Comparing ‘The black cat’ and ‘Lamb to the slaughter’
Both short stories: ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ and ‘The black cat’ share the similarity where murder is committed between a married couple where one is the murderer and the other the victim. Both the murders are committed in the murderers’ house but the motives for both the crimes are different. The openings to both the stories are also dissimilar because they are written in various narrative forms. Tension and suspense is also created by using short phrases.
The opening of ‘The black cat’ gives the reader the knowledge of the narrators past ‘from my infancy I was especially fond of animals’. A lonely image of the narrator is portrayed in the readers mind as he explains he was closer to animals than to people. This opening captures the readers’ interest as to why he is closer to animals than to people and makes the reader wonder if his character will change later on into the story. Opposed to this the opening of ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ describes the setting as to the character: ‘the room was warm and clean... empty chair opposite’. This opening creates a peaceful atmosphere and presents Mary Maloney as warm and lonely. This is effective because it has the reader questioning why she is alone and if she is waiting for anyone or not.
Another similarity between the two stories is that the main characters are both a married couple, however in ‘The black cat’ the husband is the murderer of the wife and in ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ the wife is the murderer of the husband.
The personalities of the wives in both the stories are quite similar. They both adore and love their husbands but the feelings aren’t mutual. In ‘The black cat’ the wife is not named and scarce information is given ab...
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...Maloney’s character and personality. They might sympathise with her as she was ready to plead guilty but changed her mind as she wanted to be certain of her child’s safety. As opposed to this the reader may feel disgust at the narrator of ‘The black cat’ as he showed no guilt at the murder he executed and that of his wife.
Overall in my opinion the most interesting story to read was ‘The black cat’. This is because I found the narrator’s personality intriguing and unusual. The narrator seems to always blame others for his actions: ‘the hideous beast whose craft had seduced me into murder’. He also quotes: ‘I even offered her personal violence’ by saying this, the narrator tries to make it look as if his wife asked him to abuse and disown her. By successfully using different techniques to create the tense and suspension the story became more interesting and curio.
The Black Cat is a short story written in the first person. The narrator, a man, who never gives his name is already in prison and awaiting death from the onset of the story. He tells us the story of how he went from being a gentlemen and a loving husband to a murderer. First, he tells us about his cat, Pluto, and how he gauged one of its eyes out in an alcohol fueled rage He eventually kills his cat simply because it had loved him. In a weird twist, the narrator finds another cat that looks very much like Pluto. At first he was smitten with the cat, but slowly began to feel an immense hatred for the creature. In a fit of rage he tries killing the cat with an axe. His wife intervenes, and in turn, she is the one who receives the death blow to the head. He tries hiding his deed, but the cat ends up giving him away when the police come calling.
I know you've thought about killing someone, but you're too worried about the consequences. In the short story "Cask of Amontillado" The protagonist, Montresor feels hatred toward this man Fortunato and is determined to get revenge with impunity. In "Lamb to the slaughter" a wife unsure of her feelings murders her husband. The stories are similar because the authors both create a effect of suspense while they use different types of irony and conflicts.
Another extraordinary tale by Edgar Allen Poe is, “The Black Cat”. “The Black Cat” recounts the story of an unnamed narrator with a selfless character. Loving animals, he and his wife have several pets, one of which being a black cat. The narrator and the cat grow very close and life for the narrator seems complete, until he beings drinking. Intoxicated by alcohol, the narrator becomes irritable and abusive. One day, that narrator, infur...
Furthermore, is a summarization of the main points in “The Black Cat.” “The Black Cat” is about a man who always loved animals since he was little, but as he aged he started drinking. He then tortured his favorite pet cat, Pluto after he was getting annoyed with his presence. He goes as far as gouging out its eye before he hangs it in an old tree. Later on, his house burnt down and the outline of the cat was left on the only standing wall left by the fire. After he and his wife get a new home, they soon found a new cat that looked just like the old one except it had white around its neck. The narrator starts to believe that the cat is mocking him, so one day he tries to kill the cat but his wife interferes, and he ki...
One of Dahl’s most prominent styles used to highlight betrayal throughout the story is point of view. The point of view of the story is told in is third-person limited, meaning the reader only gets to read the thoughts of one character. That character was Mary Maloney, the main character and wife of Patrick Maloney. Hearing only one characters view of events can make readers opinions biased, meaning the feelings they feel towards characters are from the influence of Mary Maloney. The readers do not know what Patrick Maloney is thinking so it is hard for readers to sympathize him in the beginning of the story when he tells Mary he wants a divorce (Dahl). As one critic stated, readers are unable to see into his mind, he is immediately marked as the antagonist (Bertonneau). Another critic believed that having no knowledge of his motives made his actions seem inexcusable.
