TOBERMORY EXPLAINED

TONE: The last line of this short story seemed very sarcastic to me, but obviously Clovis felt that it was the truth on some levels. It appeared a very odd way to end the story as everything else was incredibly serious, but this line had a taste of humor. It made me realize how funny it was that I had taken a short story about a cat that spoke bluntly so seriously and it reminded me of the way I should have been feeling during my read.

THEME: In some situations, ignorance is not always bliss. If Appin would have learned the first time that his experiment had essentially failed, he would not have attempted to correct his errors and try again. Eliciting the English language from a cat's mouth was considered a success to him, but he failed to see the big picture. Animals do not have emotions or any cognitive sense like humans do, thus eliminating any type of filter when speaking. The harsh realities exposed through Tobermony's words were too much for the people of his time to handle, thus making his removal necessary. They were satisfied with the discovery of the cat's corpse and did not think twice about empathizing with Appin's later dilemma with the elephant. His failure to recognize his social surroundings resulted in the last line of this short story. He ignored everything that had nothing to do with his attempts at finding another pupil, ultimately causing a death seemingly deserving and accepted by society.