Writers utilize symbols in order to represent an idea or subject. The use of symbols is a way to communicate a deeper meaning and to employ an object to point to a different reality. The short story, “The Black Cat,” was written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1845. Poe tells a story of guilt, bad judgement, and mental deterioration. His short story is rich with countless different symbols representing these subjects. The narrator’s life is excellent up until the point where alcohol comes into his life. Then, he starts to abuse his animals and he mentally fades into insanity. Pluto represents the narrator’s life before he went crazy and his depraved judgment. The fire represents the narrator’s mental deterioration. The second cat represents the narrator’s
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The cat represents the narrator’s love and care for animals and how he was as a young boy and early in his marriage. The narrator “alone fed him, and he attended [him] wherever [he] went about the house. It was even with difficulty that [he] could prevent him from following [him] through the streets” (Poe 1). When the narrator was young, he loved and cared for animals. His cat, Pluto, whom he and his wife love dearly, is like their child. The cat also loved him. All the narrator wants to achieve is to be near the cat, to cuddle it, and to care for it. Pluto is the representation of love in the narrator’s life. The cat also represents the narrator’s bad judgement as a result of his alcoholism. The narrator, “returning home, much intoxicated, from one of [his] haunts about town… [He] seized him… [He] knew [himself] no longer… and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket!” (Poe 2). Pluto is a physical embodiment of the narrator’s alcohol inflicted judgment. The narrator attacks Pluto just because of the fact he is irritated by him. Instead of thinking his actions through and realizing he loves the cat, he let all judgment fly out the window. With alcohol in his system, the narrator can’t think straight resulting in a catastrophic outcome for Pluto. Pluto’s mangled body is a representation of the narrator’s lack of judgment. Throughout the short story, “The Black Cat,” Poe …show more content…
The fire is a symbol of renewal and cleansing. Poe writes, “The destruction was complete. My entire worldly wealth was swallowed up, and I resigned myself thenceforward to despair” (Poe 3). Right after the narrator kills Pluto, his house catches on fire. The fire is symbolic in that the narrator has no choice but to pick up and move, leaving his house and what he did to his cat behind. He is cleansed from his actions and does not begin to feel the effects of his actions until he acquires the second cat. The fire, however, is also a symbol of the narrator’s mental deterioration. The narrator “approached and saw, as if graven in bas relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat” (Poe 3). The aftermath of the fire is when the narrator first starts to notice signs of his insanity. He begins to envision the cat and believes Pluto is haunting him and out to get him. The fire is what sent the narrator over the edge into madness. Fire in “The Black Cat” symbolizes both renewal and mental
The cat represents the narrator’s love and care for animals and how he was as a young boy and early in his marriage. The narrator “alone fed him, and he attended [him] wherever [he] went about the house. It was even with difficulty that [he] could prevent him from following [him] through the streets” (Poe 1). When the narrator was young, he loved and cared for animals. His cat, Pluto, whom he and his wife love dearly, is like their child. The cat also loved him. All the narrator wants to achieve is to be near the cat, to cuddle it, and to care for it. Pluto is the representation of love in the narrator’s life. The cat also represents the narrator’s bad judgement as a result of his alcoholism. The narrator, “returning home, much intoxicated, from one of [his] haunts about town… [He] seized him… [He] knew [himself] no longer… and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket!” (Poe 2). Pluto is a physical embodiment of the narrator’s alcohol inflicted judgment. The narrator attacks Pluto just because of the fact he is irritated by him. Instead of thinking his actions through and realizing he loves the cat, he let all judgment fly out the window. With alcohol in his system, the narrator can’t think straight resulting in a catastrophic outcome for Pluto. Pluto’s mangled body is a representation of the narrator’s lack of judgment. Throughout the short story, “The Black Cat,” Poe …show more content…
The fire is a symbol of renewal and cleansing. Poe writes, “The destruction was complete. My entire worldly wealth was swallowed up, and I resigned myself thenceforward to despair” (Poe 3). Right after the narrator kills Pluto, his house catches on fire. The fire is symbolic in that the narrator has no choice but to pick up and move, leaving his house and what he did to his cat behind. He is cleansed from his actions and does not begin to feel the effects of his actions until he acquires the second cat. The fire, however, is also a symbol of the narrator’s mental deterioration. The narrator “approached and saw, as if graven in bas relief upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat” (Poe 3). The aftermath of the fire is when the narrator first starts to notice signs of his insanity. He begins to envision the cat and believes Pluto is haunting him and out to get him. The fire is what sent the narrator over the edge into madness. Fire in “The Black Cat” symbolizes both renewal and mental