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.
What Gothic Literature that we've read so far is your favorite, explain why? (The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, The Minister's Black Veil, or The Black Cat)
What are some similarities between all the Gothic Literature stories we've read so far? Again, be specific and use details in your response.
1. The protagonist could be the cat, and the antagonist could be the narrorator. This is because the narrorator hurts the cat by cutting its eye out, and hangs it. In addition, the narrorator murderss his wife because she will not let him kill the (second) cat. The cat is just a victim in this tale, therefore, he has to be the protagonist.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite story we have read so far is The Raven. This is because I like the idea of ravens being symbols of death and the afterlife. Additionaly, I like how it only took one word, "Nevermore," for the narrorator to be driven insane.
3. There are mant similarities between all the Gothic Literature stories we've read so far. First of all, death is one of the main topics in all of the tales. Moreover, it all of the stories, someone dies during the story, or right before it. Then finally, the idea of madness hangs ever so slightly over all of the tales like a gothic veil.
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
1.)The protagonist would be man because his repressed emotions are being evoked by the villian. The villian to me would be the second cat with the white spot. it is the villian because he is evoking repressed emotions like guilt, shame, and disgust from the protagonist. 2.My favorite Gothic literature text it The Raven because of the symbolism used in the work. It uses the bird as a villian that is representing the repressed emotions of the protagonist.
ReplyDelete3.In the texts we have read, the similarites of each are they all have villians and protagonists. The writer uses literary devices to symbolize or represent their villians or protagonists.
- Desiray W
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.
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist in my opinion is the narrator because the story focuses on hime the entire time. The antagonist/ Villain would be 2nd cat or in the alchohol in the story because the protagonist says that "One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence. (7)" This shows that he has an addiction to alchohol which is arguably the reason he had his downfall, or, It could be the cat because the cat seemed to take every chance it could (whether it knew it or not) to provoke him. In my honest opinion I think it's the cat because the cat symbolizes death with the protagonist. The cat symbolizes death because it's name is Pluto (god of the underworld) and Pluto seems to be unescapable (like death), no matter what the protagonist does.
What Gothic Literature that we've read so far is your favorite, explain why?
My favorite gothic Literature is The Raven because besides being the shortest one so far, it has the most literary examples and is very easy to follow, and it's the basic outline for a piece of gothic literature.
What are some similarities between all the Gothic Literature stories we've read so far? Again, be specific and use details in your response.
In the gothic literatures we have read so far, they all share a similar themes. Dark nights, lots of imagery, settings and characters all represent something that is beyond the text. For example, in "The Raven", The crow says nevermore which symbolizes his grief for his deceased wife. In " The Red Death", The masked bandit called the Red Death symbolized repressed mortality. In the Minister's Black Veil, his veil represented secret sin, and in The Black Cat, the cat represented death.
1.The protagonist is the man. He is being provoked by the second cat who is the villain. The 2nd cat is actually the devil as we can tell when he breathes fire and has blood shot eyes. The black cat gives too much affection to daunt and annoy the narrator. The narrator recalls when the cat followed him so close that he nearly tripped him."The cat followed me down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing me headlong, exasperated me to madness." At that moment he goes mad and attempts to kill the cat, when his wife stops his blow with an ax, he hits her with a blow from the ax in the head.
ReplyDelete2.My favorite Gothic literature is The Minister's Black veil. It's my favorite because it shows how a cloth can change a person's outward appearance so much and make others change their opinion about that person.
3.Some similarities between the Gothic literature would be that, all of the protagonists demise come from telling on themselves. the protagonists believe that they are sane and feel that the authorities are in the wrong. The only protagonists I can think of that didn't do anything wrong was Mr.Hooper from the Minister's Black Veil
1. The protagonist is the man. He is being provoked by the second cat who is the villain. The 2nd cat is actually the devil as we can tell when he breathes fire and has blood shot eyes. The black cat gives too much affection to daunt and annoy the narrator. The narrator recalls when the cat followed him so close that he nearly tripped him by saying, "The cat followed me down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing me headlong, and exasperated me to madness." At that moment he goes mad and attempts to kill the cat. When his wife stops his blow with an ax, he hits her with a blow from the ax in the head. After killing his wife he buries her body behind a wall. Proud of his work the narrator brags to the authorities and like most protagonists who commit a crime in gothic literature he is caught. The 2nd cat shrieks from behind the wall. After killing his wife the narrator could not find the cat and now somehow the cat was sitting on the head of his wife behind the wall and leads the authorities to the corpse
ReplyDelete2. My favorite Gothic literature is The Minister's Black veil. It's my favorite because it shows how a cloth can change a person's outward appearance so much and make others change their opinion about that person. The black veil symbolized sin. Sin leads to death and most people even some of the most religious are afraid of dying. The black veil also makes them realize they are sinning and they aren’t ready to stop whatever they are doing that is wrong. It’s like a reflection of what they do behind closed doors; others may not know what they do but when they look at the black veil they see all of their sins.
