Excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe & Jack London
Sarah Post
In his short story "The Black Cat," Edgar Allan Poe describes the relationship between man and pet:
3-1 was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets. With these I spent most of my
time, and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them. This peculiarity of character grew with my growth, and in
my manhood, I derived from it one of my principal sources of pleasure. To those who have cherished an affection for a faithful
and sagacious dog, I need hardly be at the trouble of explaining the nature or the intensity of the gratification thus derivable.
There is something in the unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute, which goes directly to the heart of him who has had
frequent occasion to test the paltry friendship and gossamer fidelity of mere Man.... Pluto--this was (my cat's name-- was my
favorite pet and playmate. I alone fed him, and he attended me wherever I went about the house. It was even with difficulty
that I could prevent him from following me through the strets."
Sarah Post asserts that over 55% of all households in the United States include a cat, dog, or both." Which statement BEST
expresses how Poe (if one may judge from The Black Cat') might account for this fact?
A)
Pets are less complicated than people
B)
Pets are easily replaceable, people are not
Pets are better and more faithful friends than people,
D)
Pets appeal to people who are too shy to find human friends