The Black Cat Symbolism

“My main purpose is to tell the world about a series of everyday events. I tell the story plainly, briefly, and without comment. The results of these events have terrified–have tortured–have destroyed me” (Poe ¶2). In his short story, “The Black Cat,” Edgar Allan Poe begins the story in a prison cell, where the nameless narrator is at, beginning to tell his story of how alcohol brought out his inner perverseness, that created conflict with him and his pets. During the story, he kills his cat Pluto, causing him to feel guilty and try to find another cat that looked the same. He soon finds one that looks the same, but then starts hating it. One day, he tries to kill the cat, but his wife interferes, making him mad, so he kills her instead. The story then ends with the narrator being found guilty of his wife’s murder and sentenced to death by hanging. By looking at symbolism, irony, and simile, one can see that because of perverseness, people must be careful of the decisions they make in life which is important because if we don’t make the right decisions, we can be led down the wrong path.
Symbolism is when people, objects, places, or events have a meaning …show more content…
Symbolism, irony, and simile all helped prove the thesis by presenting what can happen, if in life, you give in to perverseness. Poe tries to warn us about how perverseness can change you in many ways, so you need to be aware of it. Symbolism helps create a deeper understanding toward the story, while irony helps create more suspense and mystery, and simile helps the reader understand what it was like to have been there with the narrator. Poe wrote this story because he too had a dreadful life, with many deaths and tragedies, and also was attracted into wrongdoing, or in other words, let his inner perverseness take