Alcoholism In The Black Cat, By Edgar Allan Poe

The story is narrated by an unnamed man who addresses the scheduling of his death the following day within the first paragraph; as a result, he plans to unburden his soul of his malicious wrongdoings. The narrator uses alcoholism to explain his actions, and it is obvious that there is a degree of mental deterioration that he is aware of. He begins by explaining the fondness he had of animals from a young age. He cared well for them, and his love for animals continued through his life and into his marriage. Once married, the narrator and his wife took care of a variety of animals including goldfish, rabbits, and a monkey; the one animal that he grew a strong attachment to was a large, entirely black cat named Pluto. His wife jokingly alluded to the superstition that regarded all black cats as witches in disguise. The narrator initially thought nothing of it, but the events that would play out contradict his lack of acknowledgement. Pluto and the narrator had a healthy friendship for several years, but as a result of excessive alcohol consumption, he began to grow more moody and more

He was disgusted and annoyed by the cat’s fondness, so he began to avoid it. He refrained from physically abusing the cat for a few weeks because he still felt a sense of shame for his former deed of cruelty. Eventually he was unable to resist, especially when the cat would get under his feet, nearly tripping him. He also discovered the white spot on the cat’s chest had taken the shape of the gallows, the mode of execution that took Pluto’s life. One day when the narrator and his wife went down to the cellar of their new building, he found an axe. He was compelled to end the cat’s life at the very instant that it got under his feet, almost throwing him down the steep stairs. His wife had prevented him from swinging, so he instead buried the axe in her brain, killing her