...Poe, “The Black Cat” (1843) The second black cat, which came into the picture after the murder of the first black cat, was most likely a projection of the man’s imagination because he felt guilty for killing the first innocent animal. The first cat was all black, while the second cat had a distinct white pattern on a part of it’s body. Black has been known to be associated with power, sophistication, mystery, and seriousness, and also has superstitious qualities when seen on cats. White, however, is associated with pureness, innocence, goodness, cleanness, and peacefulness. Since this is a figment of the main characters imagination, the two cats are most likely one in the same in the character’s mind, the white spot most likely marks the second...
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...In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Black Cat”, many things are repeated and follows a similar pattern to the rest of his stories. A black cat is killed and a very similar one is found shortly after, all while the narrator is losing his mind. Through the use of diction and syntax, Poe reveals that the narrator's voice is mad. The narrator uses syntax to affect his voice and to sound insane. Not only are his ideas insane but also the way he describes them. Through the use of long, run on sentences as a form of syntax, the narrator describes many ideas at once. After stating a few ideas, “...[he] resolved to dig a grave in the floor of the cellar… casting it in the well in the yard---about packing it up in a box as if merchandise…[he] determined...
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...Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th century American writer who is known to be a pioneer of short story writing, a poet and a novelist. Roald Dahl was a 20th century writer who is very famous for his stories for children, but the short story The Land Lady is not one for children but for much more mature readers. The story is about a young lad falling victim to an old taxidermist who stuffs objects of her affection in order to maintain and preserve it forever. Poe’s The Black Cat is a tale that leaves the reader somewhat perplexed. It certainly contains all the ingredients necessary to satisfy the appetite of any Poe enthusiast - an enigmatic narrator, alcohol and the effects there of, mutilation, stagnation, murder, putrefaction and last but not least perversity. There can be seen certain similarities and contradictions between the two short stories. Both short stories mirrors the delicate balance within the human psyche, when closely analyzing how narrative communicates the degeneration of the human mind. Both involve intelligent or calculating madmen with a purpose but not necessarily a motive for their killings. These murderers display a calmness of outward appearance but are obviously blighted by the chaos inherent within their own minds. Edgar Poe begins his short story by showing the unstable mentality of his protagonist. He tells us that he neither expects the reader to believe his confession...
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...Final Poe Essay Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best, and unusual horror story writers, but does his conscious lead to his creepy ambition? It seems like he would write like any other horror story writers that just write about any ideas that they can think of or anything that sound like it could make a good story, but Edgar Allan Poe shows his struggles, tragedies, and hardships that he portrays through his stories and poems, and might just seem obscure to us. Edgar Allan Poe is a manic depressive lunatic, or a literary genius. Edgar Allan Poe shows that he is more of a manic depressive lunatic than a literary genius because of how most of his stories involve something scary, and how the protagonist ends up doing really outrageous things. Also the way that he writes his stories and what he makes the protagonist do in his stories, and poems. Edgar Allan Poe incorporates most of his experience, and what he went through than the literary elements, and structure that he uses. In “The Black Cat” it states, “I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity.” This shows that all the hardships he went through played a big role in how he wrote his stories. Edgar Allan Poe had many reasons why his stories and poems turned out the way that they did. Another issue that he wrote about in his poems, and stories is...
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...Maddox English IV and History April 22, 2011 Edgar Allan Poe To most people, Edgar Allan Poe was a troubled soul that had many psychological issues. Some people think that his works mimicked his own mental torment and torture; others thought that he was an American writer romantically doomed to failure by events and emotions too great for him to handle. His writings reflect each theory, and his style was very unique and unusual for the time period in which they were written. The artistic liberties and risks that Poe took in his works sparked the beginning of what we call the Romanticism Period. The hardships and tragedies which Edgar Allan Poe faced throughout his life played a big part in influencing his writing, how his writing influenced the period, and how it affected his mental stability (Life 240). Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David and Elizabeth Poe. He had two siblings, a younger sister named Rosalie and an older brother named Henry. When Poe was just one, his father abandoned his wife and children. At two his mother died of tuberculosis and the children were split up into different homes (Tragedies 240). Poe was taken in by John Allan and his childless wife Frances, giving him his middle name. Having experienced many tragedies at an early age, he, starting at the age of six, developed a great fear of death and this influenced how and what he would later write (Jordan np). The Allan couple lived in Richmond, Virginia, and Poe was...
