'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe
'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allan Poe is an American classic. It was first shown in the 'United States Saturday Post' on August 19, 1843. It is about a man that loses his sanity because of one cat. Poe wrote this story after his wife's and his mother's death. The narrator is self-destructive by killing or hurting all things that loved him and alcoholism. After a while he recognizes his self-destructiveness. As the story begins, the narrator is in jail awaiting his execution which will take place the next day, ("But tomorrow I die") for the brutal murder of his wife. From this point, the rest of the story is told in flashback. Although several characters are mentioned in this story, the true focus lies on the narrator who is left nameless. He was especially fond of animals, and he was pleased to find that his wife shared a similar fondness for pets. They had many pets including, "...birds, gold fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat." The cat was a large, beautiful animal which was entirely black. His name was Pluto; he was the narrator's favourite pet. He alone fed him and looked after him. Pluto followed the narrator wherever he went. Occasionally, his wife would refer to an old superstitious belief that "all black cats (were) witches in disguise. Not that she was ever serious upon this point". But
How does Poe create a picture of the psychotic/insane central character?
How does Poe create a picture of the psychotic/insane central character? Poe manages to create a realistic vision of an insane narrator by using a range of various methods. For instance, in "The Tell-Tale Heart" Poe makes use of light and darkness, the description of the man's eye and the time frame to make the story more scary than anything else: "I put in a dark lantern all closed, closed so that no light shone out". This creepiness of the story indicates the madness of the narrator to the reader. Furthermore, Poe gives the reader the impression that the narrator is very intelligent, deceptive and somewhat charming. For example he says "They sat, and while I answered cheerily". This shows that he is putting on a good front for the police and making them believe he is normal. His intelligence makes him even more dangerous and worrying because of what he is capable of doing. Moreover, during the story the central character is constantly trying to convince the reader that he is not insane. However the more you go on, the more you realise that he is mad: "I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever". This shows that he is incredible obsessive and clearly confused in his mind, which is a sign of madness. The insane obsession he gets with the old man's eye takes over his mind and leads him to murder. In addition, the graphical and
Ninteenth Century horror.
Ninteenth Century horror Horror can be delivered through many different ways, be it through gothicism, the psychological aspect or the industrial view on horror. Bram Stokers writing involves gothicism. He wrote many novels and short stories and amongst them was "The Squaw". I think that Stokers vivid and graphic descriptions of death add more aspects to his writing than just gothicism: "but the stone fell right on the kittens head and shattered out its little brains." People usually associate gothicism with creepy haunted houses or underground passages and secret stairways and that gothic writers focus more on describing the scene than the characters and death. These are true, but not necessarily to stoker. He sets the scene well and he also describes the manner in which the characters died with an exceptional likeness to life. Unlike the other authors that we have studied, Stokers characters have no clear psychological uncertainties. Elias P Hutcheson comes across as a very arrogant and racist character, and when he kills the cat´s kitten, the cat is set out for revenge fueled by the hatred of Hutcheson: ".... Launched herself at him as though hate and fury could lend her wings." I think that stoker drops subtle hints foreshadowing the fact that the cat is going to get revenge on Hutcheson: ".... Her eyes looked like positive murder" Stoker delivers an exceptional
Comment on the techniques used by Poe in the short story 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and evaluate Poes success in the creating a supernatural story
Comment on the techniques used by Poe in the short story 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and evaluate Poes success in the creating a supernatural story. A young man who loathes another man because of his vulture like eye decides to kill him at night, while he sleeps. Poe uses derelict houses, death, darkness and night time which are all part of the gothic genre. To understand the story you need to know about the cultural, historical and social side of the story. Poe's short story was influenced by Jack the ripper and the white chapel murders also at that time scientists were experimenting with drugs such as opium which changed peoples personalities. Most pre 1914 writers were on this drug which would explain why the narrator appears insane throughout the text. Poe uses the gothic elements such as death and darkness to add suspense and a scary feel to the piece. Also to add more suspense poe uses metaphors, similies, personification and symbolism. Poe uses these techniques to describe certain things in more detail so you can see a picture in your mind, which draws you into the text. He symbolises the gothic genre with gothic elements to make the reader think about horror and suspense. When poe uses personification in the text he uses it to draw the reader in, he wrote Death with a capital D to make you believe that death is actually a person and is there. It also makes it sound more
The similarities and differences between ways in which murder is depicted in "The Tell-Tale Hearts", "The Black Cat" and "Call It Madness" "Buried the axe in her brain". Very graphic depiction of death appears in all 3 of the stories
Compare and contrast the similarities and differences between ways in which murder is depicted in "The Tell-Tale Hearts", "The Black Cat" and "Call It Madness" "Buried the axe in her brain". Very graphic depiction of death appears in all 3 of the stories, "The Tell-Tale Hearts", "The Black Cat" and "Call It Madness". There are many similarities between all 3 stories and the way they portray death, there are also many differences between the Edgar Allen Poe stories and the Maupassant story. The 2 authors have different styles both describing death and murder in there own ways. The black cat is a story written by Edgar Allen Poe. The narrator describes himself as a caring person when he was a young man, "my tenderness of heart". Poe creates the character in this way so early on so that later on in the story the reader feels sorry for the murderer even though he has committed a crime. However this is not successful because of how evil the murder is. During the story the narrator describes his love for animals deteriorating into hatred this then leads to the murder of his first car Pluto. The murderer describes a lot of emotion towards his killing of Pluto, 'who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a stupid action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not', in an attempt to tell the audience his reasons for murder he explains that he
