Poe’s “The Black Cat” Short Response Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat” can be considered a horror story as well as a study in human psychology. The horrors of the violent acts committed by the narrator are explained as the story progresses as is the demise of his mental state. As he describes himself in the opening of the story as a lover of animals‚ it is shocking to later read of his first act of violence toward his cat‚ the gouging out of his eye. Although the narrator appears to show some
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Paranoia‚ Unaccountability‚ and Drunkenness : The Black Cat “I became insane‚ with long intervals of horrible sanity.” -Edgar Allen Poe In his story “The Black Cat”‚ Edgar Allen Poe acquaints us to a death row inmate who‚ believing he was bewitched by at cat‚ wishes to find “... some intellect more calm‚ more logical... which will perceive (his circumstances) nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects” (1). The man‚ also our narrator is an insane and opprobrious
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The stories “The Black Cat” and “Hop-Frog” by Edgar Allan Poe are similar based on the presence of twisted love and the lack of guilt. The element of twisted love was portrayed in both stories. In Hop-Frog‚ Trippetta stands up for Hop-frog while he was being harassed by the king. While doing so‚ the King threw wine in her face. Hop-frog then began to speak gibberish and told the King about a wonderful costume idea. As the king went along with Hop-frog’s idea‚ Hop-frog was actually plotting the
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to manifest such dark‚ mysterious stories. But no one thought of him as an odd animal lover; one with a twisted heart of gold. In the short story "The Black Cat" the plot seems to be dripping with the illusion of what Freud would consider a dream‚ but there is more to the cat then what the dream convey to be. Beyond the chilling tale‚ "The Black Cat" is a tale about the narrator’s character‚ dreams‚ and psychosis‚ all processed through a Freudian framework. The narrator’s character has been layered
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The Black Cat Because he is due to die the next day‚ the narrator has decided to present the facts of a past event that has terrified and destroyed him‚ although he claims that he is not mad and hopes that someone else will be able to explain his story logically. He begins by describing his kind and humane younger self: he keeps many pets because animals such as dogs are so loving and faithful‚ and at a young age he marries a woman who also loves pets. In their household they have a number of animals
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“The Black Cat” Analysis When reading a short story many people take the details given to be the unconditional truth. This is probably why so many of these people are confused or repulsed by a story like “The Black Cat.” Throughout the story‚ the narrator makes numerous contradictions. These contradictions‚ combined with his actions make me doubt the legitimacy and truth of what he says. In the first few paragraphs of the story‚ the narrator makes a point of rejecting the idea that he is mad
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In the story “The Black Cat”‚ Poe uses many gothic traits and examples to embark terror into the reader of the story. Poe is able to construct so many different aspects of gothic literature into one single terrifying story for the reader to enjoy. Poe uses traits such as the use of love and true imagination in his stories and twists them into one of a kind horror for the reader. In “The Black Cat’‚ Poe uses love as one of the problems in the story‚ and as one of the ways to plant fear and terror
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In the short story "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe‚ the narrator‚ never being identified‚ states that he is sane. He goes on to say that he is kind and respects the fidelity of friendship. He claims he loves pets and likes to hang out with them. The pets in his house include "birds‚ goldfish‚ a fine dog‚ rabbits‚ a small monkey‚ and a cat". Pluto ‚the cat‚ of all pets was the narrator’s favorite. The narrator has a lot of conscious and unconscious feelings that motivate him to behave as he does
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Poe and the narrator in The Black Cat both have a drinking problem‚ which is noticeable when the narrator describes the room‚ “reposing upon the head of one of the immense hogshead of gin‚ or of rum‚ which constituted the chief furniture of the apartment” (Pg. 226). Poe and the narrator both also had a loving wife who died‚ although one died of tuberculosis and one of murder. Moreover‚ both had a mental illness. Poe faced depression that influenced his life and the narrator is clearly unstable and
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time and time again‚ shown mastery over gothic techniques. Be it family curses‚ such as The House of Usher‚ or Unreliable Narrators‚ with the Black Cat‚ to the grotesque and gloom of a human’s mind and soul‚ seen in the Pit and the Pendulum. Poe is‚ and always will be‚ the best in the business and the master of gothic storytelling and poetry. The Black Cat. “Mad I would be indeed to expect it‚ in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence.” An amazing example of a unreliable narrator
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