The Bible claims that all men are born in sin,even though some seem to be born pure and just. Yet how we are born does not reflect our decisions later in life. It is possible, and more favorable to live the rest of your life in purity, but some chose to delve deep into the pit of sin, allowing for body and mind to be consumed. As life began for the narrator of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” he became a docile and humane man with a love of animals and people alike. After years of slowly succumbing to a reliance on alcohol, he destroys his and his wives lives in a series of events caused by his large cat Pluto. Through this tragic telling of a man’s spiral towards insanity, Edgar Allan Poe uses dramatic syntax formulated with concise yet
The short story the “Black Cat” begins with the narrator of the story telling his side of events that have occurred throughout his life. When first being introduced to the narrator you can tell something is off with him. The narrator is originally a well-put together man he has a wife and many of different animals but has a much greater love for one of his animals named Pluto a black cat. As the life of the narrator goes on he falls into a drinking problem he cant stop drinking and when he does drink he gets violent. One night when
works of literature have tremendous amounts of similarity especially in the characters. Each character is usually unique and symbolizes the quality of a person in the real world. But in both stories, each character was alike, they represented honor, loyalty, chivalry, strength and wisdom. Each character is faced with a difficult decision as well as a journey in which they have to determine how to save their own lives. Both these pieces of literatures are exquisite and extremely interesting in their own ways.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote that the single effect was the most important aspect of a short story, which everything must contribute to this effect. Poe’s gothic tale “The Black Cat” was written trying to achieve an effect of shocking insanity. In this first person narrative the narrator tells of his decline from sanity to madness, all because of an obsession with two (or possibly one) black cats. These ebony creatures finally drive him to take the life his wife, whose death he unsuccessfully tries to conceal.
The presence of the two cats in the tale allows the narrator to see himself for who he truly is. In the beginning the narrator explains that his “tenderness of heart made him the jest of his companions”. (251) He also speaks of his love for animals that has remained with him from childhood into manhood. However, Poe contradicts this description of the narrator when he seems to become annoyed with the cat that he claims to love so much. While under the influence of alcohol the narrator is “fancied that the cat avoided his presence”(250) and as a result decides to brutally attack the cat. This black cat symbolizes the cruelty received by slaves from whites. The narrator not only “deliberately cuts one of the cats eyes from the sockets” (250) but he also goes on to hang the cat. Once the narrator successfully hangs the cat the tale begins to take a very dark and gothic-like turn. The racism and guilt of the narrator continues to haunt him once he has killed the black cat. Th...
“The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls,”- Edgar Allan Poe. The romantic author’s idea of human nature being corrupted by instinctive weakness is reflected in his short story, “The Black Cat”. Throughout the story, the narrator relates internal monologue and conflicting feelings towards his family’s two cats, with his inner demon eventually taking control and forcing him to kill his cats and wife. Poe uses the symbol of black cats to represent the conflicting inner turmoil of a person’s deepest desires and how people are willing to pin blame on anything but their own malevolence.
Comparing the Techniques Used by the Writers to Create a Sense of Fear and Tension in The Black Cat, The Red Room and The Yellow Wallpaper
Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Black Cat immerses the reader into the mind of a murdering alcoholic. Poe himself suffered from alcoholism and often showed erratic behavior with violent outburst. Poe is famous for his American Gothic horror tales such as the Tell-Tale Heart and the Fall of the House of Usher. “The Black Cat is Poe’s second psychological study of domestic violence and guilt. He added a new element to aid in evoking the dark side of the narrator, and that is the supernatural world.” (Womack). Poe uses many of the American Gothic characteristics such as emotional intensity, superstition, extremes in violence, the focus on a certain object and foreshadowing lead the reader through a series of events that are horrifying and grotesque. “The Black Cat is one of the most powerful of Poe’s stories, and the horror stops short of the wavering line of disgust” (Quinn).
All readers will read and interpret this story in their own way based on their life and their knowledge of marriage. One thing that is indisputable is the emotions which carry through all people and the empowerment in which marriage has on these inspirations. In life love can renew one spirit as well as kill the passion of a person.
From this story we can see the black cat bring some bad or negative thing to narrator’s family, in our life we should leave those evil things away to keep our life be safety. And also we should keep our mind be clear, don't let other unclear or bad things to affect our mind and our life. Also we should try to do some positive thing, go to some positive activity. Avoid same thing happen in our life, just keep away from that negative