1. Look carefully at the opening pages of the story and discuss the nature of the "analytical" faculty.

2. Discuss the personalities of Dupin and his companion. How are they alike?

How are they different? Is Dupin's personality suited to his amateur detective work?

3. Discuss the method whereby Dupin seems able to read his companion's mind on their stroll through the streets of Paris.

4. Discuss the aspects of the crime, as reported in the newspapers, that most puzzle the police. Which ones most fascinate Dupin?

5. What is the difference between the way the Paris police work to solve a crime and the way Dupin works?

6. Discuss the means by which Dupin solves the crime by recreating the events as he says they "must" have happened?

7. Why does Poe use an animal as the murderer in the story rather than a human being?