The Presence of Symbolism Throughout The Black Cat and “The Cask Of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

Through out Edgar Allen Poe’s career his stories and works of art have all carried their own distinctive independence, but one of the very few things that most stories by Poe had in common was the literary element of symbolism. Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In Poe’s works such as “The Black Cat” and “The Cask Of Amontillado” Edgar illustrates the mental state of his characters through the use of symbolism. In the story “The Black Cat” the narrator’s psychological state is portrayed through the signs or symbols of the white fur, the cat, its eye, and the wall. In the second story, “The Cask Of Amontillado” irony of fate and identity is signified through the names and costumes. The mental state of the 2 main characters is demonstrated through the symbols of Montrestor’s motto, amontillado, and coat of arms.
Throughout the story of “The Cask Of Amontillado” there are many cases when Poe decides to use symbolism to show irony in fate and identity. An example of this is when Poe chooses to use the name of “Fortunato” as his main character. Poe chose this name due to the fact that it literally means fortunate, but as you read on you soon figure out Fortunato dies from being murdered, and or otherwise he became unfortunate. Additionally, Montresor and Fortunato both had costumes that they were wearing that symbolized their identity and fate. Montresor decided to put on a costume of an executioner; this would represent the evil of the execution that Montresor will be committing upon Fortunato. Fortunato, somewhat of a goof ball elected to wear a costume of a fool or jester, this outfit would live up to its name because fortunato was in fact ...

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...dary works of art such as “The Black Cat” and “The Cask Of Amontillado” there is a reoccurring theme of despair, self- destruction, and infinite pain. The loss of identity, and the slow self-eruption of the main characters, is the standard of these stories. It’s through the stories symbolism where most of these transformations happen. Beneath the surface of the written words each work contains meanings of their own. It’s the breakdown of the symbolism covered inside these works of art that reveals their mental bearing upon the characters. A reoccurring type of physiological symbolism succeeds as the central moving force affecting endless suffering or death of the main characters. Between the use of darkness and black cats, it tends to test the reader to look deeper into the story and see the truth behind the death and horror that Edgar Allen Poe’s characters signify.