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgment, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?"
The dangers of alcoholism combine with the macabre in this chilling tale about a man who loses his perception of reality and commits atrocious crimes in the process.
The bottom line: right up there with "The Pit and...more
The dangers of alcoholism combine with the macabre in this chilling tale about a man who loses his perception of reality and commits atrocious crimes in the process.
The bottom line: right up there with "The Pit and...more
I wasn't expecting this short story to be as disturbing as it was. I love my two pet cats and what happened in this story made me feel ill.
Glad to see this story is still upsetting readers today. The narrator makes it sound like he had lost all control due to alcohol but all through the story I feel that he is insane from the beginning. He is seemingly honest about his behavior and full of empathy but it seems that psychotic nature is always there beneath the surface. You do not start abusing animals after getting drunk unless there is something already amiss. The narrator doesn't seem to understand that at all. He see's the second...more
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I decided to try and educate myself on poe after reading the tell tale heart i decided to read this short story, being an animal lover the story started ok until the man turned into a nasty shit who if had been infront of me i would have done to him what he did to the cat,
i put the book down and refused to finish the story however the book sat there and haunted me for days popping into my mind until i read the rest of the story im glad i did all i can say is it's a very haunting story and gave...more
i put the book down and refused to finish the story however the book sat there and haunted me for days popping into my mind until i read the rest of the story im glad i did all i can say is it's a very haunting story and gave...more
"The Black Cat" is a story I got to read during English class, and as most books you have to read in school, you wont enjoy them as much as if you choose them by yourself. And that's the case with this short story. I didn't get stuck like I want to get in good stories and books, so I just read through it 'cause I had to. But still, I bet the weird twisting plot could've gotten me stuck if it wouldn't have been so old-fashion and if it hadn't been a "I-have-to-read-this-because-of-school" story.
I...more
I...more
منذ فتره لم اقرأ قصة كتلك، تلك بدايتى لبو .
القصة بها ابعاد نفسيه اكثر مما كُتب، الانسانية المفرطة لهذا الشخص انقلبت للضد بدون اى مبرر وهو افضل من وجود مبرر عامةً و هذا ما اعجبنى فى رؤية بو للشخصيه.
هذا الشخص لم يتوقف عن تعذيب قطه الاسود بل اصبح القط هو الشىء النفسى المحطم فى داخله. الرغبه العارمه فى ان يكون الوجه الاخر الذى لم يجربه طوال حياته، وجة الشر الكامل. هذا القط اصبح مروض روحة الشريره و ايضا خوفة و ذعره من فعل الشر. و لكى يتخلص من القط الاسود، بدون واعى اتبعه لاقصى انواع الشر بأن يقتل زوج...more
القصة بها ابعاد نفسيه اكثر مما كُتب، الانسانية المفرطة لهذا الشخص انقلبت للضد بدون اى مبرر وهو افضل من وجود مبرر عامةً و هذا ما اعجبنى فى رؤية بو للشخصيه.
هذا الشخص لم يتوقف عن تعذيب قطه الاسود بل اصبح القط هو الشىء النفسى المحطم فى داخله. الرغبه العارمه فى ان يكون الوجه الاخر الذى لم يجربه طوال حياته، وجة الشر الكامل. هذا القط اصبح مروض روحة الشريره و ايضا خوفة و ذعره من فعل الشر. و لكى يتخلص من القط الاسود، بدون واعى اتبعه لاقصى انواع الشر بأن يقتل زوج...more
In the chapter "the house. from cellar to garret. the significance of the hut" from The Poetics of Space this story is mentioned when discussing the symbolic representation of the cellar as that of childhood fears. In this case, the cat in the cellar wall signifies unredeemed guilt.
You'll need to read the story, as I did, to understand. And it makes perfect sense.
Ahhh...the wonders of reading "about" literature.
You'll need to read the story, as I did, to understand. And it makes perfect sense.
Ahhh...the wonders of reading "about" literature.
Super coole Kurzgeschichte, das Lesen dauerte nur 30 Minuten, also als Buch zählt es nicht, aber trotzdem ist Poe echt gut!! Die Schreibweise ist klasse wenn auch ein bisschen komisch und makaber, aber das gefällt einem oder halt nicht :)
A really good Short Story, reading it just took me 30 minutes, so it' doesn't count as a proper book, but nevertheless Poe is a really good author! The way he wrote the story is impressing, but also some kind of strange and macabre. But that's something you eith...more
A really good Short Story, reading it just took me 30 minutes, so it' doesn't count as a proper book, but nevertheless Poe is a really good author! The way he wrote the story is impressing, but also some kind of strange and macabre. But that's something you eith...more
Edgar Allen Poe's story of the Black Cat is very intense. It's all about how he had an obsession for this one cat, but then things got crazy. He was known to be sane but he wasn't. He was a major alcoholic and was affected by the major alcoholic intake he had. He was drunk and thought Pluto avoided him so he grabbed the cat but got bit on the hand. In retaliation, he pulls a penknife from his pocket and cuts out one of the cat’s eyes. He wakes the next morning with a feeling of remorse, but he...more
From the first line of this short story, of 4 pages, I was enthralled.
At the end of the first page I was shocked, galled and appalled.
Pages 2 and 3 found me again quickly moving through a gamut of emotions from distaste to actually entertaining his explicit and perhaps implicit moral and psycological thoughts. Then I realised that the story was at least somewhat fictional and with that realisation my sense of horror and, i must admit, my interest quickly evaporated.
You see upon reading this sto...more
At the end of the first page I was shocked, galled and appalled.
Pages 2 and 3 found me again quickly moving through a gamut of emotions from distaste to actually entertaining his explicit and perhaps implicit moral and psycological thoughts. Then I realised that the story was at least somewhat fictional and with that realisation my sense of horror and, i must admit, my interest quickly evaporated.
You see upon reading this sto...more
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The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.” This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundr...more
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“I am above the weakness of seeking to establish a sequence of cause and effect, between the disaster and the atrocity.”
—
12 people liked it
“Who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or silly action for no other reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination, in the teeth of our best judgement, to violate that which is Law, merely because we understand it to be such?”
—
11 people liked it
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Oct 05, 2011 12:17pm
Oct 05, 2011 02:59pm