Literary Analysis Of The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe incorporates real life experiences into the literary work "The Black Cat". Poe struggles with alcoholism, gambling, and may very well possess some mental disorders because of all he has experienced in his life. Many deaths have occurred in his life which could influence his writing greatly. In "The Black Cat" Edgar Allan Poe uses euphemism and motif to reveal the narrator's insanity and inability to own up to his actions.

	In Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Black Cat," symbolism is used to show the narrator’s capacity for violence, madness, and guilt. "The Black Cat," written by Edgar Allan Poe serves as a reminder for all of us. The Capacity for violence and horror lies within each of

The Narrator in “The Black Cat” is explained as a man who fell into alcoholism and let deception take control over his mindset (Poe 79). His change of perspective over things causes him to believe his beloved first black cat (Pluto) is evil and demonic when the cat bites him one day (Poe 80). During the illusion from the excessive alcohol, he hangs Pluto (Poe 80). From guilt further on from killing his first cat, the narrator adopts another black cat. A while later, he comes to believe that the new cat has the same characteristics that Pluto had (Poe 82). In an act of fit from the new Black cat almost tripping him on the cellar stairs, the narrator starts to try to kill him with an axe (Poe 84). His wife comes in and tries to stop him, but instead that causes him to kill her. The narrator hides his wife’s body in a cellar wall, meanwhile the cat vanished (Poe 84). Four days later, the police came to do a thorough search. The narrator acted strangely calm and innocent, as if he had done nothing. They discovered her corpse with the cat standing on her head howling in the cellar wall though, and took the narrator into custody. (Poe 85-86).

The Black Cat is one of Poe’s most memorable stories. The story was first published in 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. This like a study of the psychology of guilt, paired with other works by Poe. “Near the beginning of the tale, the narrator says he would be "mad indeed" if he should expect a reader to believe the story, implying that he has already been accused of madness” (Cleman). Poe is creating a sense of confusion for the readers and making them think more about the story before reading. The story is centered around a black cat and the idea of deterioration of a man. From his prison cell, the narrator is writing the story about his life which is falling apart. He has a love for animals, and for his wife that he married young. One of the things that he takes on as a hobby, is

In “The Black Cat” Poe uses diction throughout the text to create a feeling of guilt. In the beginning of the text the narrator states “But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburden

Similarly, just like in “The Black Cat” the narrator makes a bad decision that ends up leading to a big amount of guilt from another cat that reminds him of Pluto and, then leads him to also killing his wife and the second cat. “I caught the cat and hung him by his neck from a tree until he was dead” (“The Black”Poe 2). “I was sure it was because of my wife’s murder: he was too clever to come near me now” (“The Black” Poe 3). This is showing that the narrator ends up killing his whole

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat” left me feeling stupefied and horrified, unable to make sense of what really happened and why. It’s a dark hole of a story that starts out a sensible account of murder, but ends in despair with questions pertaining to mental physique, morality & superstitions. It’s a quest to understand why the narrator led to murder those around him.

In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat," symbolism is used to show the narrator's capacity for violence, madness, and guilt. "The Black Cat," written by Edgar Allan Poe serves as a reminder for all of us. The Capacity for violence and horror lies within each of us, no matter how docile and humane our disposition might appear. In this story, the narrator portrays a man who is fond of animals, had a tender heart, and is happily married. Within several years of his marriage, his general temperament and character make a radical alteration for the worse. He grows moodier, more irritable, and more inconsiderate of the feelings of others. This change for the worse caused by alcohol, ends in the narrator's waiting on death row for the murder of his wife. The symbolism of the first black cat, the second black cat, and the white spot illustrate the narrator's expanding capacity for evil and perverseness.

