Lesson 49

Today’s Agenda SAT Question of the Day #6 “The Black Cat” Quiz Questions 1-15 Literary Devices on backside of handout Video

SAT Question of the Day #6 Because our supply of fossil fuel has been sadly ____, we must find ____ sources of energy. stored…hoarded compensated…significant exhausted…inefficient increased…available depleted…alternative Cause – effect signal word - BECAUSE E Looking for a word with negative connotation so you can eliminate words with positive ones – choices a, b, and d have positive associations. Only choice c or e can be correct. Look at the 2nd word of each of these to figure which one to pick. Then you can eliminate C because it would make no sense to look for inefficient energy source

“The Black Cat” QUIZ

“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe What questions do you have over 1-14?

Characterization Direct Indirect Author specifically states this information. “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.” Author directly tells the reader that the boy was “patient” and the girl was “well mannered.” Indirect Speech: What does the character say? How does the character speak? Thoughts: What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings? Effect: What is the effect on others toward the character. What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character? Actions: What does the character do? How does the character behave? Looks: What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Plot of “The Black Cat” Exposition Conflict (Inciting Incident) The narrator is presumably in jail and awaiting to be executed. He sets the tone and mood of the novel with his anxious talk, where he says that something terrible has happened, and also that something has terrified him. The time period is 1800s. (word choice and sentence structure) Conflict (Inciting Incident) Narrator has a massive drinking problem. The way that this is conveyed is when he explains that, after getting his pet- a black cat named Pluto- he had developed a tendency to drink heavily. As a result, he is abusing his pets and even his wife, […] through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance [I] had (I blush to confess it) experienced a radical alteration for the worse. Rising Action He first tortures Pluto by taking off its eye. Then he hangs the cat. This horrible scene sets the scenario for something even more terrible, as now it is clear that the narrator has lost control of himself and, eventually, of his fate.

Plot of “The Black Cat” Climax Falling Action Resolution “something" or "someone" set the narrator's house on fire. This means that all of the belongings of the family are also burned and they all become destitute. This could be seen as the afterlife revenge of Pluto. Falling Action the entrance of another black cat to the story. We do not know if this is a Pluto evil comeback. We only know that this further complicates the situation for the narrator, as now he is being literally haunted by a living being. The narrator murders his wife. The narrator, who has clearly lost his mind had not yet told why he was in jail in the first place. Now we know that, during one of his persecution moments he kills his wife (he intended to kill the cat) with an ax and so he hides the body. The narrator confesses that he does not care so long as the black cat does not return.  Resolution He is found out and the crime is exposed because the sounds of a meowing cat were heard coming from the wall. It could be considered divine justice or perhaps part of the insanity of the narrator.

Point of View What is the POINT OF VIEW of the story? How do you know? 1st person How do you know? 1st person pronouns Example? “For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen…” Why must you be a cautious reader when you have a story told in 1st person? Reliable narrator???????

“The Black Cat” Video