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The black cat symbolism essay
The black cat symbolism essay
The black cat symbolism essay
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This is a story is about a deranged man who killed a man because he had an eye of a “vulture”. The narrator is the main character in this story. It was written by Edgar Allen Poe in the dark times in his life along with many of his other stories. The old man had an eye, according to the narrator, thought the old man’s eye looked like a vulture’s eye and the narrator wanted to murder him because of it. The narrator’s warped thinking process it drove him to do insane things.
What gives the reader that feeling of being on the edge of their seat? Why would he want the reader to anticipate what’s going to happen next? That is how the author expresses tension. The author does this by using literary devices. Edgar Allen Poe builds suspense in “The Black Cat” by using specific literary devices—foreshadowing, allusion, and slow pace.
In the “the black cat” by Edgar Allen Poe, the gothic fiction/ horror short story is about an untrustworthy narrator and how he relates to alcohol taking over his life, leading him to murder his cat, Pluto, and his wife. In the guilt of killing his cat, he buys a new one but kills in in anger. Some might say he was just insane but others would argue that he was guilty. From what happened, he was guilty by insanity. Because he hung his cat and murdered his wife, he definitely committed a crime, but I feel as if he could not tell what was right and what was wrong at the time.
Insanity is a common theme throughout Edgar Allen Poe’s body of work. Though it creates interesting characters and situations, it also makes us wonder how much of the story that the narrator is telling us is actually true. In The_Black_Cat, William_Wilson, and The_Raven, the narrators seem to be speaking the truth that they believe. However the narrator -in each story- also appears to get a few details wrong, most likely because of their unwell state.
A Great Writer with Great Guilt Throughout time, guilt has often encouraged writers to express their emotions, their beliefs, and even their own life experiences through their literary works. Edgar Allan Poe often used the such theme of guilt in his stories. It was through Edgar's own life that he would experience great guilt, which inspired some of his works, and the characters in them. One example comes from Edgar's early childhood. When Edgar’s first father, Dave Poe, abandoned the family, Edgar believed it was his own fault.
His conscience convinced him that the policemen knew, he grew stressed and anxious. The narrator felt such agony that confessing was a better outcome than continuing to be tortured (Poe, 619). At last, his own conscience, in the beating sound form, made him yell out the truth and say where the body was. In The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator has little to no morals; he only feels guilt about his first murder, which was his cat named Pluto, but finds some kind of satisfaction in committing
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat,” a narrator shares the story of what led him to murder his wife. Throughout the composition, we learn of the narrator’s change in personality as time advances. From a happy child and loving husband, he becomes a bitter and hateful man who eventually begins to abuse his pets and wife. Even though at the beginning of his story he stated that “…mad am I not…,” one can surely tell that the man is not in a right state of mind (Poe 670). One could even say that the narrator is insane, or “In a state of mind which prevents normal perception, behaviour, or social interaction” (“Insane”).
Happiness is derived from surrounding oneself with family, those who love you unconditionally with support and compassion. A mother and father strive to provide several opportunities for their children along with encompassing them in secure feelings building them up for a future. Without a mother, stepmother, Virginia, and his true love Edgar Allan Poe spent his time taking care of others rather than being taken care of therefore eliminating necessary qualities and characteristics acquired from the obtaining of love. Edgar Allan Poe’s lost array of loved ones manifested his life portrayed throughout his short stories and poems through literary techniques. His short story “the Black Cat” and acclaimed poem
Edgar Allan Poe, a talented writer, wrote many poems and short stories about “so-called events” that happened during his short and troubled life. Some events may be true but some events may be a figment of his imagination, which makes Poe an interesting writer to read about. Throughout his life he wrote about many different stories that showcase how similar his works can be to one another. Poe’s style relies heavily on setting/mood, symbolism, and theme.
Everyone has put life on hold and become totally consumed with something at one time, and may have felt guilty or irrational for doing so. Numerous people probably have found a way to control that obsession; if not it could manifest to a much bigger problem of doing heinous things. Guilt and obsession can consume a person, if not addressed. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart” is about a person who is obsessed with his housemate’s eye and kills him.
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.
Poe 's use of imagery demonstrates how the homicidal criminal 's obsession with a man 's deformity propels him to sin, creating a sense of self-hatred and guilt that overwhelms him. The madman uses " 'eye ' not as an organ of vision but as the homonym of 'I. ' Thus, what the narrator ultimately wants to destroy is the self, and he succumbs to this urge when he could no longer contain his overwhelming sense of guilt" (Chua 2). The narrator 's guilt is symbolizing with a beating heart in which " 'he places his hand upon the heart and holds it there many minutes. ' In the end, it seems to his overstrain nerves that the police officers linger inordinately in the house, chatting and smiling, until he is driven frantic by their cheerful persistence."
When people think of Gothic literature what usually pops into their mind is blood, torture, death without violence in trapment it wouldn’t be a Gothic story. there are a few stories that show these themes The state of being caught in or trapped is entrapment. The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe is about a man and his cat and it shows how making bad decisions and bad addictions can change a person. Addiction can change someone into something they don’t recognize and trap them “in this felon’s cell” (3 Poe) where they don’t belong.
The Dark Side of Poe During the 1800’s Edgar Allan Poe was one of the first writers to write about Detective fiction and Gothic horror. He is well known today as “one of the most brilliant and original American writers” (Edgar Allan Poe) Poe was born 1809, Boston, Massachusetts to two professional actors, Elizabeth Amold Poe and David Poe, Jr. His Parents died when he was around three and was shortly after adopted by John Allan.
Edgar Allan Poe addresses the dark and gruesome side of human nature in his writing “The Black Cat”, which during that time and even now are perceived as radical ideas. This dark human nature is displayed in Poe’s writing as the narrator recalls the happenings of a most erratic event. The narrator, a pet lover with a sweet disposition, in this story succumbs to the most challenging aspects of human nature including that of addiction, anger, and perverseness. To the Christian believer, human’s sinful flesh leads people to do wrong because that is their natural tendency.