“I do not expect or ask anyone to believe the wild, yet ordinary story I am about to write. I would be mad indeed to expect it.” The Black Cat begins with the narrator in jail, awaiting his execution, explaining how his alcoholism changes his personality from a kind person who loved animals to an abusive one, he tells us how he kept from abusing his beloved cat, Pluto. One night however, the love turned to hatred as in a drunken rage the narrator took out one of Pluto’s eyes. As time goes on the narrator’s alcoholism worsens and he begins to think irrationally, having thoughts of hanging Pluto just for the sake of wrongdoing, eventually his perverseness wins out and he does the deed. Throughout the story the narrator finds a second black cat in a tavern where he takes home as he finds the cat’s striking …show more content…
The murder is discovered as the narrator unknowingly buried the second cat in with the corpse of his wife, the cat cries out when the police happen to be in the same place where the narrator buried his wife. In the “The Black Cat”, Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism, irony, and similes to portray the theme of perverseness and to explain how every man has it and how easily one can become corrupted.
Poe’s message of how easily a soul can be corrupted is shown by his use of symbolism in “The Black Cat.” Symbolism is when an object or person has a meaning in themselves but are also used to represent of a deeper meaning. One example of symbolism that Poe uses is the jail cell that narrator is confined to. The narrator becomes trapped in his own mind, the alcohol leading the way for his perverseness to take over. He begins his tale in jail explaining his ordinary yet wild tale. “I do not expect or ask anyone to believe the wild, yet ordinary story I am about to write. I would be mad indeed to expect it. Even I cannot believe what happened. Yet I am not mad- and I know I
Poe carefully details the most brutal scenes of his stories, a quality shared by many of his works. Within “The Black Cat,” three situations stand to illustrate Poe’s message: when the narrator stabs out Pluto’s eye, when the narrator hangs Pluto, and when the narrator murders his wife. Before the first violent act described in the story, the narrator is known to be a drunkard who abused his wife. No matter how despicable this may be, he is still a somewhat ordinary man. Nothing majorly sets him apart from any another, relating him to the common man. However, his affinity towards alcohol, led to “the fury of a demon” (2) that came over him as he “grasped the poor beast by the throat” (2) and proceeded to “cut one of its eyes from the socket.” (2) Poe’s gruesome description of the narrator as a destructive demon, one who was awakened by alcohol, connects his behavior to the common working-class man. Alcohol is a legal drug that can be obtained by many, and when consumed in excess leads to the uncontrollable madness that ensued. The descriptions of the act plants fear into the hearts of the readers, especially those who have consumed alcohol, of ever becoming such a
“Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demonical, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain.” The Black Cat written by Edgar Allen Poe revels the narrator’s devilish deed. The narrator is in prison and is letting the readers know about what events lead to his imprisonment. In the short story The Black Cat the narrator intentionally kills his wife, for he disliked his wife, he felt no remorse, and he brags about the deed.
... allowing the hidden character of the Narrator, and the truth of the situation to be revealed. The black cat may have been the agent that was instrumental in his downfall, but it is the man himself who is wholly responsible and Poe leaves little doubt of that. The black cat, hideous, hidden behind the wall, cemented in by the Narrator himself, is a striking symbol of the decay and corruption of the man's soul. His guilt, self-hatred, and need for punishment are all exposed when he bangs on the wall, prompting the black cat to howl, and revealing to the stunned policemen the secret hidden behind the wall.
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
A common theme that is seen throughout many of Edgar Allan Poe’s text, is madness. Madness that will make the whole world turn upside down and around again. Madness that takes over somebody’s life. Madness and eye imagery is present in both “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart” by Poe where madness is at first a fairy tale but then ends with a crash back to reality.Both stories share components of murder and insanity, and are very similar, not at first glance but if looked at more closely.
Many authors often use symbolism to express a deeper meaning. They use the symbols to connect an unrelated thought or feeling into their literary work they are writing. Edgar Allan Poe frequently uses this literary device in his works. Symbols are many times seen in his poems and in his short stories. Many symbols are evident in Poe’s works “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Black Cat.” Because Poe’s works are typically dark, his use of symbols is in a dark way. Although there are many types of symbols manifested in these stories, Poe’s works generally include a symbol that eludes death or the end of something and many include references of sight and vision.
Furthermore, Poe’s plot development added much of the effect of shocking insanity to “The Black Cat.” To dream up such an intricate plot of perverseness, alcoholism, murders, fire, revival, and punishment is quite amazing. This story has almost any plot element you can imagine a horror story containing. Who could have guessed, at the beginning of the story, that narrator had killed his wife? The course of events in “The Black Cat’s” plot is shockingly insane by itself! Moreover, the words in “The Black Cat” were precisely chosen to contribute to Poe’s effect of shocking insanity. As the narrator pens these he creates a splendidly morbid picture of the plot. Perfectly selected, sometimes rare, and often dark, his words create just the atmosphere that he desired in the story.
for dark, mysterious, and bizarre works of fiction. His works sometimes reflected his life experiences and hardships he tried to overcome. Examples of the troubles in his life include alcoholism, having his works rejected over and over, being broke, and losing his family, even his beloved wife to tuberculosis. There is no wonder why his works are so dark and evil, they were taken from his life. A theme is defined as the major or central idea of a work. Poe’s short story, “The Black Cat”, contains six major themes that are discussed in this paper. They include the home, violence, drugs and alcohol, freedom and confinement, justice and judgement, and transformation.
Gargano, James W. “’The Black Cat’: Perverseness Reconsidered.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe’s Tales. Ed. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1971. 87-94. Print.
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...
Edgar Allen Poe is known for his dark theme poems and short stories. When one does read one of Poe 's works the reader gets a glimpse of Poe 's reality. His uses of metaphors and dark themes have made him very popular. He writing style has Gothic themes as well as suspense and horror themes as well. His use of very dark metaphors cast a dark and gloomy presence that shows the reader the mind and world of the narrator telling the story. Edgar Allen Poe 's use of dark themes in “Black Cat” helped him convey the very dark nature of his works in which helped him shape the reality of the stories.
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).
The narcissism of the narrator contributes to the overall darkness of the story and is largely conclusive to the dark and the underlying malevolence of Poe’s own conscience. The cat in “The...
In The Black Cat, Poe creates a tale of strange confusion and morbid mystery. The tone is serious, as the narrator is writing his account of the events the day before he is going die, presumably for his crimes. The narrator, and the villain of the story, begins by saying he is "noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition." This statement is ironic, because as the story continues, we see he is anything but docile and humane. He becomes a driven man, passionate about getting rid of the cat that haunts him.
One of the staples of Poe's writing is the dramatic effect it has on the reader. Poe is known for his masterful use of grotesque, and often morbid, story lines and for his self-destructive characters and their ill-fated intentions. "The Black Cat" is no different from any of his other stories, and thus a Pragmatic/Rhetorial interpretation is obviously very fitting. If Pragmatic/Rhetorical criticism focuses on the effect of a work on its audience, then "The Black Cat" serves as a model for all other horror stories. One of the most intriguing aspects Poe introduces into the story is the black cat itself. The main character initially confesses a partiality toward domestic pets, especially his cat. Most readers can identify with an animal lover, even if they themselves are not. It is not long though before the reader learns of the disease that plagues the main character - alcoholism. Again, the reader can identify with this ailment, but it is hard to imagine that alcoholism could be responsible for the heinous actions made by the main character. In a drunken rage the main character cuts out one of the cat's eyes with a pen knife, and act at which he even shudders. Then, only after the cat's slow recovery from that attack, does the man hang the cat from the limb of a tree. ...