A Comparison between Two Pre-Twentieth Century Stories : "Tell Tale" and "The Black Cat"
A Comparison between Two Pre-Twentieth Century Stories I am comparing two short and gothic stories written by the same author called Edgar Allen Poe. This author writes many stories that are based on a gothic theme, he writes stories that are both short and long. The two that I am comparing are two of his short gothic stories, they are called 'The Tell Tale Heart', which I will refer to as 'Tell Tale' and 'The Black Cat'. I found both of these short stories on the rather graphic note, and they could be made very scary if a few more things were added. They both had the gothic feel; I had also experienced this in other short stories called 'Napoleon and the Spectre' and 'The Signalman'. They both had an eerie feel about them, but they used a ghost like character to predict things that are to happen in the future. That idea is not present in the 'Tell Tale', but it is in 'The Black Cat'. This is because the second black cat has the white mark on its stomach in the shape of gallows, so it is in a way predicting the protagonist's death. The beginning of both stories ('Tell Tale' and 'The Black Cat') I thought were similar because the protagonist starts by reflecting on the events that he is about to tell you about. Also the rest of both stories are written in first person. There is no evidence of the 'Tell Tale' being written in a certain place, but 'The Black Cat' was
tension and suspense of the tell tale heart
Edgar Allan Poe the author of The Tell Tale Heart creates tension and suspense by using a number of techniques. Poe was a 19th centuary short stort writer who wrote in the sytle of Gothic Horror. The Tell Tale Heart tells the story of a mad man who decides to kill an old mad because of his "vulture" eye. Poe details the exact things. The story begins with the narrator admitting that he is "very dreadfully nervous." The narrator believes that his nervousness has "sharpened my senses,not destroyed,not dulled them." He then goes on to say "But why will you say that I am mad?" this makes the reader ask himself why do people say he is mad? It creates tension as he seems nervous in what he is saying and the reader would like to know why? The narrator claims that he loves the old man but just didn't like his eye. Poe creates panic in the narrator's voice, and the reader senses growing tension in the narrators voice. The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" tells his murder of the old man.As he tells the story in first-person, the reader cannot tell how much of what he says is true as he is an unreliable narrator as it is only saying from one point of view. This creates tension. The setting is in two different places as one part is in the house which i think is near other houses as it says "a shriek had been heard by a neighbour during the night." The other part of the setting
Exploring the ways in which the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Charlotte Perkins Gilman portray madness in their writing.
Explore the ways in which the writers we have studied represent madness We have been exploring the ways in which the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Charlotte Perkins Gilman portray madness in their writing. The books we have been studying are "The Black Cat" and "The Tell Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe; and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Edgar Allan Poe was a debauched American man who was around in the late nineteenth century. He was adopted and had a various troubled business life. These troubles earlier on in his life may have led to his drugs and alcohol addiction. Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a feminist, also American, and was the first woman to make a living from writing. After having a baby she suffered from terrible post-natal depression. Her doctor, Weir Mitchell, gave her rest treatment and forbid her to write. Upon recovery, she wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a sort of therapy. She sent the story to Mitchell and her treatment was changed. The definition of the words 'madness' or 'insanity' varies from person to person. 'The state of having a serious mental illness; crazy or stupid behaviour that could be dangerous' is the dictionary definition. However, I do not feel such a controversial topic can be described in such a simple way. All three of the stories we have studied have been written in the 1st Person Narrative form. This portrays madness
'How are nineteenth century short stories traditional short stories?'
GCSE ENGLISH COURSEWORK: 'Nineteenth century short stories.' ESSAY TITLE: 'How are nineteenth century short stories traditional short stories?' In this essay we will be studying the following question, 'How are nineteenth century short stories traditional short stories?' Short stories developed as a style of writing when people were becoming more literate. One of the most important factors which helped which helped short stories develop as popular form of writing was the growing popularity of magazines and journals over the course of the 19th century. The general public admired the genre of fiction and the short story mainly written to express opinions and ideas was the ideal way for a writer to earn easy money and reach a wider audience. Short stories were also a popular from of entertainment as it was read aloud within families or groups of friends. As they reached a wide audience they often dealt with different issues that had a wide appeal. To answer our question we will be looking at 5 main factors that make up a traditional short story. The five factors are, the first line in a story (this line should be interesting as this will be the first thing the reader reads. This line will also create expectations about the kind of story the audience will be reading. It should engage the reader by being dramatic or humorous,) characters (this should be less than five
The Black Cat is the story of one mans descent into madness. How does Edgar Allan Poe show this through the Narrator?
The Black Cat is the story of one mans descent into madness. How does Edgar Allan Poe show this through the Narrator? The story of the Black Cat, in which the narrator is also the main character, is a story in which the author provides you with a challenge. The narrator tells you that there has been a series of household events, which he cannot explain and issues you as the reader, the challenge of solving the puzzle of them. The narrator's voice suggests it belongs to that of a highly educated man from an upper class family. This makes the reader wonder why a man of such high education is talking about normal occurrences and making them seem like the most unnatural thing. Also the voice suggests that he is more unlikely to be a violent dipsomaniac. The author creates mood and atmosphere using words such as "... terrified...tortured...have destroyed me." This line sets a rather unearthly mood that, I believe, is carried on throughout the story. The story of the Black cat starts off with the narrator in prison. "But to-morrow I die..." This line suggests that he is waiting in death row and will be executed the next day. It also makes the reader want to know why he is to be executed what deed has been so bad he is to die. The narrator tells the audience that he used to be a loving, gentle, man. "From my infancy I was noted for the docility and humanity of my