3. In gothic literature the setting of the stories have a lot of importance. In all the gothic literature we have read the scenes of death or depression are described to take place in dark, gloomy atmospheres. The protagonists all suffer and are either involuntarily or voluntarily isolated because of something that happened in their pass. The antagonists all tend to terrorize the protagonist.
- kirsten webb
1. In light of new information available, I have now come to the conclusion that the antagonist is the second cat, and the protagonist is the narrator. The antagonist is the second cat due to the evidence found in the story, and the definition of the protagonist in gothic literature. As defined in gothic literature, the antagonist is the overwhelming force against the protagonist, and is always stronger than the protagonist. This can clearly be seen in the narrator’s second to last sentence in his terrible tale, “Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast…” (Poe 70). During my groups inner circle discussion we had come to the conclusion that the second cat both represented the narrator’s repressed guilt of killing Pluto, and the devil himself. The cat as the devil has far greater power than the narrator, and helps prove that the second cat is indeed the antagonist. The narrator is the protagonist because he is tormented and mocked by the second cat. Additionally, as in all gothic literature, the protagonist, our narrator is looking back on his demise. In addition, it was the second black cat’s, “whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman,” (Poe 70). What the narrator is saying that it is the cat’s fault that he is about to be hung, nothing more.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite gothic literature story that we have read so far was The Raven, written by Edgar Allen Poe. There are three main reasons why I hold this story in higher regard than the other ones which we have gone over. The first is that everything in the poem just flows very well, as seen in the first two lines of the poem, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many quaint and curios volume of forgotten lore,” (Poe 154). In addition, as seen in the first two lines, but also the entirety of the poem, through the use of descriptive and lively words, Poe masterfully builds a very clear picture of what is happening during the progression of the poem. Additionally, when the narrator tells us, “Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore,” (Poe 755), you can actually visualize what is actually happening in the story. That is all I have to say for now, nothing more.
3. There is one main similarity between all the Gothic Literature stories we've read so far. First of all, death is one of the main topics in all of the tales. This can be clearly seen in The Raven when the narrator tells us that he feels, “sorrow for the lost Lenore,” (Poe 754). Moreover, this can be seen in The Mask of the Red Death, when, “one by one dropped the revelers in the bloodbedewed halls of their revel, and died each in despairing posture of his fall,” (Poe 260). Likewise after the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart kills the old man and tells us that he is, “stone dead” (Poe 123). Similarly in The Minister’s Black Veil, in the, “afternoon servide was attended with similar circumstances. At its conclusion, the bell tolled for the funeral of a young lady,” (Hawthorne 8). Then finially, death is also seen in The Black Cat, when the narrator buried an ax in his wife’s brain, and she, “fell dead upon the spot without a groan,” (Poe 68).
Comment By: Leah Eisenberg
1. The protagonist is the man. He is being provoked by the second cat who is the villain. The 2nd cat is actually the devil as we can tell when he breathes fire and has blood shot eyes. The black cat gives too much affection to daunt and annoy the narrator. The narrator recalls when the cat followed him so close that he nearly tripped him by saying, "The cat followed me down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing me headlong, and exasperated me to madness." At that moment he goes mad and attempts to kill the cat. When his wife stops his blow with an ax, he hits her with a blow from the ax in the head. After killing his wife he buries her body behind a wall. Proud of his work the narrator brags to the authorities and like most protagonists who commit a crime in gothic literature he is caught. The 2nd cat shrieks from behind the wall. After killing his wife the narrator could not find the cat and now somehow the cat was sitting on the head of his wife behind the wall and leads the authorities to the corpse. I also know now that the 2nd cat is actually Pluto, it’s like he was reborn. The white spot symbolizes rebirth. I used to think it was like a reminder of the white rope used to hang Pluto.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite Gothic literature is The Minister's Black veil. It's my favorite because it shows how a cloth can change a person's outward appearance so much and make others change their opinion about that person. The black veil symbolized sin. Sin leads to death and most people even some of the most religious are afraid of dying. The black veil also makes them realize they are sinning and they aren’t ready to stop whatever they are doing that is wrong. It’s like a reflection of what they do behind closed doors; others may not know what they do but when they look at the black veil they see all of their sins. The black veil scares them and makes them think of death and it also causes them to all wonder what kind of sins their preacher, Mr. Hooper could have committed.
