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The Unintentional Murder In Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

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The Unintentional Murder Do you believe in superstitions? Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” gives us accounts of bad luck and death often thought of as being associated with a black cat. The narrator, imprisoned for murder, struggles with the evil inside of him which leads to animal cruelty and eventually the barbaric murder of his adored wife. Alcoholism, mental instability, and increased violent behavior lead to the unintentional murder of his wife. The narrator suffers from alcoholism. “But my disease grew upon me-for what disease is like alcohol” (Poe 719). He is fully aware of his disease and how it is taking over his life, yet he continues to indulge. The narrator violently cuts out the eye of his beloved cat Pluto and “soon drowned in wine all memory of the deed” (719). He is fully aware that what he is doing is wrong, but he chooses to drown his memories in alcohol. “One night as [he] sat, half stupefied” he begins to see strange and unusual objects (721). It is becoming more clear that the alcohol is taking a tremendous effect on his mind. …show more content…

He refers to the things he is about to tell as ordinary and common household events. The story opens with the narrator stating “Yet, mad am I not” (Poe 718). Even though he is about to be put to death for murder, he is trying to convince his audience of his sanity. After his house burns down, there is one wall left standing and he sees “upon the white surface, the figure of a gigantic cat” (720). He truly believes he is seeing the cat he had hung just the night before. After the murder of his wife he seems to feel no guilt and “soundly and tranquilly slept” (723). His mental stability is becoming more questionable as he continues with such violent behaviors, yet, feels no

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