geekkvm.blogg.se - The black cat allan poe

The pets he once held in highest affection become the thing he most loathes. Loyalty perverted: A pet is often seen as a loyal and faithful partner in life but the escalating hallucinations the narrator experiences propel him into murderous rages, first with Pluto and then with the cat the replaces him.Illusion versus reality: Does the alcohol release the narrator's inner demons, or is it merely an excuse for his horrendous acts of violence? Is the black cat merely a cat, or something embued with a greater power to bring about justice or exact revenge?.The question is what causes the narrator to become a killer. Murder and death: Death is the central focus of the entire story.Superstition: The black cat is an omen of bad luck, a theme that runs throughout literature.Justice and truth: The narrator tries to hide the truth by walling up his wife's body but the voice of the black cat helps bring him to justice.He forsakes the woman he loves-and eventually kills her because he can't break the hold of his destructive obsession.

His mistress, however, is not another woman, but rather his obsession with drinking and the inner demons his drinking unleashes as symbolically personified by the black cat. Instead, it is he who is in a sense unfaithful to his marriage vows. Loyal, faithful, and kind, she never leaves her husband no matter how low he sinks into the depths of depravity.

The wife: The wife could have been a grounding force in the narrator's life. He describes her as having "that humanity of feeling." Rather than saving him, or at least escaping with her own life, she becomes a horrible example of innocence betrayed.

Prison: When the story opens, the narrator is physically in prison, however, his mind was already imprisoned by the shackles of madness, paranoia, and alcohol-induced delusions long before he was apprehended for his crimes.

Even the relationships that should have been the central focus of his healthy and happy home fall victim to his deteriorating mental state. The narrator kills his favorite pet, tries to kill its replacement, and goes on to kill his own wife.

House and home: "Home sweet home" is supposed to be a place of safety and security, however, in this story, it becomes a dark and tragic place of madness and murder.

Alcohol: While the narrator begins to view the black cat as an outward manifestation of everything the narrator views as evil and unholy, blaming the animal for all his woes, it is his addiction to drinking, more than anything else, that seems to be the true reason for the narrator's mental decline.

Like the bad omen of legend, the narrator believes Pluto and his successor have led him down the path toward insanity and immorality.

The black cat: More than just the title character, the black cat is also an important symbol.