Alcohol Portrayed In Poe's The Black Cat

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Consequences of Alcohol Portrayed in Poe’s The Black Cat The Black Cat is a story included in Tales, a collection of short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1845. This story is an example of gothic literature because of the use of violence and supernatural elements that are prevalent in almost every gothic piece. One major theme in this story is the harsh reality of how depression and lack of control caused by alcoholism can overcome reason. In the beginning of the story, the narrator states that he married young and that he is happy with his wife. He writes that they are animal lovers and therefore, they have several domestic pets. Notably, he emphasizes his love for the cat named Pluto. Pluto is his favorite pet by far, …show more content…

He states that he has begun neglecting his pets and mistreating them. At first, he is hurting all of his animals except Pluto, but then he talks about how his disease grew upon him. The narrator proclaims, “for what disease is like Alcohol” (Poe 38). He is relating alcoholism to a disease in the sense that it takes over his life, and he has no control over what he is doing and what is going on with him. He is harming his animals, whom he loves very much, because of alcoholism. He also states that “a demon instantly possessed me” (Poe 38). This further explains the fact that the narrator is no longer in control of his actions. His word choice in these two quotes emphasize that this is from the gothic era and that it is supposed to be a depressing story. He is essentially comparing alcoholism to a disease and demonic possession, which are two topics that are not very happy, but characteristic of gothic literature, and they set the scene for the rest of the …show more content…

In an alcoholic rage, he attempts to kill the second cat, but his wife gets in the way and falls victim to his axe. Much like a madman, the narrator is not fazed by the fact that he just murdered his wife. In fact, he is only worried about how he is going to get rid of the body. The word choice in this section proves that he does not care about the death of his wife. He uses the word “accomplished” when referring to the murder and then he “felt satisfied” and “looked around triumphantly” after finding a hiding place for the body (Poe 44). These are not words that a sane person would use after the death of his wife. This further proves that alcohol has significantly changed him for the

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