The Black Cat Research Paper

Although being two different categories of texts, “The Black Cat” and “Self Reliance” have similarities and differences as well. Both texts share the common upbringing of the idea of learning from mistakes. In “The Black Cat”, the narrator realizes his killing of his cat was wrong. Recalling, “I experienced a sentiment half of horror half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty…”(Poe 5). Despite his murderous actions and recent corrupt behavior, the narrator still learned to recognize that what he performed was a mistake or wrong, and even sensed guilt. The narrator of “Self Reliance” also contributed to the topic of becoming aware of mistakes, but instead, aimed it at society instead of himself. He says, “we recognize our own rejected thoughts...and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another” (Emerson 4). To summarize his message, Emerson believes that people of society emphasize their mistakes, and by doing so, it teaches people to learn from them. Akin to what was previously mentioned, a difference between the two pieces is the subject of the Oversoul. “The Black Cat” does not mention this. In fact, the opposite is the case. The narrator is disconnected from the other characters in the text due to his nefarious actions, unlike the innocence portrayed by the cats and the wife. On the other hand, the Oversoul is talked about by Emerson when he states, the ‘deep force' through which we ‘share the life by which things exist'...this self

Edgar Allan Poe shows his insanity in the Black Cat through irony. The narrator says in the begining of the story; "My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events"(1). Later readers discover the fact that the events are in no way mere household events, buts much more gruesome and highlights the narrator's perverseness. Later, the narrator buries his wife in a very loosely constructed wall, yet when the police come by he tells them; "By the bye, gentlemen, this - this is a very well constructed house"(5). As he tells them this he knocks against the wall and the cat cries. This stirs the policemen and we soon realize it was not a well constructed wall as the bricks

The title of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” leads the reader to believe the short story is about one black cat. However, almost in the middle of the story a second cat emerges. Are the second cat one of the nine lives of the first cat? The narrator seems to be struggling with this question and considering the genre is horror, I as the reader also struggles with this question. Since the narrator hints the second cat may be the same as the first, the reader must look at the similarities and differences of the two cats; such as, they both loved the narrator, both are missing an eye, and the cats have a difference in the color of their fur.

Many authors apply Gothic Elements in their common works such as: “The Black Cat,” written by Edgar Allen Poe, “Prey,” by Richard Matheson, and “The Feather Pillow,” by Horacio Quiroga. In an effort to create a sense of mystery, suspense, and superstition, these authors utilize these Gothic Elements: entrapment and violence. By using these elements, authors illustrate their belief that one should express themselves through individualism.

A struggling writer during the 1840’s is undoubtedly one of the strongest and well-known writers today. Commonly referred to as “The father of the detective story”, Poe’s graphic-gothic work certainly caught the attention of the public, who collectively believe his strange work unintentionally reveals his own troubled mind. His famous piece of work, The Black Cat, reveals the psychology of guilt and delivers varied emotions including superstition, hatred, love, sudden mental and personality transformation, which are all conveyed through Pluto. Literary devices in The Black Cat, along with Poe’s outstanding knowledge of the complex human mind and mental disorders prior to its discovering, reveal the nameless narrator’s unstable mental condition.

Firstly, both stories have a dimension of temptation interlaced into their plots. Temptation to give in to a certain stimulus. Temptation to skew reality to better fit their fantasies. In “The Black Cat”, the main character as a young child has a fondness for animals. He grows up and marries a woman who also shares an enthusiasm for animals. Soon, alcohol and violence tempt the main character. Poe writes, “… during which my general temperament and character-- through which the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance-- had (I blush to confess it)

“The Black Cat” has an unreliable narrator. He is an abusive, possibly insane, alcoholic. He has a wife and a black cat. He is usually drunk when he returns home after work, and the black cat becomes scared of him. And one day when he comes home, the cat bites him and he stabs its eye out. Later he hangs the cat in a noose. He later gets a new cat after his house burned down with a mysterious mark by his bed. The cat has a white patch of fur around its neck. One day he goes to attack the cat, his wife stops him and he kills his wife, puts her behind a wall. When the cops come, the cat was trapped behind the wall, screams, and the police find the body. He is very unstable and cannot be trusted.

