Craig Ferguson once wrote, “I haven't touched a drop of it in seventeen years, sometimes I wonder if I could get away with drinking some now. I totally subscribe to the notion that alcoholism is a mental illness because thinking like that is clearly insane”. The worst ways to lose a sane mind might be to live in a nursing home forever, or having them face their worst fears. Nevertheless, an everlasting and cruel way to damage a healthy person’s mental status would be to succumb to alcohol, because alcohol limits their ability to become successful in the future. Unfortunately, most alcoholics do not become better, leading to worsening symptoms and mental disorders. This concept is applicable to “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, where the
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With his terrible state of mind, the narrator goes on to abusing his pets, and eventually turning to murder to solve his problems. Additionally, alcoholism causes serious problems in “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, as well as in real life, by creating a false problem-free feeling, damaging the user’s mental and behavioral health, and destroying relationships with loved ones.
Alcohol pushes the drinker's problems away for a short time, which leads to worsening problems. Pushing away troubling problems is bad, because it makes the drinker feel like they escaped their real life problems, but they will still be there when the harmful effects of alcohol wear off. In “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator drank to push his problems away, even though it was causing more problems. One night, “much intoxicated, from one of [his] haunts about town”, the narrator lashes out in aggravation and with unclear thoughts in his head as he tortures poor he’s favorite cat, Pluto. The narrator …show more content…
In “The Black Cat”, the narrator experiences extreme mood swings that often lead to him harming other characters in the story. When the narrator started to drink, he continued drinking “for several years, during which [his] general temperament and character - through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance - had … experienced a radical alteration for the worse” (Poe 1). The narrator had become easily aggravated and more violent over the years, which eventually lead to moments such as when "The cat followed [him] down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing [him] headlong, exasperated [him] to madness...Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demoniacal, [he] withdrew [his] arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain” (Poe 5). Mood swings such as these can be caused by mental damage from alcohol. Studies show that damage to the brain is caused “If alcohol is consumed faster than the liver can process it, [then] a sufficient amount is carried by the blood to the brain, affecting mental functioning” (Blackwell & Manar 2). This would make the intoxicated person more prone to do something less intelligent due to mental functions that are affected by alcohol. All in all, it is clear that alcohol affects the brain, causing more health and mental problems. The narrator said himself that he became more aggravated and violent over the years because of his heavy drinking.
With his terrible state of mind, the narrator goes on to abusing his pets, and eventually turning to murder to solve his problems. Additionally, alcoholism causes serious problems in “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, as well as in real life, by creating a false problem-free feeling, damaging the user’s mental and behavioral health, and destroying relationships with loved ones.
Alcohol pushes the drinker's problems away for a short time, which leads to worsening problems. Pushing away troubling problems is bad, because it makes the drinker feel like they escaped their real life problems, but they will still be there when the harmful effects of alcohol wear off. In “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, the narrator drank to push his problems away, even though it was causing more problems. One night, “much intoxicated, from one of [his] haunts about town”, the narrator lashes out in aggravation and with unclear thoughts in his head as he tortures poor he’s favorite cat, Pluto. The narrator …show more content…
In “The Black Cat”, the narrator experiences extreme mood swings that often lead to him harming other characters in the story. When the narrator started to drink, he continued drinking “for several years, during which [his] general temperament and character - through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance - had … experienced a radical alteration for the worse” (Poe 1). The narrator had become easily aggravated and more violent over the years, which eventually lead to moments such as when "The cat followed [him] down the steep stairs, and, nearly throwing [him] headlong, exasperated [him] to madness...Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demoniacal, [he] withdrew [his] arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain” (Poe 5). Mood swings such as these can be caused by mental damage from alcohol. Studies show that damage to the brain is caused “If alcohol is consumed faster than the liver can process it, [then] a sufficient amount is carried by the blood to the brain, affecting mental functioning” (Blackwell & Manar 2). This would make the intoxicated person more prone to do something less intelligent due to mental functions that are affected by alcohol. All in all, it is clear that alcohol affects the brain, causing more health and mental problems. The narrator said himself that he became more aggravated and violent over the years because of his heavy drinking.