3. In gothic literature the setting of the stories have a lot of importance. In all the gothic literature we have read the scenes of death or depression are described to take place in dark, gloomy atmospheres. The protagonists all suffer and are either involuntarily or voluntarily isolated because of something that happened in their pass. The antagonists all tend to terrorize the protagonist. Also a lot of the stories are built around love. Either the protagonists loves themselves, another person, or they are loved by many at some point in time.
1. The protagonist is the man. He is being provoked by the second cat who is the villain. The 2nd cat is actually the devil as we can tell when he breathes fire and has blood shot eyes. The black cat gives too much affection to daunt and annoy the narrator. The narrator recalls when the cat followed him so close that he nearly tripped him by saying, "The cat followed me down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing me headlong, and exasperated me to madness." At that moment he goes mad and attempts to kill the cat. When his wife stops his blow with an ax, he hits her with a blow from the ax in the head. After killing his wife he buries her body behind a wall. Proud of his work the narrator brags to the authorities and like most protagonists who commit a crime in gothic literature he is caught. The 2nd cat shrieks from behind the wall. After killing his wife the narrator could not find the cat and now somehow the cat was sitting on the head of his wife behind the wall and leads the authorities to the corpse. I also know now that the 2nd cat is actually Pluto, it’s like he was reborn. The white spot symbolizes rebirth. I used to think it was like a reminder of the white rope used to hang Pluto.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite Gothic literature is The Minister's Black veil. It's my favorite because it shows how a cloth can change a person's outward appearance so much and make others change their opinion about that person. The black veil symbolized sin. Sin leads to death and most people even some of the most religious are afraid of dying. The black veil also makes them realize they are sinning and they aren’t ready to stop whatever they are doing that is wrong. It’s like a reflection of what they do behind closed doors; others may not know what they do but when they look at the black veil they see all of their sins. The black veil scares them and makes them think of death and it also causes them to all wonder what kind of sins their preacher, Mr. Hooper could have committed.
3. In gothic literature the setting of the stories have a lot of importance. In all the gothic literature we have read the scenes of death or depression are described to take place in dark, gloomy atmospheres. The protagonists all suffer and are either involuntarily or voluntarily isolated because of something that happened in their pass. The antagonists all tend to terrorize the protagonist. Also a lot of the stories are built around love. Either the protagonists loves themselves, another person, or they are loved by many at some point in time.
1. The protagonist is the man. He is being provoked by the second cat who is the villain. The 2nd cat is actually the devil as we can tell when he breathes fire and has blood shot eyes. The black cat gives too much affection to daunt and annoy the narrator. The narrator recalls when the cat followed him so close that he nearly tripped him by saying, "The cat followed me down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing me headlong, and exasperated me to madness." At that moment he goes mad and attempts to kill the cat. When his wife stops his blow with an ax, he hits her with a blow from the ax in the head. After killing his wife he buries her body behind a wall. Proud of his work the narrator brags to the authorities and like most protagonists who commit a crime in gothic literature he is caught. The 2nd cat shrieks from behind the wall. After killing his wife the narrator could not find the cat and now somehow the cat was sitting on the head of his wife behind the wall and leads the authorities to the corpse. I also know now that the 2nd cat is actually Pluto, it’s like he was reborn. The white spot symbolizes rebirth. I used to think it was like a reminder of the white rope used to hang Pluto.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite Gothic literature is The Minister's Black veil. It's my favorite because it shows how a cloth can change a person's outward appearance so much and make others change their opinion about that person. The black veil symbolized sin. Sin leads to death and most people even some of the most religious are afraid of dying. The black veil also makes them realize they are sinning and they aren’t ready to stop whatever they are doing that is wrong. It’s like a reflection of what they do behind closed doors; others may not know what they do but when they look at the black veil they see all of their sins. The black veil scares them and makes them think of death and it also causes them to all wonder what kind of sins their preacher, Mr. Hooper could have committed.
