The Black Cat Short Summary

Edgar Allan Poe tells this story using a narrator who is said to be mentally unstable. In the beginning, the narrator claims he loves animals. Together with his wife, they have a cat that they have nicknamed Pluto. With time, the narrator becomes more unstable because of heavy drinking. He becomes cruel and mistreats the partner and the animals he had.

The Synopsis of the Plot

Pluto faced mistreatment because it was the narrator’s favorite animal. One day, the narrator damaged one of Pluto’s eyes and hanged it on a tree branch. That night, their house caught fire. The neighbor threw the cat to warn them of the fire. The resulting image of the cat terrified the narrator.

The death of the cat made the narrator feel much guilt. Later, he found another cat which looked similar to Pluto. The only difference was that this cat had a white patch which Pluto did not have. It did not have an eye just like Pluto. The narrator took the cat home.

Later, the narrator began to hate this cat as well as the thing that it wanted much attention. As the narrator and his wife walked in their new home, the cat ran and overtook them as they walked. Suddenly, the narrator threw an ax in an attempt to kill the cat. His wife tried to stop him from this act. The narrator did not feel comfortable with that, and he killed his wife. He hid her body in one of the strong walls together with the cat. He felt that he had accomplished his work as the black cat was no longer there.

Four days later, the police arrived to do their investigation. The narrator does not feel guilty for what he has done. He is confident that there is no way the police can retrieve the body of his wife. Consequently, he begins to tap the cellar with a smile of satisfaction on his face. He boasts of the stability of the wall. As the taping continues, there is a terrible howl that comes from the wall. The police are forced to pull the wall down. The corpse of the narrator wife is retrieved. As a result, the narrator is arrested and detained for this offense. In his defense, he blames the cat for driving him to murder.