Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Black Cat" tells a tale of a man whose conscience is embodied by two cats. Through the use of contrasting sentiments, Poe encapsulates the image of a creature consumed so completely in his perverseness that he impulsively commits heinous crimes that involve the two cats. One of the cats evokes in him a loving resentment while the other inspires sheer hatred. His reactions show that although together they symbolize one entity, each of the cats has a different effect on the narrator's emotions.

The first cat the narrator introduces the reader to is Pluto, whom he initially describes as his "favorite pet and playmate"(100). The relationship between the two is one of mutual admiration, until one night when the narrator comes home drunk. He imagines that Pluto is avoiding him, and spontaneously decides to gauge one of the feline's eyes out. "I experienced a sentiment half of horror, half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty, but it was, at best a feeble and e

An ever-present theme in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat", the spirit of perverseness explains the odd, almost unbelievable conduct of the narrator. While the two cats induce completely different reactions from the narrator, his response is the same to each of them. When Pluto "avoids" the narrator, the result is Pluto's death, and when the second cat gets too close to the narrator, the death of the narrator's completely loving and innocent wife results. Poe's picture of a man so affected by two cats and his reactions to their behaviors paints a perfect picture of how truly immoral man can be.

Whereas Pluto's relationship to the narrator was one of love and fear, the second cat's association was one which displayed utmost love and respect. After Pluto's death, another feline that has a striking resemblance to Pluto mysteriously appears in a pub at which the narrator was having drinks. It falls in love with the narrator, accompanies him home and instantly domesticates itself. Although one would think that such a loyal pet would bring joy to one's life, the animal had the opposite effect on the narrator.

Although Pluto and the other cat trigger conflicting feelings in the narrator, they bring out his true character. Incorporating these completely inverse situations between each of the cats a

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Approximate Word count = 885
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)