Lairs and untrustworthy people make it easy an easy way to develop a plot and Edgar Allen Poe uses that to his advantage in both of his texts. The narrator in The Black Cat is very hard to trust especially when he changes his opinions and outlooks in almost every paragraph. One example of this is in the first paragraph, the narrator flips from saying that the narrative is wild and mad at the beginning, to at the end saying its just a couple of ordinary events " of very natural causes and effects". He also says that a spot on his cats chest turned from a spot to the gallows. The fact that he cant make up his mind on the type of story and the fact that he believes that a spot on his cats chest went from just a blob to the gallows, makes it very

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”, a person will read an incredulous story that unfolds into a great tale of mystery, murder, and madness. Poe, proven to be a phenomenal author, seems to outdo himself with this particular narrative. You cannot help but wonder who the real culprit is and if the wife’s superstitions are true in the beginning. However, is it possible that there were more reasons why these events took place? Is it naïve to blame the cat for this destruction of man or had it all been happening due to his rage and drunkenness? This story, although quite irrational at times, has provided many questions for the reader. Some are deep while others are more transparent, but there is always room for

Cissy was a princess in her family, unfortunately, her father get broke several months ago. But Cissy was an optimistic and kind-hearted girl.

Throughout this scene, Angus can be compared to a child, such that he wants a lot in life, especially to remember. At the beginning of the scene, my character, Angus, wanted Miles to tell his and Morgan’s story of the two tall English girls. Thorough that conversation, I learned that Angus can go to any extend to get his wish fulfilled, all while respecting the other person’s desire. As the scene progressed, he wondered about the location of the two houses and whether they got started or not. In this case, Angus reminded me of a child who won’t stop until he got an answer to his questions. Towards the end of the scene, my character wanted to seek his “wife’s” and Morgan’s “wife’s” grave to pay them a visit. Once again, his behaviour and his actions can be compared to a child who won’t stop till he gets what he wants. Even though Angus wanted all of those things, I think that what he truly wanted was to remember, remember his loved ones and remember his life.

I’ve always found my willpower in my deceased black cat. I was twelve when I received my first pet. It was a dog, I bet you thought it was the cat, and I named him Toby. Long story short, we had to give Toby back to the breeder after a day with him. Naturally, my eleven year old self was devastated that I couldn’t keep my pet. I got home from school one day and discovered that a stray kitten had found it’s way into my backyard. My dad, whom has never loved animals, was all about giving her away to the city pound, but my mom was all up for keeping her. After a lot of begging, my dad finally agreed that we could keep her. Surprisingly, my dad was the one that wanted to name her. He named the cat Justin, after Justin Bieber, thinking the cat was

The symbols used in ¨The Black Cat.¨ “Poe uses a cat to show a difficulty of human reason.” (Moreland,Rodriguez 6). This is important because the cat was always there when something bad happened. Poe had a lot of difficulty making his decisions because of his alcoholism. “ Poe used procrastination to show how humans do things and deiced things and when it’s time to explain them then it can only be explained in a negative way.” (Moreland,Rodriguez 9). This is important because it shows how Poe was very creative while using symbolism. In the story, Poe took a very long time to kill his wife and when he did, he tried to hide it but failed. “A black cat in ancient popular notion is witches in disguise.” (Moreland,Rodriguez 6). This is important because in the story, bad things only happened when the black cat was around. Poe used this to show how he believes in bad luck and how the black cat symbolized bad luck. Poe used a lot of symbolism throughout all his short stories to point out the significance of the story. The cellar that Poe describes in the story is symbolized as a jail cell. This could be because Poe knows that he has committed a crime and must pay for it and the only way he would be able to pay for it is in jail. Poe also uses a lot of imagery to describe the cellar in his story, which gives the reader a vivid image of the cellar being symbolized as a jail cell.

At the beginning of the story, everything seems to be going good, but then there is a turning point in the story where everything seems to turn bad. After this changes to bad there is much abuse and domestic violence in this house. As the story unfolds, the narrator becomes insane and abuses animals and kills his wife in the end. “The Black Cat “narrator admits that he is under the influence of alcohol and possibly even suffering from insanity. He once loved animals but then begins to torture them for no apparent reason. Also after the narrator kills his wife, he tries to hide the body behind a brick wall that he creates. There is irony in the fact that he also ends up trapping the cat behind the wall ("Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849) …”). The cat makes a loud noise and that is how the narrator is caught and arrested for the murder of his wife. The narrator’s character is the main reason why the story turns from a good to a bad

The gallow plays another important role in this short story. We can see it on the second black cat. The protagonist imagines the white shape of the cat slowly becomes a gallow. And it scares him but the truth might be that his mind feels so guilty and consequently, he merely imagines that the shape represents a gallow. Not only may he be schizophrenic but also possessed by the devil. In other words, the religious explanation can bring us to the fact that the evil partly won in the protagonist when he had killed his first cat and subsequently his own wife. However, the devil did not take control over him completely owing to the confession at the end of the story. Mentioning the devil is not obvious but the hint is hidden behind the demon and the possible schizophrenic mind of the protagonist. “The fury of a demon instantly possessed me. I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight