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The Black Cat Insanity Analysis

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The Insanity of “The Black Cat” Edgar Allan Poe left the ending of most of his stories enigmatic and therefore, open to controversial interpretations. Many debate whether the endings are the result of insanity or of haunting. It is evident that “The Black Cat” ending is caused by insanity, based on multiple re-occurrences that happen to the narrator. Many situations from the story support this claim. The narrator of “The Black Cat” is an alcoholic. By mistreating his pets and wife, he demonstrates how his addiction affects him. Alcoholism itself is an act of insanity because alcoholics see things in an entirely different manner than sober people. The narrator had a sufficient childhood and had a great deal of pets. Once he grew addicted …show more content…

This behavior shows the narrator’s insanity is the main cause of most of his actions. Since the space behind the wall was all desolate, except for the corpse and the black cat, the rapping of the cane created a sound that showed that it was hollow. The tapping on the wall accentuates the situation, and arouses suspicion about what could be behind the wall. The narrator also draws attention to the wall and himself when he says both, “By the bye, gentlemen, this-this is a very well-constructed house” (Poe 20), and “These walls are solidly put together” (Poe 20). In both of these quotes, the narrator comments on the corpse behind the wall indirectly. Both quotes foreshadow that something atrocious is going to happen to either the wall or both the narrator and the wall at the same time. In conclusion, the ending of “The Black Cat” results because of insanity. A variety of evidence from the text supports this supposition. All the narrator’s actions, from the abuse to the murders, are some effects of his alcoholism and insanity. A sane person clearly would not carry out these heinous acts and behave the way the narrator did after committing

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