Analysis of Edgar Allan Poes The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe wrote that the single effect was the most important aspect of a short story, which everything must contribute to this effect. Poe’s gothic tale “The Black Cat” was written trying to achieve an effect of shocking insanity. In this first person narrative the narrator tells of his decline from sanity to madness, all because of an obsession with two (or possibly one) black cats. ... In most cases, the setting is usually indelible to a story, but “The Black Cat” relies little on this element. ... This makes the setting the weakest element of “The Black Cat. ... The most obvious of symbolic references in this story is the cat’s name, Pluto. ... Another immensely symbolic part of “The Black Cat” is the title itself, since onyx cats have long connoted bad luck and misfortune.