Black Cat Symbolism

In the short story “The Black Cat” written in 1845 by Edgar Allan Poe, it is revealed that karma always comes back in the future. It shows that everything that is done in a perverse, malevolent, or malicious manner will always bring consequences in life. The story illustrates a series of events within a man’s household. The narrator indicates that as a child he was a sensitive animal lover. He was spoiled by his parents with a variety of pets. He married early, and was happy with his wife. They had birds, gold-fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat. The cat is black (symbol for witches and evil). What once was a happy life, ended up turning into a nightmare when his drinking problem developed. The narrator is the protagonist in this short Horror story. Unfortunately in life, evil pays back with evil because what goes around always comes back around.

The story opens with the narrator telling the readers: “But tomorrow I die, and today I would unburden my soul.” This quote shows that he wants to free his soul from the guilt he carries within himself. This short story centers on a black cat named Pluto (Roman god of the dead) and the deterioration of a man. Pluto, the cat, is the man’s favorite pet and playmate. “I alone fed him, and he attended me wherever I went about the house. It was even with difficulty that I could prevent him from following me through the streets.” These are examples of the loving feeling he has towards his feline friend. Their friendship lasted in such manner for several years. The conflict unfolds when the man’s personality starts to change; “I grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, and more regardless of the feelings of others.” These changes come when he starts drinking profoundly a f...

... middle of paper ...

...ce remained motionless for an instant. Next, a dozen arms disassemble the wall and find the cat “with re extended mouth and solitary eye of fire” sitting on the head of the corpse. The narrator realizes that “he walled the monster up within the tomb.”

In conclusion, this short story perfectly illustrates the way karma works against a person after committing evil acts. The worse his actions got, the worse the torture was for him. Karma never fails in life. Sooner or later, an evil action pays back with extreme torture. A person’s worse mistake is thinking that their atrocious act was done successfully. Anything that is done in the dark always comes to the light. The narrator sold his soul to the devil when he became more and more perverse. In the end, the black cat (the devil) takes over by exposing who he once loved and making him pay an awful price for his actions.