The Black Cat
The Black Cat, written by Edgar Allen Poe, is a story about a troubled man and his demented tale about his relationship with animals. The narrator never fit in with crowd as a child, but he adored animals. He loved them with a passion and cared for all of his pets. The narrator married young and loved his wife dearly. They had a variety of animals, but his favorite was a black cat. The cat’s name was Pluto and was black all around. Well the narrator eventually began to be more moody and irritable. He started to abuse and mistreat his wife and animals. One day he gouged out one of the cat’s eyes because the cat scratched him. The narrator finally decided to kill it just for the mere pleasure of killing something that loved him. He took the cat out in the back yard and hanged it. That night, the house caught on fire and the narrator and his wife escaped. The day after the fire, the narrator discovered that there was a fire shadow of what looked like a gigantic cat that looked like Pluto in the ruins. The narrator was terrified and could not shake the thought of the impression on the wall for months. Eventually the narrator found another cat than looked like Pluto, but had a white spot on its chest. The narrator took it home and loved it, but eventually started to feel the same annoyance towards the new cat that he did with Pluto. One day when he got home, he discovered that the cat had one of its eyes gouged out. One day he was enraged with the animal and decided to kill it, but his wife stopped him so he killed her. He buried her body in the wall of the basement. The police came to investigate, but found nothing until there was a screech from inside the wall of the basement. The cat jumped out of the wall and exposed the rotting corpse that the narrator had buried. (pg. 9, The Black Cat) “I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless feelings of others.”
The narrator describes himself as a tender hearted person at first, but then he changes. He turns irritable and mean. He abuses his animals and wife and is not a pleasant person at all. He kills his cat just because he knows it’s wrong. His motivations and reasoning for his actions are absurd and illogical. He really has no justification for his obscene, cruel, and vile acts that he commits against his animals and wife. It is just disturbing that he kills in cold blood, has fits of rage for no explainable reason, and goes insane over what would bring joy to almost any other human being on the earth. He despises the love of his animals and wife for no good reason whatsoever. I would describe the narrator as mentally unstable. These symptoms are that of a disturbed person. (pg. 8, The Black Cat) “Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad I am not- - and very surely do I not dream.” I think this quote from the story is apropos to represent the narrator because it defines how he thinks. It tells you that he doesn’t even believe that he is insane, but this proves my point exactly. Those who are crazy do not recognize that they are crazy. He knows that he doesn’t even trust his own senses. He knows that he is doing despicable and vile acts against those who love him, but he does not stop himself. I would describe this as insanity and send him to an asylum if it were up to me. Anyone who says that he is not mentally unstable is either insane themselves, or has never seen a crazy man. It is blatant that this man needs psychological help and needs to be kept away from animals for as long as needed. He just cannot tolerate the affection of animals. I would sentence this man also for murdering his wife in cold blood because she stopped him from killing the cat. This is what I think should happen to the narrator.
I believe that the theme of this story is inner turmoil. Poe writes the story as if every little thing the narrator came into contact frightened and tormented him. He cannot enjoy love or kindness. He kills everything that ever loved him. I think you can tell that he is paranoid when he kills his wife because she tries to stop him from killing the cat. He kills the cat just because he feels guilty about abusing it. The narrator beats his animals and wife because he is moody and/or drunk. He seems scared about everything. He sees an image in the ruins of his burned down house of the dead cat and is disturbed about the fire shadow for weeks to come. He never stops thinking about his despicable acts of cruelty that torment him. He snaps mentally and goes into fits of rage for no reason whatsoever. He feels bad about his actions, but doesn’t do anything to stop himself. It almost as if he cannot control his emotions. He even said that he is ashamed for what he had done and still shudders at the thought of it. He is struggling with himself about what he does. He doesn’t want to harm, but he snaps into fits of rage and emotional instability. He resorts to drinking which spurs on more emotional turmoil and increased rage. He is uncontrollable and he knows it. He wants to love his wife and animals like they do him, but he is unable to do so. He just can’t take the love and affection of others. It drives him crazy. Edgar Allen Poe seems depressed, sad, frustrated, angry, and scared throughout the entire story. I say this because this is how the narrator in the story acts. He does not find joy in anything and feels guilty because he mistreats his loved ones. It is quite tragic I would say. Edgar Allen Poe wrote this story well because the story is disturbing yet intriguing. The audience is drawn in because of the cruelty of the narrator and because of the suspense that Poe puts into the plot. I would say that even though this is a very violent, disturbing, and somewhat agitating story, I think that it is a well written one.
