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The Black Cat

 

            Symbolism of Edgar Alan Poe's "The Black Cat".
             In Edgar Alan Poe's, "The Black Cat", symbolism is used to show the narrator's capacity for violence, madness, and guilt. In this story, the narrator portrays a man who is fond of animals, had a tender heart and is happily married. Within several years of his marriage, his general temperament and character make a radical alteration for the worse. He grows moodier, more irritable and more inconsiderate of the feelings of others. This change for the worse, caused by alcohol, ends in the narrator's waiting on death row for the murder of his wife. The symbolism of the first black cat (Pluto), the second black cat, and the white spot illustrate the narrator's expanding madness and capacity for evil.
             The most important symbol of the story is Pluto, the first black cat. Pluto, which is the name of the God of the under world, symbolic of the narrator's evil heart. Pluto started out in this story as the narrator's favorite pet and playmate. One night after returning home intoxicated, the narrator's love for the pet seemed to fade. That night Pluto avoided the narrator because of his strange behavior. This bothered the narrator to the point that he would pick up Pluto and frighten him. Afraid of his master, the cat slightly wounded the narrator on the hand. Because of the cats fearful reaction the narrator becomes angry and pokes out one of the cat's eyes. Then suddenly on one early morning the narrator hung the cat by a noose from a tree. The hanging of the cat is symbolic of the narrator's inability to except love. And finally the symbol associated with Pluto was his color, black. The color black is associated with the well known superstition that black is symbolic of evil!.
             and darkness. The cat was the victim of the narrator's evil and violent heart.
             The black cat two is symbolic of the narrator's guilt. The night after the narrator's house caught fire he went to a bar, where he saw black cat two.


Essays Related to The Black Cat

1. Narrowing Setting in The Black Cat

In Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat," the narrator guides us through an ever tightening progression of scenes that are "nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects" (137). ... Rather, as Poe's story progresses, the world of "The Black Cat" closes in, decreasing in size from home, to basement, to cell and tomb. "The Black Cat" begins with an unreliable tirade by the narrator, who has been condemned to die by hanging the next day, telling us to believe "this is a series of mere household events" [Poe04]....

  • Word Count: 783
  • Approx Pages: 3
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  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado

In "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Black Cat," the stories involved murder. ... In "The Black Cat" the murder was quite horrendous as well, only it was instant and very gruesome. ... She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan" (Black Cat 5). ... In "The Black Cat," the narrator was an alcoholic who would get intoxicated and then turn into an abusive human being. ... But to-morrow i die, and to-day i would unburthen my soul" (Black Cat 1). ...

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3. Edgar Allan Poe and the Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe victoriously achieved the goal of creating the image of complete and utter insanity in his dark, twisted tale "The Black Cat. " Poe's first person narrative quickly establishes ambiguity about the story and the preceding events the narrator described. ... His absurdity eventually leads him to slay his animals along with his beloved black cat, and ultimately his wife. ... Envisioning one evening that his beloved black cat is avoiding him, he clutches it and proceeds to scalpel out one of its eyes with a knife. ... The tale concludes when the police discover the corpse ac...

  • Word Count: 804
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography

4. Edgar Allan Poe

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  • Word Count: 1637
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5. Character Development

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  • Word Count: 370
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The black Cat

"The Black Cat" By: Edgar Allen Poe They lived in a nice city and were friendly people. ... Pluto, who is the cat, was all black and very friendly. ... I would identify more with the cat than anything would. ... After gauging out the cats" eye, the next day the narrator goes and hangs the cat from the tree in the back yard. ... After the narrator and his wife moved into their new house, a black cat, with a patch of white on his stomach, started to follow the narrator around. ...

  • Word Count: 651
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7. The Black Cat

(546: 6) "The Black Cat" has a gripping psychological effect on the reader. ... This is how the critic William Henry Smith, back in November, 1847 felt about Poe's "The Black Cat." ... In relation to "The Black Cat," I interpret Mr. ... "The Black Cat," in context of horror and mystery, was very well written. ... "The Black Cat." ...

  • Word Count: 939
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. The Black Cat

The Black Cat The Cask of Amontillado The Tell-Tall Hart By Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allen Poe themes for these three stories all have similarities. ... In "The Black Cat" we see the story of a man who reaches his end through insanity, with the help of alcohol. ... His favorite was a black cat named Pluto. ... In a fit, thinking that the cat was, mocking him, the man gouged out the eye of the cat. ... He then hung the cat. ...

  • Word Count: 869
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  • Grade Level: High School

9. Analysis OfThe Black Cat

In "The Black Cat," the conflict begins when the main character starts to become violent towards his cat. ... Poe's main character in "The Black Cat," is a round character. ... Poe uses compound-complex sentences in "The Black Cat." ... In "The Black Cat," Poe does this very well. ... In "The Black Cat," there is an example of cosmic irony. ...

  • Word Count: 2283
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School