Friday, April 14, 2017

What are the symbols throughout the story of the black cat in Poe's "The Black Cat"? Also, how did Poe establish an atmosphere of fear and horror in...

Poe
establishes an of fear and horror in several different ways in
"." Firstly, the narrator, who is telling the story from the first person
point of view, describes himself as docile, humane and a lover of
pets. But this character ends up doing the most unimaginable things. He abuses, harms and kills
his favorite pet and later ends up killing his wife. Perhaps what is most horrific about the
story is the ease with which the narrator describes his deeds. 

The narrator
is frequently contradicting himself. He used to be docile but later turned murderous. He had
regret and even shame about harming his cat but later feels fine about having murdered his wife.
The fact that he can commit these dreadful deeds in cold-blood is very disturbing.


As for symbols, most readers agree that there are many
symbols associated with the two cats in the story. The first cat is
a completely black cat. In European history, black cats were thought to be unlikely, some even
thought that they were witches. In fact, the narrator mentions that his wife said the same about
the cat jokingly. This is an to the historical myth about black
cats. The narrator tries to give the impression that he is not superstitious and doesn't believe
these stories. But as he develops a progressively hateful attitude toward this cat that he once
loved, one wonders whether he truly believed the myth. (By the way, black cats are in fact lucky
as the gene that makes them all black [called melanism] also reduces their risk of disease. Cats
with melanin are the opposite of albino cats that are all white. The reason for their color is
the same, it has to do with the amount of melanin in their skin and hair).


The other symbolism about the first cat is his name,
Pluto. In Greek mythology, Pluto was the ruler of the dead and the underworld. So perhaps his
name was a premonition of his fate? Or perhaps his name convinced the narrator of his doubts
about the cat and whether the cat had something to do with witchcraft.

There
is also symbolism associated with the narrator's second cat, which
looked a lot like Pluto. He was black, except with a patch of white on his chest. Like Pluto, he
too was missing one eye. Although the narrator doesn't express it very directly, he seems to
dislike this cat in time because of his resemblance to Pluto. Maybe the narrator hated this cat
like he hated Pluto. Maybe he hated this cat because it reminded him of the terrible thing he
had done to Pluto (carved his eye out and later killed him by hanging him off a tree). The fact
that the narrator believes that the white patch on the cat is changing in appearance to look
like the gallows supports the narrator's growing guilt over his sin. 

The
narrator foreshadows various things in the story, such as that he
will be violent towards his wife. Seeing gallows in the cat's fur can be both about guilt and
also a foreshadow of the future that awaits him.

Some also associate the cats
with the narrator's wife. Like his wife, they are loving, nice animals. Despite the narrator's
alcohol abuse and ill treatment of his wife, his wife is patient and never complains. And his
wife is also fond of animals and especially loves the cats.

We must also
mention that the narrator appears to be highly disillusioned. He develops a sudden and difficult
to understand dislike towards his pets. He had taken both cats willingly and had liked them in
the beginning. But he finds them fear inducing and horrific after some time. The narrator seems
to imply that it's because of his alcohol abuse. He increasingly finds some kind of meaning in
random things. He seems to be struggling with his understanding and perception of what is
happening. He tries to find logical explanations for incidents and even finds ways to excuse his
behavior. But it's obvious that he is walking on a thin line of madness.

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