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...In life, as in death, Edgar Allan Poe evoked a feeling of sympathy from his readership. Those who knew him well considered him deep, mysterious and contemplative; thus, coupled with the copious tragedies he suffered throughout his life, especially the loss of his first wife Virginia, it is easy to understand how the author brings out the theme of Annabel Lee through personal/setting imagery, repetition of words and rhythm/rhyme. Annabel Lee honors the memory of Poe's deceased wife, Virginia. Throughout the poem, his use of personal imagery helps the reader to grasp the intense feelings of loss he continues to experience long after her passing. The setting imagery is critical to this particular literary piece, in that it is through setting that one gains a significantly better realization of his anguish. A passage from what came to be the last poem written by Poe before his death illustrates his torment. Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" is a story of how an arguably demonic, manipulating black cat ruins the life of its master. After being maimed and murdered by its once loving owner, the cat is reincarnated and finds its way back to its murderer to seek revenge. The story, however, does not focus so much on the actions of the cat, but rather the actions of its unfortunate master. The story is narrated from the point of view of a condemned, remorseful man who recalls the violent actions that placed him in his current...
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...The Poe(t) Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 as Edgar Poe. He was the second son of David and Elizabeth Arnold Poe, both whom were actors. In 1810, shortly after Poe’s birth his father deserted the family. The subsequent death of his twenty-four year old mother on December 8, 1811 in Richmond, Virginia, left Poe an orphan at the young age of three. After his mother’s death, John, a strict unemotional tobacco merchant, and Frances Allan, a weak woman due to health problems, took in Poe; his paternal grandparents took in his brother William Henry; and foster parents cared for his sister Rosalie. Poe was educated with the Allan’s aid, in private academies, excelling in Latin, in writing verse, and declamation. However, despite his education, he was looked down upon and regarded as an outsider by the upper class of Richmond’s society; perhaps because the Allan’s never legally adopted Poe. Also, the culture of Richmond during Poe’s young adulthood did not regard actors in a high manner. This could have attributed to his reputation since his biological parents were actors. The loss of his mother at an early age definitely affected Poe. “The angels, whispering to one another, Can find, among their burning terms of love, None so devotional as that of ‘Mother’” Poe wrote that in To My Mother. In Tamerlane, he not only wrote about his father, but he wrote about his mother as well; he had more respect for his mother than he did for his father. This respect can be found in...
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...Gothic Horror Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous American writers, editors, and literary critics. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. The “Black Cat” is about a crazy man who torchers his cat and ends up killing it but the cat comes back to haunt him. The “Masque of The Red death” is about a terrible disease that has struck the country but no one seems to care. He decides to let the kingdom take care of itself while he and a thousand of his favorite knights and ladies shut themselves up in a fabulous castle to have a party. After the last guest enters, no one else can get in the Prince has welded the doors shut. That means no one can get out. Anyways when the clock...
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...“And darkness and decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” These dark words could only come from one cimmerian mind: Edgar Allan Poe’s. His turbulent life impacted his writing in many ways, such as his alcoholism, all the death, and his crippling depression. These examples are seen throughout his writings. First off, the alcoholism. Poe wasted all his money on drink. Many of his characters in his stories were alcoholists. In the Black Cat, the main character abuses his animals in his intoxicated state. In the Cask of Amontillado, Fortunato the drunken fool is walled up. Poe was often drunk when alone. Also, Poe’s life was filled with death. It seemed to follow him everywhere he went. His mother and father died when he was...
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...Edgar Allan Poe is a writer of horror stories and poems. His stories, generally follow a common theme and have some similar events throughout his many short stories. Some of his well known books include The Black Cat, The Masque of the Red Death, The Cask of Amontillado, and the System of Doctor Tarr. Most of his work involves the motifs of irony, arrogance, and insanity as well as many other elements commonly seen in horror. Poe weaves a lot of irony into his writing, especially in the name of the characters. For example, In the story of the “Cask of Amontillado” , the main character's name is Fortunado, implying that he is fortunate and lucky. When in the story, he is actually extremely unlucky because he ends up getting killed by the speaker. Poe does this to create the element of surprise, because you wouldn't expect the character named Fortunato to be as unlucky as to die in the end. Another example of the irony in one's name is in “The Masque of the Red Death”. In this story, the prince's name is Price Prosperous. The name “Prosperous” makes you think that he is very wealthy and successful. When in reality, although he is wealthy,...
