Analysis Of The Black Cat In Oedipus Rex

Why is it that when passing an accident on the side of the road people slow down only to slow traffic, causing yet another accident. In Oedipus Rex, perhaps the most famous example of this theme in literature, Oedipus attempts to avoid a damning deed (killing his father and sleeping with his mother) only to have his own preventative actions lead him to the discovery that the crude act has already been committed. A clear conflict arises in Oedipus Rex between the act of incest Oedipus yearns to commit with his mother (in addition to the murder of his father) and the societal scorn for this action. In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat, an unnamed narrator recites the recent events that landed him on death row and tells just why he is to be executed

Both cats are abnormally large, black, missing an eye, and extremely “sagacious (64).” The only notable difference being the white spot on the second cat’s chest, which eventually turns into gallows, reminding the narrator of how he brutally killed the first cat. The cats name, Pluto, is a reference to the Greek god of death, representing just how uncontrollable the second cat is. The earlier cat’s innocence likeability allows it to be the victim of the narrator’s actions, as it represents the forced submission of women, slave, and child to man. The second cat, on the other hand has an annoying, almost omnipresent nature, allowing it to exercise complete psychological control over the main character. In fact, it is the second cat who does him in in the end, revealing his murder to the police. While the earlier cat represents the old age, where man had actual control over everything in his life, the second cat represents rebellion against man, and complete rejection of his

It may be interesting to note that Edgar Allan Poe himself was known as a drunkard who had little control over his actions. In fact, he was rumored to have died in a ditch. Ironically, Poe seems to be writing about himself in a way, showing that despite saying you want to follow certain values and morals, actually doing so is a different story. This story is no exception, as it plays on very real fears of false security. Your home and family are supposed to be the one space where you have control. However, no person can really be controlled, and when they are harmed by the person controlling them, which in this case is man, they are bound to rebel. This is why as a man it is important to be conscious of your actions while performing them, realizing that what society tells us is not always correct, or the best course of action. As the one being controlled, whether that be woman, child, or slave, it is important to realize the autonomy of the individual person and that patriarchal control, at least to some degree, rests on the compliance of the person being