Bliss). Not long after killing the first cat the narrator gets another one that looks a whole lot like the first cat but with a patch of white on it’s chest. This cat does not fear the narrator like the first cat did, and it drives the narrator crazy. “In enviably, the narrator resorts to more violence in order to resent his threatened masculine power. This violence initially directed toward the second cat, ends in the narrator’s murder of his wife.” (Household Horror: Domestic Masculinity in Poe’s ‘The Black Cat.’; Ann V. Bliss). After killing his wife he winds up killing the second cat also. After having both dead he sees himself as a free man. When the police find the body of the narrator’s wife, he tries to plead his case. “Despite his attempts to portray himself as “a man formed in the image of the high god,’ the narrator is left weak, faint-hearted and emasculated.” (Household Horror: Domestic Masculinity in Poe’s ‘The Black Cat.’; Ann V. Bliss). Poe makes his views on Perverse very well known in “The Black Cat”. Poe explains that the narrator only killed the cats and wife because he felt it was the right thing to do. Poe ques in on perversely being in one’s heart and you cannot stop it. Poe even makes the narrator feel bad after he kills the first cat and even at some part of the short story he states that he knew it was wrong to kill the cat, but he goes on and kills his wife and the second cat. “The Black Cat” came out in 1843, and it was very different than the

In The Black Cat, it stated, “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the I I me of a tree; — hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; — hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence.” (The Black Cat) He had given specific gruesome details to add intense towards the story. Poe wasn’t much of a writer to write about happy spiritual work; he eased towards dark, sad, angry work.

Primarily, Poe creates a narrator that is easily angered to create suspense. In “The Black Cat”, the narrator has a strong hatred for the new cat he bought after Pluto died. He tried to kill the cat a multitude of times but wasn’t able to do it. When the narrator finally

Many of the violent acts which occur in “The Black Cat” take place in interesting settings. First off, the story starts off in a prison cell where the narrator is writing the day before he will be executed for his actions; “But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburden my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified—have tortured—have destroyed me” (Poe 719). This is interesting that he is writing about his story the day before his death because it gives him no reason to lie. Even though he clearly writes; “For the most wild yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit

Poe gives many gruesome and frightening details that make “The Black Cat” a horror fiction short story. Horror fiction is a genre of fiction designed to startle, frighten, or disgust the reader by inducing feelings of horror. Poe inducing feelings of horror through things that take place in the story such as the stabbing of Pluto, the first cat. When Poe wrote, “I took from my waistcoat pocket a penknife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of the eyes from the socket!” (Poe 436), he gives the reader a startled and disgusting feeling due to the gruesome depth of the sentence. Poe “darkens” the story even more with the hanging of Pluto and his wife’s murder. Poe writes about his wife’s murder and he gives evil details on the ideas of burying her in his

Edgar Allan Poe uses a great deal of symbolism in his story. He often uses symbolism to illustrate his views of nature. One example of Poe using symbolism in this short story is when he talks about how every time he see’s the black cat, he feels angry and paranoid. A black cat naturally symbolizes evil and for Poe to say that when he see’s a black cat, he feels anger, this gives the reader an ideal that the black cat in Poe’s short story, also symbolizes evil. Poe uses symbolism to impact the overall tone of the story by using symbolism and imagery throughout his story.

The Black Cat, written by Edgar Allen Poe, is a short story about a man, also the narrator, who starts out by living a “happy” life with his wife and favorite black cat, Plato. Although, he begins to be consumed by his drinking and becomes irritable. The black cat used to be by his side but now avoids him. This irritability leads him into becoming overly aggressive, which results in him hurting and murdering the cat. Then, a second cat appears who looks the same as Pluto but with a white spot on his chest. Eventually, the man starts to feel anger towards the cat and attempts to murder him with an axe, but his wife stops him. Unfortunately, his wife was hit in the head. The man then decides to bury his dead wife in his basement wall. He thinks he has got away with murder, but in the end, one learns that he had accidentally buried the cat alive with his wife. The cat reveals his hiding spot when he is caught by the police. Although it seems that the main character has committed these actions solely from alcoholism, it is obvious that there are signs he is also suffering from a mental illness.