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The Black Cat Research Paper

713 Words3 Pages

In the short story, “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe, the idea of whether the narrator is insane or sane is questioned. The narrator develops a drinking problem and becomes violent. He harms his cat, and then once it is healed, he murders it. Shortly thereafter, he and his wife find a new cat, similar to his old one. He grows to despise this new cat, which leads him to attempting to kill it. The wife gets in the narrator’s way of killing the cat, causing her death instead. Although he tries to cover up the murder, he is caught and taken to jail, which is where the readers begin to wonder if he is insane. Edgar Allen Poe’s belief in the duality of man, the narrator’s alcohol addiction, and his awareness of his actions deem the narrator sane and fully responsible for his actions. Edgar Allen Poe, the author of many gruesome stories, had a unique view on the human race. He believed that there was a duality to man, for humans had an evil side to them, which was not to be …show more content…

The narrator was fully capable of knowing right from wrong and was able to feel sorrow, which does not follow the “guidelines” on insanity. A counter-perspective that someone could argue is that the narrator’s actions are impulsive and he cannot control them, which are signs of insanity. To invalidate that statement, one would say that yes, they are impulsive, but it is not due to insanity. As mentioned before, alcohol can have a strong influence on the human mind, altering one’s original personality. Also, due to the alcohol, anger will partake as a factor. Anger and alcohol can both cause thoughtless actions. Impulsive behavior can be due to many things, although in this situation, it is due to an

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