3. In gothic literature the setting of the stories have a lot of importance. In all the gothic literature we have read the scenes of death or depression are described to take place in dark, gloomy atmospheres. The protagonists all suffer and are either involuntarily or voluntarily isolated because of something that happened in their pass. The antagonists all tend to terrorize the protagonist. Also a lot of the stories are built around love. Either the protagonists loves themselves, another person, or they are loved by many at some point in time.
sorry, it posted 3 times! - Kirsten
ReplyDelete1.In light of new information available, I have now come to the conclusion that the antagonist is the second cat, and the protagonist is the narrator. The antagonist is the second cat due to the evidence found in the story, and the definition of the protagonist in gothic literature. As defined in gothic literature, the antagonist is the overwhelming force against the protagonist, and is always stronger than the protagonist. This can clearly be seen in the narrator’s second to last sentence in his terrible tale, “Upon its head, with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast…” (Poe 70). During my groups inner circle discussion we had come to the conclusion that the second cat both represented the narrator’s repressed guilt of killing Pluto, and the devil himself. The cat as the devil has far greater power than the narrator, and helps prove that the second cat is indeed the antagonist. The narrator is the protagonist because he is tormented and mocked by the second cat. Additionally, as in all gothic literature, the protagonist, our narrator is looking back on his demise. In addition, it was the second black cat’s, “whose informing voice had consigned me to the hangman,” (Poe 70). What the narrator is saying that it is the cat’s fault that he is about to be hung, nothing more.
ReplyDelete2. My favorite gothic literature story that we have read so far was The Raven, written by Edgar Allen Poe. There are three main reasons why I hold this story in higher regard than the other ones which we have gone over. The first is that everything in the poem just flows very well, as seen in the first two lines of the poem, “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many quaint and curios volume of forgotten lore,” (Poe 154). In addition, as seen in the first two lines, but also the entirety of the poem, through the use of descriptive and lively words, Poe masterfully builds a very clear picture of what is happening during the progression of the poem. Additionally, when the narrator tells us, “Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore,” (Poe 755), you can actually visualize what is actually happening in the story. What I forgot to mention earlier is that another reason why I liked The Raven so much is because it is a textbook definition of the gothic novel. The Raven, the antagonist represents the narrator’s, repressed emotions of his loss of Lenore. Moreover, the dreary setting clearly represents his internal emotional world. Then finally, the Raven who is the antagonist is stronger that the protagonist who is the narrator. Now that is all I have to say, nothing more.
Comment By: Leah Eisenber
The answer to question three is in the next post, ran out of room.
3. There is one main similarity between all the Gothic Literature stories we've read so far. First of all, death is one of the main topics in all of the tales. This can be clearly seen in The Raven when the narrator tells us that he feels, “sorrow for the lost Lenore,” (Poe 754). Moreover, this can be seen in The Mask of the Red Death, when, “one by one dropped the revelers in the bloodbedewed halls of their revel, and died each in despairing posture of his fall,” (Poe 260). Likewise after the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart kills the old man and tells us that he is, “stone dead” (Poe 123). Similarly in The Minister’s Black Veil, in the, “afternoon service was attended with similar circumstances. At its conclusion, the bell tolled for the funeral of a young lady,” (Hawthorne 8). Then finally, death is also seen in The Black Cat, when the narrator buried an ax in his wife’s brain, and she, “fell dead upon the spot without a groan,” (Poe 68). Due to more thinking on this subject, in all of the Gothic Literature stories so far, the idea of the one thing representing something else is always there. This can be found The Raven, with the Raven himself; ravens represent the dead and the afterlife. This can also be found in The Masque of the Red Death, when it was now, “acknowledges the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night,” (Poe 260). This figure at the Masquerade represents the Red Death, itself. In The Tell-Tale Heart, what the narrator hated so much about that, “pale blue eye, with a film over it,” (Poe 121), was that the eye represented a mirror that showed the narrator’s true nature, and he did not like what he saw. When Mr. Hooper tells every parishioner that, “on every visage a Black Veil,” (Hawthorne 15), he is saying that he sees the veils that represent sins that everybody has committed. Then last of all, it The Black Cat, when upon the corpse of the narrator’s, “stood erect before the eyes of the spectators…with red extended mouth and solitary eye of fire, sat the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder, and who informing voice had consigned me to the hangman,” (Poe 70), the cat represented the mighty devil himself.
ReplyDeleteComment By: Leah Eisenberg
The black cat is the antagonist in the story because he is representing the repressed emotions of the narrator. The narrator is an alcoholic because he is trying to alleviate some of those repressed emotions and the cat evokes them which draws anger into im making him so enraged as to cut the cat's eye out. This series of struggles the narrator goes through makes him the protagonist. The cat being the antagonist evokes repressed emotions such as shame, disgust, abhor and guilt.
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism shown in The Raven is why it is my favorite of the stories we've read. The bird is haunting the protangist because as long as the protagonist confines himself the bird will stay.
- Desiray W