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...The Tell-Tale Heart vs. The Black Cat Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat,” have many similarities as well as differences. The two stories can be compared for both have similar themes as well as corresponding plots. However, the two stories also contrast considering their different endings. Both of Poe’s stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat,” have the theme of death and murder. In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator murder’s an old man with “a pale blue eye, with a film over it.” In the story, “The Black Cat,” the narrator murders his wife. The plots of the two stories are also alike for they both begin with the narrator reflecting on his crime, not seeing that he is “mad,” and end with...
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...In the 18’Th century, the world was in a conflict between the traditional superstition and the emerging rationalism. This change in society was also seen in the literature of the century and many gothic novelists was inspired to include this conflict in their works. Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, the black cat, is a great example of how the literature reflected the conflict of the real world. In the horrific short story, the black cat, by Edgar Allan Poe, the reader follows the mind of a reflective 1.st person narrator, whose sanity and reliability is constantly questioned. To do this, Poe uses many literary techniques, which add up to the constant questioning of the narrator’s reliability. One technique is the distancing of norms and values between the reader and the narrator. An example proving this is the clinical and calmly description of how the narrator plans to hide the carcass of his wife: “Many projects entered my mind.” Notice how the narrator thinks rationally about hiding the carcass because it has a significant meaning later on in the interpretation. One might think that this is a sure sign that the narrator is completely insane, but because Poe uses a 1.st person narrator, he is, arguably off course, able to justify all his wicked actions. This is partly due to the 1.st person reflective point of view, where the reader follows the mind of the narrator, but also due to the narrator’s constant tries to convince the reader that he is rational and sane, and in such...
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...Edgar Allan Poe 1 Edgar Allan Poe “The Life and Tragedies of Edgar Allan Poe” Jesse T. Smith Axia College of University of Phoenix Professor Lorelie Kaid October 19, 2008 E.A.P. 2 Edgar Allan Poe “The Life and Tragedies of Edgar Allan Poe” The famous writer, poet has long been criticized for his unconditional writings that made the man who he was so very famous for. Edgar Allan Poe, born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809, Died mysteriously, October 07, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. The famous writer would go on to inspire such authors as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, to name a few. There has been a mystery since the death of Edgar Allan Poe, of what caused his death. There have been many writing’s trying to settle this debate. Some are as follows. • Beating (1857) The United States Magazine Vol. II (1857): 268. • Epilepsy (1875) Scribner’s Monthly Vol. 10 (1875):...
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...Rebecca Stewart Jennifer Wheetley Cook English Comp II, Thematic Analysis 12 July 2014 Religion & Murder in 19th Century American Fiction The recurring theme in “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is religion. “The Black Cat” is about a man who is at a crossroads between the religion he knows and the new scientific theories of the day. “A Rose for Emily” is about a woman caught between her Episcopalian beliefs and the Baptist beliefs of the community she lives in. Both stories use isolation and murder to illustrate the main character’s struggle with religion. However, while Faulkner’s Emily is dealing with outside isolation of her beliefs, Poe’s narrative is an internal struggle with religion versus scientific theory. According to Laura J. Getty, author of "Faulkner's A rose for Emily," “A Rose for Emily” immediately addresses the recurring theme of religion by referencing the carved rose on the confessional booth Emily visits. The Episcopalian Emily visits a confessional while her Baptist neighbors do not (Getty 232). Faulkner further refers to religion by explaining “When we saw her again her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl, with a vague resemblance to the angels in colored church windows—sort of tragic and serene” (par 29). Emily’s struggle with the townspeople’s Baptist beliefs and her Episcopalian background maintain the religious theme. The ladies of the town coerce the Baptist minister to intervene...
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...Poe Gothic Techniques “The socket of the lost eye presented, it is true, a frightful appearance, but he no longer appeared to suffer any pain,” (The Black Cat). Gothic literature uses many different techniques to give a reader a spooky or dark feel from a story. Edgar Allen Poe used ghost twin, dark and spooky setting, and unreliable narrator in his gothic literature stories. Poe used the gothic technique of ghost twin in his literature. In his story “The Black Cat”, he used this technique. “I approached it, and touched it with my hand. It was a black cat--a very large one--fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every respect but one.” Edgar Allen Poe is talking about a cat the narrator found in the den of his house. He had recently hung his own cat, Pluto, who was all black....
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