Following the first incident, he ended up hanging the cat in a tree. Later on that night, the narrator woke up to his house in flames. He and his wife managed to escape them.
Early into the story the wife makes frequent allusion, “all black cats are witches in disguise” (Poe 1), which is a popular ancient notation. This tells the reader that they should be suspicious of Pluto because he could possibly be a witch. When the narrator introduces Pluto to the reader he writes “Pluto—this was the cats name” (Poe 1). In Roman mythology Pluto is the god of the underworld.
Alcohol and pets don't get along; if you don't believe me, just ask Poe The story starts with depicting the, gentle, narrator's and his wife's love for their pets, especially the extreme liking they have for their black cat. The narrator is first pictured as a very docile human being who loves his wife and his animals, but the situation quickly changes from good to catastrophic. Soon, our animal loving friend gets transformed into an alcoholic pet hating bastard; he starts to drink more and then beat his wife and his pets senseless. The situation was clearly shitty, but then he committed the absolutely irreparable.
His house was ablaze. He barely made it out with his life let along his life’s savings. the thought that the atrocity was related to the cause of the disaster danced around the narrator’s mind. Though never did he let that thought settle in he knew the truth and somewhere in the back of his head this thought had planted it’s feet. Some people believe that in his drunkenness he caused the fire but others have found belief in that it was his cat, Pluto, (that he hung) came back for revenge.
The Black Cat is written by Edgar Allan Poe, who has written much in the past. He was always questioned about how reliable his stories were in the past, but in this story it brings major attention to the reasons why. In the story the narrator states “…a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified - have tortured - have destroyed me.” In that quote it shows that his past life affected his actions that took place in The Black Cat.
In the short story, “The Black Cat”, the narrator suffers from alcoholism and turns toward violence against his cat, Pluto, and his wife. Following the burning of his house, the narrator’s madness heightens when he kills his wife and cat. After walling up the bodies, the narrator states how his “happiness was supreme” and that murdering his wife “disturbed [him] but little” (Poe). The narrator's lack of remorse or regret for his actions further underscores his instability and calls into question the truthfulness of his narrative. By creating a narrator whose grip on reality is tenuous at best, Poe establishes an atmosphere of tension and suspense that keeps readers on edge.
Addiction is defined as compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (such as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful. And to further explain it means you cannot stop doing something even if it may be hurting your self and others. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Black Cat the narrator is about to receive the death penalty and he is telling his story. When he was young he loved animals which led to having a lot of pets, He had one pet which he loved best a black cat named Pluto. One night he had come home from the bar drunk and Pluto was trying to avoid him and he
Ashley Barboni Short Story Essay English 102 Professor James Wyatt November 4th, 2015 Ode to The Black Cat The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe is a work of Gothic Fiction, a subgenre of Gothic Horror, which combines fiction, horror, death and Romanticism. This short story is in first person point of view, and is told from a jail cell on death row by an unnamed narrator. The narrator tells the reader all about his love for animals and his mild and kind qualities that he’s had since birth. Pluto, a large, smart, black cat, is the narrator’s favorite out of those in his home.
There are few depressing events that occur during the course of the tale: for instance, the loss of the narrator’s former self, the abuse his other animals and wife, and his home due to the black cat’s occurring involvement. Despite the losses, however, the narrator surprisingly introduces a new black cat into his new home. The narrator thinks this will get rid of all his former dreadful memories and emotions of Pluto by introducing the new cat into his life, the narrator receives the exact opposite symbolizing the misfortune of the black cat have on the narrator. The text can provide evidence to this by stating “[t]his was just the reverse of what I had anticipated; but- I know not how or it – its evident fondness for myself rather disgusted
Alcohol is a noteworthy theme throughout Edgar Allan Poe’s writing. This may be because of Poe’s struggle with alcoholism. There are two prominent stories Poe has written with strong themes of alcoholism. These stories are the “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat”. In “The Cask of Amontillado”, alcohol plays a large role in the story.
The problems of alcoholism and insanity are recurring themes in Poe’s literary works. One can say that “The Black Cat,” one of Poe’s short stories, portrays much of the author’s own views on his substance abuse problems and mental illness. The unnamed narrator from “The Black Cat,” struggles with his addiction to alcohol and his hatred for two cats become prevailing. The narrator states, however, that he was never like this before he loved animals, “never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them.” (Poe, 3).
n the beginning of The Black Cat, the narrator tells us that he is sentenced to die the following day and decides to tell us the chain of events that had led him to this. He describes some unlikely events and hint at a possible supernatural involvement. Some tales are hard to believe, especially when the narrator repeatedly talks about his addiction to alcohol. Alcoholism can explain some of the narrator’s compulsive behaviors, aggression, self-destructive behaviors, and at the beginning, guilt. But this doesn’t explain the mental confusion, lack of restraint, inappropriate emotional responses, and, as the story progresses, lack of remorse, and why he may have seen or heard things that aren't real.
In the gruesome short story “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe a nameless narrator tells his story of his drunken and moody life before he gets hung the next day. The intoxicated narrator kills his favorite cat, Pluto and his wife with an axe. Soon enough, the narrator gets caught and there he ends up, in jail. Although, most readers of “The Black Cat” have argued the narrators insanity, more evidence have shown that he is just a moody alcoholic with a lousy temper.
Edgar Allan Poe is a man known for his uncomfortable, devious stories of murder, and “The Black Cat” is no exception. This short story portrays how a narrator transforms from a caring husband and pet owner to a fiendish madman. The narrator’s superego, his ego, and his id are completely problematic. The narrator knows that what he did was wrong. This was demonstrated by his guilt and his attempt to contain himself by putting the second cat in the same fate as Pluto.
(Poe, the Black Cat) Therefore, the narrator had admire for animals which indeed he had a bunch of them. The narrator had gotten a black cat. “Pluto—this was the cat’s name—was my favorite pet and playmate.” He said. (Poe, the black cat)
