We've just finished with our analysis of The Black Cat, and I'm not done with the rest of the questions, but here's what I've got so far. =]
Discuss who could be the protagonist and antagonist in The Black Cat; explain your logic and reasoning for why? Please remember to use details and specifics from the story to support your response.
The protagonist is the narrator of the story. Following the “rules” of classic Gothic literature, the narrator loses in the end; he is convicted by the police and about to be hanged. He isolates himself, voluntarily by his formerly gentle personality and his extreme love for animals, and involuntarily by his alcoholism. His repressed emotions are represented by the second black cat, which is the antagonist. The harbored emotions of the narrator are “disgust and annoyance…the bitterness of hatred…a certain sense of shame,” (page 67). These feelings are only evoked in him when he sees the second cat because of its obvious and overly affectionate nature towards the narrator; the cat is like a mirror reflecting all of his repressed emotions of shame, disgust, and annoyance for himself.
-Maria Xie, your Ultimate Decepticon >.<
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI would like to add an important quote: The narrator “had walled up the monster up within the tomb,” (page 70). The monster is the second cat, stated above as the villain. The irony of the quote is that the narrator is the one who has been walled up; he has walled up his inner emotions.
ReplyDelete--Maria Xie, your Ultimate Decepticon >.<
(Sorry about the first comment, I messed that one up and deleted it, just in case any of you were wondering.)
ReplyDelete