Have you ever pondered about the narrators of a story and wonder why they are the way they are? In The Black Cat and The Raven, both narrators are unreliable. Even so, they both show their love towards their wives in very different ways. Both of the narrators in the stories have animals that come to them, trying to send them a message. Again, the narrators express the loss of their wives in very different ways. There are many similarities and many differences between the two narrators in The Raven, and The Black Cat, both by Edgar Allan Poe. One of the main similarities between the two narrators, is that they are both unreliable. In The Black Cat, it says, “But my disease grew upon me -- for what disease is like Alcohol!...” (The Black Cat). This shows us that the narrator is under the influence of alcohol, and therefore cannot be …show more content…
In The Raven, it says, “For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore-- Nameless here for evermore” (The Raven). This quote allows us to see how he thought of his wife, and how much he loved her. In The Black Cat, it says “...I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain. She fell dead upon the spot without a groan” (The Black Cat). After reading this, we can see that the narrator killed his wife and has no guilt about it. This is a major difference between the two characters. Another characteristic that both narrators have, is that both of them have animals trying to send them a message. In The Raven, a raven comes to the narrator and continues to say “nevermore”. The raven was trying to tell the narrator, that his wife, “Lenore”, will be “nevermore”. In The Black Cat, the second black cat is there as a reminder of what he had done. It appeared after he had killed his first cat, and now it likes his wife better than it likes him. As you can see, both narrators had animals trying to tell them
The mood of “The Raven” is sad and dark. The first line of The poem ends in midnight dreary, while i pondered weak and weary. It then goes on and says that he remembers it being a bleak december and he wished for the next day and that Lenore would be nameless forevermore. In contrast The mood of “Annabel Lee” is more light hearted because it talks about all the Good things about
Edgar Allen Poe is the author of many great pieces of literature. He uses his narrators to explain situations that are going on in their life. The narrators of "The Cask of Amontillado" and "The Black Cat" demonstrate their love for mans inhumanity to man and animals through horrific murders.
In "The Raven", a man, most likely older than the man in "Annabel Lee", mourns the death of his love whom he called "Lenore". Lenore, like Annabel Lee, had died several years earlier. In "The Raven", man hears tapping on his chamber door and sees the curtains slowly swaying. He believes that it can be no other than Lenore. Unfortunately for him though, it is only but a bird. A large, black bird known as the Raven. Although the men in these two stories are similar because they both mourn for their loved ones, they are also different.
In “The Raven”, a man’s wife death causes him to hear a knocking at the door before realizing its coming from the window and he communicates with a raven. I will be comparing both of Poe’s books “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Raven” focusing on the narrator, setting, and the tone. The main subjects I will be discussing in my paper are the bothered narrators, the senses the narrators’ possess, and the use of a bird in both of the stories.
The Raven and Rime of the Ancient Mariner are two of the first horror stories ever written. They both involve a bird that has a huge amount of influence on the story. Keith French said, “Birds and other animals are vital parts of poems. One of the most vital birds in any poem is Poe’s Raven, without this bird obviously the events in this poem would have never happened, but it is more than just that. The type of bird, a Raven which symbolises fear or dread, was the perfect fit for the poem.” Each bird does something different in their respective story. Some things they have in common like that they both give a sense of false hope. Other things they do not have in common like how the Albatross is considered a good omen, where the Raven is considered a bad one.
The structure and setting of these poems is quite different. “The Raven” is a narrative poem consisting of 18 stanzas. Each stanza consists of six lines. Conversely, “The Haunted Palace” is a ballad consisting of only 6 stanzas and a total of 48 lines. The setting of “The Raven” takes place in a chamber. We are not sure what type of room the chamber is; only that it is dark as the fire is dying and throwing shadows on the floor (“The Raven” 1-8). The setting of “The Haunted Palace” takes place in a palace in a valley. At first, the palace is beautiful and peaceful, but it turns to a dark sad ruin. Recall the palace is a metaphor (allegory) for the mind, so the setting also includes the healthy mind growing insane (Meyer, p. 893). While the structure and setting are dissimilar, the same...
