: Like all of Poes short stories, single effectwas the most important characteristic in The Black Cat. Poe tried toachieve the effect of appaling madness. In this first person narrative thenarrator takes you through the tranformation from sanity to madness, all becauseof an obsession with two black cats. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-* Copyright DueNow. com Inc. *Category:EnglishPaper Title:Symbols of MadnessText:Symbols of MadnessLike all of Poes short stories, single effect was the most importantcharacteristic in The Black Cat.
Poe tried to achieve the effect ofappaling madness. In this first person narrative the narrator takes you throughthe tranformation from sanity to madness, all because of an obsession with twoblack cats. Durring this transformation he takes the life of his wife, whosedeath he unsuccessfully tries to conceal. Using description of setting,symbolism, plot development, and detailed character development, Poe was able toattain the effect he was looking for. Unlike most short stories, the setting is the weakest element of the story. This story could have occured in any town or anyplace.
On the other hand,symbolism is a major part of this story. Most of these symbols are obvious butthere are some only Poe himself knows. The first symbolic refrence is the catsname, Pluto. This is the Greek God of the underworld.
Another symbolic part ofThe Black Cat is the title itself, since black cats have long been knownfor bad luck. Poes plot development added much of the effect of shocking insanity to TheBlack Cat. His complicated plot of alcoholism, murders, fire, revival, andpunishment is quite astonishing. This story has almost any plot element you canimagine a horror story containing.
The words in this short story were preciselychosen to contribute to his effect of shock. Another way that Poe used wordchoice was with synonms. The cat was not only the cat; it was the playmate,(Poe103)the brute,(Poe106) and the monster(Poe107). Character development was most important to Poes effect of madness in TheBlack Cat.
Without the perversely insane narrator this story can not exist,let alone put acroos an effect. It is mentioned many times that he wasespecially fond of animals(Poe103) and that he was a lot of the time muchintoxicated(Poe103). In fact many of his rages were causes more by alcholrather than the black cat. The cat(s) was also vivdly developed. At one pointearly in the story, the narrator spends two paragraphs describing his thendelightful pet as being remarkably large and beautiful animal, entirelyblack, and sagacious to an astonishing degree(Poe103). But as the storyprogresses both characters change dramatically.
The cat is dynamic in that it ishung, reappears with a mark of white hair(Poe106) on its chest, and has adifferent disposition than before. The narrator spirals out of control into fitsof rage and numerous unthinkable actions, commencing with the walling up of hisown wife and beknownst to him the black cat too, in the cellar. Obviously, the setting, symbolism, plot, word choice, and characterdevelopment contributed greatly to the effect of shocking madness in TheBlack Cat. Without these, there would be no story at all.
Poes skillfuluse of all of these elements creates a shocking tale, which leaves the mind toponder in all its horror.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
