Similarities Between The Tell Tale Heart And The Black Cat

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The motif of remorse is quite prevalent in the compositions The Tell-Tale Heart and The Black Cat, both written by Edgar Allan Poe. Mysterious, otherworldly events seem to happen to both main characters of the narratives, but upon further analysis, these are the regretful fabrications of their respective unstable minds, illustrating to readers that both men are deeply shaken by their appalling decisions. Through devices such as the fictitious beating of the heart in The Tell-Tale Heart and the main character’s demise in The Black Cat, Poe crafts a feeling of guilt throughout both pieces. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the main character clearly feels remorse after killing the old man. As demonstrated in paragraph sixteen, “But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: --It continued and became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definiteness…” Finally, he admits his deed to the policemen, stating, “‘Villains!’ I shrieked, ‘dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here! --It is the beating of his hideous heart!’” These excerpts clearly show that the main character felt the guilt of killing the man on his shoulders, which is why he heard the sound. Although it seemed supernatural, this beating was created by his mind because, as shown in paragraph one, he explains that he had a mental disease. “The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell,” he states. Hence, the main character felt remorse after killing his acquaintance because his unstable mind conjured such an emotion after the deed was done. Similarly, in The Black Cat, Poe displays the main character’s regret through different …show more content…
For example, after his house smoulders to the ground, the main character views his cat’s impression on the only remaining wall. On page seven, he recollects, “I approached and saw, as if graven in bas-relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat. The impression was given with an accuracy truly marvellous. There was a rope about the animal’s neck. When I first beheld this apparition—for I could scarcely regard it as less—my wonder and my terror were extreme.” Later, on page 8, the main character recounts his guilt after he killed the cat. This seemingly supernatural outline, therefore, serves as a reminder to the killer of what he has done. Later, the main character describes that because of this regret, he drove himself to the point of insanity when finally, after nearly killing his new cat, he turns to his wife and murders her. Four days later, the police come to investigate. On page 14, he recalls the situation, “I rapped heavily with a cane which I held in my hand, upon that very portion of the brickwork behind which stood the corpse of the wife of my bosom. But may God shield and deliver me from the fangs of the Arch-Fiend! No sooner had the reverberation of my blows sunk into silence, than I was answered by a voice from within the tomb!” Thus, it can be inferred that because of his subconscious remorse, the main character hit his wife’s makeshift

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