Addiction In The Black Cat

Words: 506

Pages: 3

Open Document

There is a lot addiction in the world-the main two are drug and alcohol addiction. There are some people with an alcohol addiction to help cope with their problems and forget everything by drinking. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” the narrator has a drinking problem to help him forget. The narrator got addicted to “drink” and started using it because he believes his cat, Pluto, was messing with his head. He cannot remember what he has done while he is drunk. In “The Black Cat,” Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism, flashback/forward, and foreshadowing to raise the stakes.
First, the narrator starts to explain what has happened to him and what he has done.“ Yes, this story ends with my end, with my death tomorrow....I remember that night very well. I came home late, full of drink again. I could not understand why Pluto …show more content…
“...I took the axe and tried to cut the animal in two. But as I brought the axe down, my wife stopped my arm with her hand.This made me even more angry, and I pulled her hand away from my wrist, lifted the tool again, brought it down hard and buried it in the top of her head,”(Poe 3).”...I decided to hide the body in one of the walls of the cellar,”(poe 3). These explain how the narrator has changed into a very angry and mean person because of “drink”.
In conclusion, Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Black Cat”, shows symbolism like drink and the the title itself, flashback/forward for more detail, and foreshadowing to raise the stakes. Like in the story, people in the real world have addictions like an alcohol addiction and have trouble stopping. Readers learn from this story that addictions cause people to act differently than they normally would. They are also left wondering if Pluto returned from the dead to haunt the narrator or if the second cat was sent to drive the narrator mad. Readers can see that addiction can cause harm to

Essay on Chemistry: Edgar Allan Poe and Poe

haunting and disturbing works is his short story “The Black Cat.” Written in 1843, “The Black Cat” is filled with sinister imagery and a seemingly sadistic mentality possessed by the author. At first glance, the horrors of “The Black Cat” would appear to be the creation of a psychotic mind, but I will analyze the tragedies and addictions in Poe’s life, as well as the symbolism of the two cats in the story, and prove that the horrors of “The Black Cat” are actually the manifestations of the those tragic…

Words 1417 - Pages 6

Symbolism In The Black Cat

Evil can take many forms. Some people believe that black cats are a sign of evil. Black cats are said to bring bad luck into the lives of those who cross paths with them. In the story “The Black Cat” the main character owns a black cat and does not believe in the superstition that black cats are evil. Later in the story, the narrator blames the black cat for the unfortunate events that are happening in his life. Edgar Allan Poe uses repetition and symbolism in his story to suspend and express the…

Words 535 - Pages 3

How Does The Black Cat Change The Narrator's Personality

horror story, “The Black Cat”, by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator changes his personality over his lifetime, for the worse. The unnamed narrator in the story is on death row and is telling the story of his murder to get a better understanding of what happened. He reflects on his past actions hoping the readers can help him with what occurred. The narrator changes from an animal loving, solicitous man to an abusive, cruel one throughout his life, a fact he blames on his alcohol addiction and his perverse…

Words 708 - Pages 3

The Black Cat Essay

“The Black Cat” is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe. The narrator opens the story by saying how completely unbelievable the tale may sound, but he swears that he is sane himself. The narrator has always had a strong love for animals, but as a side affect of his alcohol abuse, turns to hatred. He adopts a black cat named Pluto, which he forms a very strong bond with. After a drunken night, the narrator cuts out Pluto’s eye. The cat then develops a fear and begins to avoid him. This angers…

Words 1061 - Pages 5

Who Is Responsible For Edgar Allan Poe's Death

stories. In addition, Poe had a history of being alcoholic and also a little manipulative. Equally important, I think that each of his stories told a little bit about him and his life. For example, “The Black Cat” is based on a man who is alcoholic, and who loses everything because of his addiction. The same can be attributed to Poe who lost his life by this addition. Moreover, I consider the man who visited Poe might have been one of his drinking buddies or someone very close to him. This man visited…

Words 166 - Pages 1

Misfortunes In Edgar Allen Poe's Life

drink away his sadness. He grew addicted and soon alcohol held a tight grip on his life. He hated and loved alcohol. His Alcoholism is shown most noticeably in The Black Cat and in The Cask of Amontillado. In The Black Cat the character starts to drink and becomes violent and makes terrible decisions. This relates back to Poe’s own addiction because alcohol made him do horrible things to the people around him. In the story The Cask of Amontillado one character is being dragged down deeper into tunnels…

Words 742 - Pages 3

The Tell Tale Heart Symbolism Essay

Though tales of terror and mystery undoubtedly constitute a great portion of the modern world’s literature, such stories garnered rather little success in the ages directly preceding the current time. Throughout the decades prior to and including the 1800s, mediums of writing that incorporated elements of horror were quite rare, though a notable contributor to this genre, Edgar Allan Poe, published the entirety of his works during the aforementioned period. While he has attained near universal…

Words 1861 - Pages 8

Theme Of Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird

Mockingbird. There are many different types of prejudice are illustrated by the situation of Mrs. Dubose, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Mrs. Dubose was a good example of someone who judged first constantly. She was a cranky old lady who had a morphine addiction,and who spent most of her day either in bed or in her wheelchair. A prime example of her prejudice is a conversation between her…

Words 862 - Pages 4

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

morphine addict and that she was determined to kick the addiction before she passes, explaining why Jem would have had to read to her regardless: so Mrs Dubose would be distracted from taking morphine. Scout understands now that her ruthless attitude was just a side effect of her battle with morphine addiction. Through Mrs Dubose, Scout learns what real courage and inner strength is. Mrs Dubose was brave enough to get rid of her addiction to morphine even though she knew of the fits and discomfort…

Words 1143 - Pages 5

Bravery In To Kill A Mockingbird

beating her addiction, Boo Radley putting himself in danger to save Scout and Jem, and Atticus defending Tom Robinson. Almost everyone in Maycomb thinks of Mrs. Dubose as a mean old lady who hates everyone and everything. Although Atticus knows that she is actually a really brave person, and that's why he agrees to send Jem to read to her. It is only after her death that he reveals to his children how brave she really was. She was a morphine addict struggling to overcome her addiction, and she did…

Words 1798 - Pages 8