John Forbes Nash, Jr. once said, “In madness, I thought I was the most important person in the world.” When a person is effected by mental illness, they can experience grandiosity of the self, perturbed emotions, and a dissociation with the world around them. This is heavily detailed in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Black Cat.” The story follows a nameless narrator sentenced to death for the murder of his wife, as he begins to detail the events leading to her murder. He recalls his descent into insanity caused by alcohol, how he murders several family pets, including his favorite, a black cat named Pluto, and finally the murder of his wife. Along with this story, Poe is known for having several regular themes in his works: madness, the
…show more content…
The narrator’s extreme love for his cats and his wife easily turns to zealous hatred, exhibiting forms of mental illness. Throughout the story, the narrator makes numerous references to the mutual love between himself, his pets, and his wife; however, he states that love is the reason behind his gruesome acts. He murders his pets for approaching him in affection, then his favorite cat because he knew it did nothing wrong, and lastly he murders his wife because she defended another animal (Poe 513, 514, 517). His actions reflect “…manic depression… a mood disorder that is characterized by extreme fluctuations in mood from euphoria to severe depression… (Somme and Brady, par. 3)” The most heavily recognizable characteristics of mental illness are contradictory and often illogical emotions. The narrator exhibits this, as his conscience cannot keep a stable emotion concerning his pets and wife. One moment he loves them and wants to protect them, the next moment he wants to kill them because they are innocent and defenseless. The narrator’s inconsistent feelings hinder his mental capacity, rendering him bloodthirsty and …show more content…
Once more, the narrator is just beginning to state his tale. He believes that after the explanation of the story’s proceedings those of higher intelligence will recognize his story as a tale of dreadfully ordinary events (Poe 513). Furthermore, McElroy states, “[t]he narrator's purpose in telling the tale is to mock the events, see humor in his own sadism, and finally ‘to get the reader to identify with him’ (qtd. in Badenhausen par. 10).” The narrator’s vanity, even when facing death, is astonishing, as he believes his actions are very plain, without any wrong doing. Furthermore, he believes if he was wrong, he does not deserve to face justice. While trying to defend his sanity and explain his thoughts, the narrator cements his madness. One who cannot distinguish the wrongness in murder and torture in their thoughts represent the definition of sociopathic.
Edgar Allan Poe masterfully wrote a tale of a crazed man who conflicts over his own insanity when he wrote “The Black Cat”. Within his thoughts, actions, and emotions the narrator’s madness was evident, depicting Poe’s theme of madness. The narrator may deny his madness throughout the story, however, as his tale progressed, his insanity could not escape the light of justice. Just like, “the monster [walled] up with the tomb. (Poe
The narrator’s extreme love for his cats and his wife easily turns to zealous hatred, exhibiting forms of mental illness. Throughout the story, the narrator makes numerous references to the mutual love between himself, his pets, and his wife; however, he states that love is the reason behind his gruesome acts. He murders his pets for approaching him in affection, then his favorite cat because he knew it did nothing wrong, and lastly he murders his wife because she defended another animal (Poe 513, 514, 517). His actions reflect “…manic depression… a mood disorder that is characterized by extreme fluctuations in mood from euphoria to severe depression… (Somme and Brady, par. 3)” The most heavily recognizable characteristics of mental illness are contradictory and often illogical emotions. The narrator exhibits this, as his conscience cannot keep a stable emotion concerning his pets and wife. One moment he loves them and wants to protect them, the next moment he wants to kill them because they are innocent and defenseless. The narrator’s inconsistent feelings hinder his mental capacity, rendering him bloodthirsty and …show more content…
Once more, the narrator is just beginning to state his tale. He believes that after the explanation of the story’s proceedings those of higher intelligence will recognize his story as a tale of dreadfully ordinary events (Poe 513). Furthermore, McElroy states, “[t]he narrator's purpose in telling the tale is to mock the events, see humor in his own sadism, and finally ‘to get the reader to identify with him’ (qtd. in Badenhausen par. 10).” The narrator’s vanity, even when facing death, is astonishing, as he believes his actions are very plain, without any wrong doing. Furthermore, he believes if he was wrong, he does not deserve to face justice. While trying to defend his sanity and explain his thoughts, the narrator cements his madness. One who cannot distinguish the wrongness in murder and torture in their thoughts represent the definition of sociopathic.
Edgar Allan Poe masterfully wrote a tale of a crazed man who conflicts over his own insanity when he wrote “The Black Cat”. Within his thoughts, actions, and emotions the narrator’s madness was evident, depicting Poe’s theme of madness. The narrator may deny his madness throughout the story, however, as his tale progressed, his insanity could not escape the light of justice. Just like, “the monster [walled] up with the tomb. (Poe