In both of these stories, the narrator is described as a murderer, utilizing disturbing ways to torture and kill their victims. In the Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator is vexed by the old man’s eye, of which he compares to that of the eye of a vulture. However, the owner of the eye, an old man that had cared for the narrator since he was a young boy, was not the direct result of the hate. In fact, the narrator states, “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult” (1). This proves that the old man was a victim of the anger that blinded the narrator. On the other hand, the husband in The Black Cat, of whom is the narrator, kills his wife and first black cat, Pluto. The death of Pluto was caused through the narrator’s irritation in the fact that he could not have the cat’s former love for him. Originally, Pluto loved the narrator with everything he had, but this was all changed once the narrator carved an eye out of its socket one night when he had come home intoxicated.
Another difference in technique that Poe uses between the two short stories is the way that the anger in placed. In The Tell Tale Heart the main character's anger is placed on the direct object of whom he has problem with, but in The Black Cat the main character chooses to displace his anger on to an animal whom he had no prior qualms with. I think what Poe was trying to convey was that sometimes our anger is directed at the things that really can't fight back, in a normal circumstance (in the story there were supernatural aspects with would not occur in a normal environment). As we read the story and see how the man is displacing his anger we realize that at one time or another we have all done this.
The short story the “Black Cat” begins with the narrator of the story telling his side of events that have occurred throughout his life. When first being introduced to the narrator you can tell something is off with him. The narrator is originally a well-put together man he has a wife and many of different animals but has a much greater love for one of his animals named Pluto a black cat. As the life of the narrator goes on he falls into a drinking problem he cant stop drinking and when he does drink he gets violent. One night when
Analysis of the Role First Person Narration Plays in Edgar Allen Poe's Poem The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe?s ?The Raven? is a dark reflection on lost love, death, and loss of hope. The poem examines the emotions of a young man who has lost his lover to death and who tries unsuccessfully to distract himself from his sadness through books. Books, however, prove to be of little help, as his night becomes a nightmare and his solitude is shattered by a single visitor, the raven. Through this poem, Poe uses symbolism, imagery and tone, as well as a variety of poetic elements to enforce his theme of sadness and death of the one he loves.
The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe, is instead from the latter end of the Romantic era. This narrative poem recounts a scene in which a raven visits a mourning, distraught lover, who serves as the narrator. Both of these works display dramatic presentation, symbolism, and a great sense of emotional power to create a frightening scene. Poe and Fuseli each infuse their works with dramatic energy.
Both “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe have main characters that are very much alike but also very different at the same time. For example, they are alike because the man in “The Raven” is mourning over the love of his life, Lenore, and the man in “Annabel Lee” is mourning for the woman of his life, Annabel Lee.
Furthermore, Poe’s plot development added much of the effect of shocking insanity to “The Black Cat.” To dream up such an intricate plot of perverseness, alcoholism, murders, fire, revival, and punishment is quite amazing. This story has almost any plot element you can imagine a horror story containing. Who could have guessed, at the beginning of the story, that narrator had killed his wife? The course of events in “The Black Cat’s” plot is shockingly insane by itself! Moreover, the words in “The Black Cat” were precisely chosen to contribute to Poe’s effect of shocking insanity. As the narrator pens these he creates a splendidly morbid picture of the plot. Perfectly selected, sometimes rare, and often dark, his words create just the atmosphere that he desired in the story.
A common theme that is seen throughout many of Edgar Allan Poe’s text, is madness. Madness that will make the whole world turn upside down and around again. Madness that takes over somebody’s life. Madness and eye imagery is present in both “The Black Cat” and “The Tell Tale Heart” by Poe where madness is at first a fairy tale but then ends with a crash back to reality.Both stories share components of murder and insanity, and are very similar, not at first glance but if looked at more closely.