What do a cat and a headless horse man have in common? The world may never know. But, the world will know how the two stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving are incredibly different but also very similar. “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving share many aspects of romanticism; these include the importance of nature, supernatural events, and a sense of individualism. Although these similarities are present the stories are very different. These differences are mostly due to the style the stories were written in; “The Black Cat” is a gothic romantic story while “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a traditional romantic story.
Though these stories are quite different their similarities …show more content…
Though “The Black Cat” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” are both romantic stories one story is very gothic while the other is a traditional romantic story. “The Black Cat” displays many aspects of gothic romanticism including; a gloomy setting, using feeling over reason, and an antihero. An important aspect of setting in “The Black Cat” is the cellar. “One day she accompanied me, upon some household errand, into the cellar of the old building which our poverty compelled us to inhabit” (Poe 4). It is in this place that the narrator attempts to kill his cat but instead kills his wife. This shows an important setting in “The Black Cat” while also setting a mood of fear. The narrator in “The Black Cat” also uses feeling over reason while making choices. This causes him to make many bad decisions. “Because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offense; - hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin - a deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul” (Poe 2). This crazy act shows the reader just how insane the narrator is. The narrator is also an antihero in the story. “Yet, mad I am not” (Poe 1). Here the narrator is saying that his actions of killing his wife and all of his pets do not make him mad. Later he also states that those events are very natural. Instead of a gothic romantic story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a
Though these stories are quite different their similarities …show more content…
Though “The Black Cat” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” are both romantic stories one story is very gothic while the other is a traditional romantic story. “The Black Cat” displays many aspects of gothic romanticism including; a gloomy setting, using feeling over reason, and an antihero. An important aspect of setting in “The Black Cat” is the cellar. “One day she accompanied me, upon some household errand, into the cellar of the old building which our poverty compelled us to inhabit” (Poe 4). It is in this place that the narrator attempts to kill his cat but instead kills his wife. This shows an important setting in “The Black Cat” while also setting a mood of fear. The narrator in “The Black Cat” also uses feeling over reason while making choices. This causes him to make many bad decisions. “Because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offense; - hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin - a deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul” (Poe 2). This crazy act shows the reader just how insane the narrator is. The narrator is also an antihero in the story. “Yet, mad I am not” (Poe 1). Here the narrator is saying that his actions of killing his wife and all of his pets do not make him mad. Later he also states that those events are very natural. Instead of a gothic romantic story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is a