The Black Cat Theme Essay

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Edgar Allan Poe Did you know that five members of Edgar Allan Poe’s family died of a disease called Tuberculosis? This could be why Poe wrote many stories that relate to his own life. In most of his short stories, the narrator wanted to solve a problem. But, they went about it in the wrong way. So people die, and the narrator gets caught. The theme in Poe’s short stories of think before you act, and it is shown through character, conflict, and setting. In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of the Amontillado”, the theme is shown through character. The characters, Fortunato and Montresor, are at a party and Montresor plans to get revenge on Fortunato. The text quotes, “Come let …show more content…
The setting in this short story is in the basement. The text claims, “ I experienced a sentiment half of horror, half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty…” (pg. 117) In the text, the narrator is feeling guilty for the crime he had fulfilled. This quote connects to the theme because if he wouldn’t have killed his wife, he wouldn’t feel guilty. Another quote says, “ Upon the fourth day of the assassination, a party of the police came, very unexpectedly, into the house, and proceeded again to make investigation of the premises.” (pg. 121) In the text, the police came to investigate his house, four days after the narrator killed his wife. This quote connects to the theme because if he wouldn’t have killed his wife, the police wouldn’t be coming to investigate. In conclusion, the theme is shown by setting in “The Black Cat”. In Poe’s short stories, character, conflict, and setting show the theme of think before you act. Character shows the theme because Montresor went with Fortunato without thinking of the consequences. Next, conflict shows the theme because if the narrator would have cared for his wife, he wouldn’t be as sad and depressed that she was gone. Last, setting shows the theme because if he wouldn’t have killed his wife in the basement, he wouldn’t be guilty and she wouldn’t be gone. Theme is actually really important in the real world because without it,

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