Walled The Cat example essay topic

The Black Cat The Black Cat, by Edgar Allen Poe, is a story about a man whose love for animals is overcome by an extreme hatred toward the creatures. What goes around comes around is a saying that would most effectively convey the message of this story because Poe implies that people will inevitably suffer the consequences of their actions. Through the careful construction of plot, the ongoing use of irony, and the rapid development of character, Poe captures the reader's undivided attention and evokes a wide variety of emotions through this short story This story is a confession of an atrocious sin told by an old man on his deathbed. The plot begins to unfold as the main character reflects back on his childhood. He recalls having been an animal lover all of his life. A conflict first arises between himself and Pluto, his cat.

He becomes angered when the cat rejects him out of fear. However, he quickly resolves this problem by killing the cat. Throughout the story he seems to be having an 2 inner conflict as well. He realizes how horrible and atrocious his sins are but is unable to feel remorse. While he seems to be an intelligent and virtuous man, he cannot seem to control his violent fits of drunken rage. He also deals with conflict on a more spiritual level.

The cat that he has killed is haunting him. He tries to shrug it off as coincidence, but every time he comes up with an explanation for an unsettling event, something else happens. His final conflict is in proving his innocence to the police. He wants to make a statement to the police in such a way as to confess his sin without the police picking up on it. In doing so, he gives himself away. The multiple ironies of this story make the main character wonder if he is being haunted or if it is all coincidence.

The introduction suggests that Poe has had a privileged upbringing and a happy life. He marries a woman with whom he has a lot in common and has a picture perfect life. They both love animals and have lots of them. Then all of a sudden he becomes an alcoholic and begins mistreating his animals and his wife. He cuts his cat's eye out with a knife and kills the cat soon after.

The following day his house burns down. The only wall left standing is in the image of a gigantic cat. They now have to live in poverty. One night, while in a drunken stupor, he 3 finds a stray cat and brings it home. The next morning he realizes that the cat resembles Pluto, the dead cat, in every way except for the large white patch on the new cat's chest. It even has the same eye missing.

The white spot that has once distinguished the new cat from Pluto changes shape and begins to resemble a noose. He then kills his wife when she stops him from killing the cat. When the police came, the cat's moan reveals his wife's body that is concealed behind a brick wall. He then realizes that he has accidentally walled the cat up with his wife, which is the reason he is unable to find the animal to kill it. The main character of this story is the author. He is a round character who progresses and changes throughout the story.

As an infant, he was noted for his docility and humanity. He is initially portrayed as being a kind, compassionate man who loves animals. However, he makes an unexpected transformation when he becomes an alcoholic and starts mistreating, and eventually killing, his animals. He admits to feeling no remorse but is angered by the fact that the cat, which once loved him, runs with sheer terror at the sight of him. Therefore, he hangs the cat with a noose. The next day his house burns down forcing him to go from, what seems to be, middle to upper class to poverty.

A short while later he finds a 4 stray cat and keeps it in hopes of replacing the cat he has killed. He begins to resent this cat as well, and when his wife stops him from killing it, he kills her instead. He, again, feels no remorse. In fact, his immediate response is to hide the body so he will not be caught. He then conceals the body and goes about his life as usual. His only regret is that he did not get to kill the cat.

When the police come four days later, he is joyous and delighted with himself because he has done such a good job hiding the body. This story shows a man suffering the consequences of his own actions. The character is an alcoholic who is atrociously cruel to animals, and he is punished for it, either by his own guilty conscious or by a higher power. Poe constructs the plot in such a way that adds suspense and the element of surprise to the story, as well as endless irony. His vivid description of the character's thoughts and emotions really make the story realistic. The postponed climax followed by a fast conclusion leaves the reader shocked and hungry for more.