The classic children's tale, The Cat in the Hat written by Theodor Geisel, or more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, is a story about two siblings who long do something enjoyable on a rainy day. The story is told from the brother's perspective, as he and his sister have an encounter with the Cat in the Hat. The Cat is subjected to enthralling the children with his tricks and games. Throughout the story, the children`s pet, the Fish, tries to stop the Cat from playing his tricks. The Cat`s tricks and games soon get out of hand, with various objects all over the house. This leads to his demise when the brother tells him to stop. However, the Cat restores the house, and bids goodbye to the children and the Fish just before the mother arrives. The …show more content…
Some superstitions and myths, for example on Friday the Thirteenth, view black cats or cats in general, as a symbol for mischievousness or bad luck. The Cat in the story causes many discrepancies with the normal lifestyle of the children, by wrecking their possessions. ""Now look what you did!" Said the fish to the car.… You should not be here when our mother is not." (25). The Cat defiled the norms of the children's lives, as they found the Cat's fun abnormal and chaotic. The mellow lifestyle of the children had been transformed by the presence of the Cat and his tricks and games, causing them to not only be disturbed by his tactics but also go repel away from …show more content…
The Cat simply does as such; however, the children are completely alienated by the fun the Cat displays. The brother goes running after Thing One and Thing Two, the two creatures who are like children themselves. The children and the Things symbolize the divide between two families and the norms within that family. The Things can be assumed to be the 'kids' of the Cat, the same way the children are the mother's kids. These two pairs of kids are exact opposite of each other, emphasizing how a kid is supposed to act—goofy and unrestrained—rather than settled and mellow. ""They want to have fun." Then out of the box came Thing Two and Thing One!" (33). Moreover, the box that contained the Things symbolizes the fun the Cat so desperately wants the siblings to see. The Things pop out of the fun-in-the-box and further stimulate the disturbance caused by the Cat in the children's household. The children seem to be so unaccustomed to fun, that it is almost as if their mother taught the children that fun is bad. The mother is a motif that is consistently used throughout the story, as the Fish refers to the mother and how displeased she would be if she saw the mess the Cat had made, as
Curiosity always kills the cat, and these children’s curiosity wasn’t that extreme, but it definitely wasn’t helpful. In the book, the boys curiousness about hunting and finding the ‘beastie’ is what started the blood thirsty urge to kill (Holding 35). Once they had succeeded in hunting pigs and became rather good at it, they didn’t want to stop. In the poem, the kids curiosity about what the handicapped boy was ...
"The Fish" is filled with poetic images all for the reason of making a powerful point,
“Geisel found his niche churning out tales of the weird and the whimsical, populating them with squawking fish and top-hatted cats.” Very few child...
The history of the feline is extensive and intriguing. Although we think of the black cat as always being the carrier of misfortune, the white cat has held a dark position as well. In England the white cat is notorious for its bad luck, and an older American superstition stated that a white cat at night indicates disaster. The Dalton's cat abruptly has Bigger feeling uneasy,
The three cats advance the plot of the story. Blue-Cat plays a humongous role in getting the boys out of the holiday house the first time. While the boys walk into
The first element to analyze when looking at “The Fish” is figurative language. The reader is drawn to this element because of its heavy emphasis throughout the poem. Elizabeth Bishop profusely uses similes with the intention of heightening the sensation of fishing. She writes:
Next, symbolism is always an integral part of any Poe story. The most obvious of symbolic references in this story is the cat’s name, Pluto. This is the Roman god of the underworld. Pluto contributes to a strong sense of hell and may even symbolize the devil himself. Another immensely symbolic part of “The Black Cat” is the title itself, since onyx cats have long connoted bad luck and misfortune. The most amazing thing about the symbolism in this story or in any other of Poe’s is that there are probably many symbols that only Poe himself ever knew were in his writings.
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...
Elizabeth Bishop's use of imagery and diction in "The Fish" is meant to support the themes of observation and the deceptive nature of surface appearance. Throughout the course of the poem these themes lead the narrator to the important realization that aging (as represented by the fish) is not a negative process, and allows for a reverie for all life. Imagery and diction are the cornerstone methods implemented by Bishop in the symbolic nature of this poem.
“Theatre is like a gym for the empathy. It’s where we can go to build up the muscles of compassion, to practice listening and understanding and engaging with people that are not just like ourselves. We practice sitting down, paying attention and learning from other people’s actions. We practice caring.” (Bill English of the SF Playhouse). This quote accurately summarises the purpose of Children’s Theatre, to help the growth and understanding of children whilst also keeping them entertained through theatrical techniques. The National Theatre’s Cat in the Hat, along with our performance pieces of Cranky Bear and Possum Magic all showcased these techniques in a number of ways, whilst also subconsciously coinciding with the child development theories
What kid hasn’t heard of Dr. Seuss? From “One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish” to “A person’s a person, no matter how small” to “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere”, Dr. Seuss has filled the lives of children with whimsical stories and ideas. (8) Using casual dialect and everyday objects, he was able to spark the imagination of others. All the while, he instilled lessons into his writings. It is not a surprise that Dr. Seuss received an award for a “Lifetime of Contribution to Children’s Literature”. His work will be read and enjoyed for decades to come. All in all, no matter which Dr. Seuss story that the reader might select, his or her imagination will be sparked, and the reader will surely be entertained.
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 image of the cat clawing at the reeds stands out the most. A person reading this poem can envision the cat clawing the reeds and screaming as the young boys hold it under the water bringing the cat closer and closer to death with each passing moment. The purpose that the young girl tries to explain is that she understands the way young boys are and that they do not love anything.
Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale, "The Black Cat," is a disturbing story that delves into the contrasts between reality and fantasy, insanity and logic, and life and death. To decipher one distinct meaning presented in this story undermines the brilliance of Poe's writing. Multiple meanings can be derived from "The Black Cat," which lends itself perfectly to many approaches of critical interpretation.