A Case of Murder - WHAT-HOW-WHY

What does the author want us to believe about the boy’s guilt?

I think the author is saying it is nobody’s fault because the whole poem says that
the death of the cat was an accident. An example of this is when the author says
“A buzzing machine of soft black stuff”, this phrase is a simile and it is trying to tell
us that the cat is like a machine.

How does the author use language to communicate this idea?

Quote Literary Device Impact/Effect

“Round eyes mad as gold” Simile The author tells us that

even though the cat is
alive it is like gold; not
doing anything and not
living

A buzzing machine of soft Metaphor The author tells us that

black stuff the cat is like a machine,
so even though you
destroy it, it won’t die.

Snug in its fur, hot blood in a Metaphor The author tells us that
muff the cat is like it is not
alive.

The cat, half-through, was Simile ` The narrator tells us that

cracked like a nut the cat died and split
into two parts. We can
assume that the boy was
trying to stop the cat
from running away
because he did not want
to be more alone than he
already was.

“They should not have left Repetition This is saying that the
him there alone” (repeated parents should have left
twice) the boy

Plump as a cushion with Simile The cat was well fed and
tucked-in paws the parents gave it more
attention than the boy

“Load of heavy fur” Metaphor The author is trying to

say that it is nothing but
a load of heavy fur.
“Huge black cat pads out” Metaphor

His eyes squeezed beads of Metaphor This compares the boy's

salty prayer tears to prayer beads.
The boy felt sorrowful for
the accident that
happened

But the wound of fear gaped Metaphor Compares fear and a

wide and raw; wound. The narrator is
trying to say that the boy
was afraid about this
accident.

Why does the author want to make this point?

The author wants to convey this message because I think the author is trying to
say that even though somebody or something is killed it is the person’s always the
fault of the person that killed them
In the poem “A Case of Murder” by Vernon Scannell conveys that death of the cat
was a mistake the author uses poetic devices that show that it was an accident
and the boy did not mean to kill the cat but just wanted attenbecause tion.

Throughout the poem, the author uses different poetic devices to convey that the
murder of the cat was an accident. The author uses several metaphors and similes
throughout the poem to narrate the cat and its behavior. Towards the end of the
poem when the cat is killed the narrator describes the dead cat as a “The cat,
half-through, was cracked like a nut”. The author uses a simile comparing the
dead cat to a cracked nut. The narrator explains that the cat died and split into
two parts. We can assume that the boy was trying to stop the cat from running
away because he did not want to be more alone than he already was. Later it is
written that the boy is sad that the cat died even though he knows it was just a
mistake: “His eyes squeezed beads of salty prayer”. This metaphor compares the
boy's tears to prayer beads. People believe that if you pray many times that they
will be forgiven, so since the boy felt sorrowful for the accident that happened and
started praying for the cat and for forgiveness. Even later the narrator uses
another metaphor to say “But the wound of fear gaped wide and raw;”. This
compares the boy’s fear to a wound. Like most children this boy was probably
scared that if his parents found out about the accident he would be disciplined
and punished, so the boy hid all evidence of the cat's death in the closet.

The narrator also describes the boy as just attention seeking. In the beginning the
author writes: “They should not have left him there alone”. The author uses
repetition to show that the boy was home all alone doing nothing, so he could
have been seeking attention from something. Since the only living thing that was
at the house was the cat he would have thought that the cat would move around
and be alive. However, we find that the cat is not very active as it says later in the
poem: “Round eyes mad as gold”. This compares the cat's eyes with gold. The
author is trying to say that even though the cat is alive it is like gold; not moving,
like it is underground stuck in between rocks. One metaphor that describes the
cat is: “Snug in its fur, hot blood in a muff”. The comparison that the author is
trying to make is the cat and fur that has blood in it. The author might be trying
to tell his readers that the cat is not doing anything. Therefore, unalive. The author
uses a simile to describe the cat as “Plump as a cushion with tucked-in paws”. This
goes to show that the cat was well fed by the parents. This could mean that the
boy was jealous of the cat but because the boy was left all alone this is unlikely. So
the boy was making an effort to get attention from the cat, therefore being an
accident.
Throughout this poem the author states that we should not try to hide mistake.
Everybody make mistakes so people should not try to hide their mistakes no
matter what other people say. The author might be trying to tell the readers that
there is no good in lying or hiding things from other people. The author uses the
boys mistake in the poem so that the readers can understand, reflect and realize
their mistakes. We can assume that the wants the readers to change the way that
they react to mistakes. The author also has a smaller message and it is that if a
person want something then they should take action by talking and telling
people what it is that they want. The author uses many metaphors and similes so
that the readers can get the message.