...killer. This is what happens to the narrator in The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe. He evolved from a caring person to a violent drunk. The narrator begins as a kindhearted, compassionate human being. The narrator states his good intentions in the story; “From my infancy I was noted for the docility and humanity of my disposition” (Poe, The Black Cat). In the beginning, the story also portrays him as a caring individual toward his animals, his favorite animal, in particular, Pluto. The narrator states his love for Pluto in the story, “Pluto was my favorite pet and playmate” (Poe, The Black Cat). He would always feed him and nurture him, as well as take him everywhere he goes. “I alone fed him, and he attended me wherever I went about the house”, he narrator stated (Poe, The Black Cat). The narrator was a kind person in the beginning....
Words: 572 - Pages: 3
...In the short story The black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe, The unknown character is suffering from a alcohol addiction. He said “I now blindly abandoned myself, my uncomplaining wife, alas!” He also said he “was married early and has a big hart for animals”. He ends up having imagining himself murdering his wife. Later on he ends up murdering his wife and hides her in a brick wall he had to break down and build back up. The unknown character is passionate by the love he has for his animals. He had birds, goldfish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat. He and his with loved all of the animals. “To those who had cherished an affection for a faithful and sagacious dog” The cat’s name is Pluto was his favorite. The cat was old but he was to....
Words: 311 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...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 moved to their home...
Words: 3022 - Pages: 13
...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....
Words: 753 - Pages: 4
...Edgar Allan poe is a renowned poet best known for his short stories. He is a dark writer due to his tragic childhood. This childhood ,however,is one of the main reasons he wrote his dark tells. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 9th, 1809 in Boston. His parents were travelling actors that did not make much money. When he was just 2 years of age, his father abandoned them leaving Elizabeth to take care of their kids Edgar, his older brother Henry and his infant sister Rosalie. Soon after this things got worse. His mother, Elizabeth Poe, died from the disease tuberculosis. Within days of this Edgar’s father, David Poe, also died of the same disease. The three Poe children were split up.Henry went to live with his paternal grandparents. Rosalie was adopted by the McKenzie family. Edgar was taken in by a couple who could not have children, John and...
Words: 537 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 1601 - Pages: 7
...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...
Words: 743 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 294 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 500 - Pages: 2
...be insanity. Edgar Allan Poe was a well-known writer; best known for his short mystery and horror stories. “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado” were two short stories written by him. Both of these stories consist on some sort of paranoia, obsession, and death. The “TBC” and “TCOA” are stories being narrated by the ones that have committed the crime of the story, such as murder. On the “TBC” the narrator is a man that with time turned into an aggressive, alcoholic, obsessive person. The man’s name was not revealed on the story. On the other hand, the narrator of “TCOA” was Montresor. This man was seeking revenge. Montresor stated “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge” (“Amontillado” 144). On both stories the narrators kill someone due to their obsession. These two short stories written by Poe had similar altercations but different outcomes; such as Montresor never getting caught for what he did and the man from “TBC” got sentenced to the death penalty for the crime he committed. The story of “The Black Cat” talked about how this man murdered his wife due to his obsession with the black cat. This man had a cat named Pluto. As he was growing older his personality was changing. He turned into an alcoholic and aggressive person. All of his pets run away except the black cat. One day the man arrived home and saw the cat and stabbed the cat on the eye, he then killed the cat by hanging him...
Words: 1246 - Pages: 5
...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):...
Words: 1389 - Pages: 6
...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,...
Words: 631 - Pages: 3
...Edgar Allan Poe’s stature as a successful figure in world literature is mainly due to his profound and ingenious poems, critical theories and short stories. His stories share a familiar theme of being of a gothic nature. The gothic theme usually entails an emphasis on the desolate, the grotesque, the mysterious, the ghostly, the horrible and the horrible fear that they may arouse in the viewer or the reader. The author of any gothic horror story aims to create a setting that will bring about eerie sensations in the reader, which keep him or her on the edge. This includes having effects such as menacing shadows, smelly, foul or smelly underground passages and of course, characters that match the setting. Edgar Allan Poe achieves his gothic theme in his short stories by using characters...
Words: 1571 - Pages: 7
...The Black Cat, Edgar Allan Poe Title – Author – Genre Is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in August 1843 Edgar Allan Poe (born Edgar Poe; January, 1809 – October, 1849). American author, poet, editor, and literary critic. His life was filled with tragedy, this had a fortunate side effect on his writing and added a degree of sadness and a depth of despair that can be hard to read, let alone replicate. Poe’s best know fiction works are Gothics, a genre his mostly wrote to appease the public taste. He often chose dark themes for his works, included questions about death, decomposing of bodies, premature burial, mourning, and necromancy. All of these elements are in the black cat. Summary An unnamed narrator opens the story by stating that he is sane, despite the wild an unnatural story of horror he is about to tell. The narrator confesses a great love for animals. He states that pets respect the fidelity of friendship better then humans. The narrator marries young with a wife that takes in his love and joy for domestic pets. One of the pets they have together is a black cat named Pluto, which the narrator shares a special relationship with. As the narrator develops an alcohol problem, he gets mood swings and outburst of rage which leads to violence and the narrator torturing and hanging Pluto. After Pluto’s death the narrator’s house is caught on fire. When the narrator sees the ruins of his house after the fire, he sees a picture of Pluto...
Words: 2293 - Pages: 10
