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Examples of the components of the moral compass
Edgar allan poe black cat literary analysis
Edgar allan poe black cat literary analysis
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Recommended: Examples of the components of the moral compass
In Edgar Allan Poe’s ominous short story “The Black Cat”, the main character, who is also the narrator, commits many horrifying crimes, making the reader question his morality. Throughout Poe’s story, the narrator constantly gives reason to his actions, such as a “spirit of perverseness” that led him “to do wrong for wrong sake’s only” (“Black Cat” 117). The reader may analyze this statement and relate it to times in their own life where they have done wrong for reasons they cannot fathom. Through writing such an eerily descriptive first person narrative, Poe effectively engrosses his audience in his story, warning them of what could happen when one lets their voice inside take control.
Everyone, at least once in their lifetime, has done something so uncharacteristic of themselves that it makes them immediately wonder, “What was I thinking?”. What is it that leads one to subconsciously do something wrong or sinful? Some refer to it as “the voice inside your head”, while others refer to it as “listening to your conscience”. The idea of the voice inside one’s head and one’s conscience have always gone hand-in-hand. However, they are quite opposite in how they affect one’s thought process. In the popular health and wellness website called the Isha Blog, Sadhguru discusses the concept of the human conscience and it’s relation to humanity and morality. In order for one to gain morality, and ultimately develop their inner conscience, they must have “compassion for all life around [them] and dispassion towards [themselves]” (Isha Blog). Only then will one be able to truly distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.
In “The Black Cat”, the narrator begins his story by looking back to his earlier life, and his “tenderness of heart...
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... (2013): 506-515. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Best of Poe: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, and 30 Others. Clayton, DE: Prestwick House, 2006. 115-122. Print. 6 May 2014
Shulman, Ernest. "Edgar Allan Poe: Drawing The Line Between Self-Destructive Life Style And Actual Suicide." Omega: Journal Of Death & Dying 34.1 (1996): 0. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 May 2014.
Snoyman, Phillip, and Berindah Aicken. "Self-Reported Impulsivity In Male Offenders With Low Cognitive Ability In New South Wales Prisons." Psychology, Crime & Law 17.2 (2011): 151-164. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 May 2014.
"The Imp of the Perverse by Edgar Allan Poe - Poestories.com." Poestories. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
"What Is Conscience - Should I Listen to What It Says?" The Isha Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.
The call of conscience is continuous and it “summons” people to the challenge of assuming the ethical responsibility of affirming their freedom through resolute choice. For instance, people can structure and live their existence in a meaningful and moral way (Hyde, 2006, p. 39). Call of conscience is a driving force that pushes people to do what is morally right not only for them, but for others as well. Furthermore, call of conscience is a call of Being, “the call of Being demands courage from those who remain open to it and, in doing so, stand ready to acknowledge how their ways of thinking and acting may not be as authentic and respectful as they could possibly be” (Hyde, 2006, p. 51). A call of conscience persuades someone to do the right thing no matter what, even if a person helping someone else has the potential of having negative percussions for doing
Experiments like the Asch Experiment and the Milgram Experiment provides evidence that individual’s conscience really did not have a part in how one behaved in a scenario. These experiments provided evidence that the behavior is situational, and one must have contextual details to understand these findings. Personal conscience did not have effect on behavior, but situational variables
Poe, Edgar Allan. The Cask of Amontillado. Mankato, MN : The Creative Company, 2008. Print.
Kennedy, Gerald J. A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001
The short story is generally a study in human terror. Furthermore, the author explains Poe use of a particular style and technique, to not only create the mood of mystery, but to cause the reader to feel sympathy for the narrator. Poe makes a connection between the storyteller and reader with knowledge and literary craftsmanship.
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 two short stories that I have chosen by Edgar Allan Poe are The Tell Tale Heart and The Black Cat. These two stories in particular have many things in common as far as technique goes, but they do have some significant differences between the two. In this paper I will try to compare and contrast these two short stories and hopefully bring something to the readers attention that wasn't there at first.
Analysis of the Role First Person Narration Plays in Edgar Allen Poe's Poem The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe is one of America’s most celebrated classical authors, known for his unique dealings within the horror genre. Poe was a master at utilizing literary devices such as point of view and setting to enhance the mood and plot of his stories leading to his widespread appeal that remains intact to this day. His mastery of aforementioned devices is evident in two of his shorter works “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.
Poe, E. A. “The Haunted Palace.” Bedford introduction to literature: Reading, thinking, writing. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford Bks St Martin’s. 2013. 891-893. Print.
Does the narrator show weakness through this mental illness or is it a sophistical mind of a genius? This is the question that must be answered here. Throughout this discussion we will prove that the narrator is a man of a conscience mind and committed the crime of murder. Along with that we will expose Poe’s true significance of writing this short story, and how people were getting away with crime by justifying that they were insane.
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).
No matter which critical interpretation is used, it is evident that Poe's "The Black Cat" is a unique story that relies on key aspects, such as graphic violence and sensational imagery, to heighten the reader's perception toward the limits and depths of the human mind.