The Negative Influence Of Black Cats In Today's Culture

1452 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism used in the black cat

Superstitions plague the everyday lives of people all around the world. These ideas have stemmed from as far back as the very first humans on earth and continue to haunt some today. Among these thousands of superstitions are many regarding black cats. These felines are often associated with bad luck, from sinking boats to incoming death. Not everything is all misfortune for these cats, though. While black cat superstitions often are negative and show these animals in a bad light, some cultures and people see cats positively, in some cases even god-like. Although many of this folklore and myth has been left in the Dark Ages, it can still be seen in today’s culture. The black cat superstition has originated from a multitude of time periods and …show more content…

Some early Christian civilizations believed that when a black cat crossed your path it not only brought back luck, but did so in attempt to block one’s entrance into heaven. Unfortunately for these felines, this resulted in frequent killing of black cats (Yablon 30). This was continued into the 1600s, when, “the Puritan pilgrims who helped populate Salem, Massachusetts were devout Bible believers, and the combination of a major fear of anything Devil-related and the lingering belief that black cats were a classic part of witch lifestyles was a lethal one,” …show more content…

They believe that “a strange black cat’s arrival to the home signifies prosperity,” (Noreen). If a stray black cat appears on a doorstep in Scotland, the Scottish would welcome the lost feline because they believe it will bring them good fortune. “In the highlands of Scotland, black kitties are diffusers of evil and misfortune,” (“Black”). The Scottish are strong believers that black cats do not deliver bad luck, contrary to the popular superstition. Additionally, in Japan, black cats bring good luck, especially to single women who are said to be offered many suitors, or future husbands, if she possesses one (Schlosser). The luck continues into France, where some believe that if a black cat is brought to a meeting place of five roads, the cat is supposed to lead one to treasure (Murrell 118). With features as promising sounding as that, the French viewed cats in a very different way than people who believe the negative superstitions. Although many choose to focus on the antipathetic views on black cats, many cultures throughout history and locations around the world see the cats in as more favorable

Show More
Related

  • The Importance of the Cat in Native Son

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    The history of the feline is extensive and intriguing. Although we think of the black cat as always being the carrier of misfortune, the white cat has held a dark position as well. In England the white cat is notorious for its bad luck, and an older American superstition stated that a white cat at night indicates disaster. The Dalton's cat abruptly has Bigger feeling uneasy,

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Raven And The Black Cat

    566 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the "The Black Cat" Poe writes about two different black cats. The first these two cats was Pluto he was considered the companion of the narrator. However once the narrator begin to drink, Pluto began to suffer from my bad temper since he was growing old and cranky. Pluto then began to become distant from the narrator as if he feared him. Because of the narrators “Disease” as he describes it, he kills the cat that he once considered his best friend. The second Cat which was not named appeared and resembled the first cat very closely except for the shapeless gray spot on its body.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In The Black Cat

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more than demonical, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain.” The Black Cat written by Edgar Allen Poe revels the narrator’s devilish deed. The narrator is in prison and is letting the readers know about what events lead to his imprisonment. In the short story The Black Cat the narrator intentionally kills his wife, for he disliked his wife, he felt no remorse, and he brags about the deed.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Similarities And Similarities Between William Wilson And The Black Cat

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poe uses symbolism in his story “The Black Cat,” to convey a message about the dangers of untreated mental illness and how people need to get actual psychological help before they commit heinous crimes. In “The Black Cat,” as the cat continues to be a part of Poe’s life, he eventually resigns to hang it from a tree for the sake of knowing that it is wrong, an action that continues to drive him into insanity. Pluto, Poe’s cat represents this insanity because besides being a black cat, which are typically known

    Read More

  • The Black Cat - Abnormal Madness

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    "The Black Cat" is an example of this kind of story.  In this morbid look into

    Read More

  • Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Next, symbolism is always an integral part of any Poe story. The most obvious of symbolic references in this story is the cat’s name, Pluto. This is the Roman god of the underworld. Pluto contributes to a strong sense of hell and may even symbolize the devil himself. Another immensely symbolic part of “The Black Cat” is the title itself, since onyx cats have long connoted bad luck and misfortune. The most amazing thing about the symbolism in this story or in any other of Poe’s is that there are probably many symbols that only Poe himself ever knew were in his writings.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Romare Bearden's Rocket To The Moon

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    The black cat is a source of superstition in many cultures, and in the United States it is a symbol of bad luck. On the opposite corner of the collage, the bottom right, there is a picture of an African American who some interpret as Martin Luther King Jr, a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement who preached the power of nonviolence. In this interpretation, the black cat is seens as representative of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, a group who practiced militant self-defense of minority groups against the United States government. Though they fought for the same cause, the two parties had different means of accomplishing their goals. If the figure in the bottom corner is in fact Martin Luther King Jr, his presence in the collage could symbolize the dream of escaping the problems of the inner city, because he always dreamt things would get

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe and the American Mind

    1861 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gargano, James W. “’The Black Cat’: Perverseness Reconsidered.” Twentieth Century Interpretations of Poe’s Tales. Ed. William L. Howarth. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1971. 87-94. Print.

    Read More

  • Dark Themes In Edgar Allen Poe's 'Black Cat'

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Black Cat” is about a narrator and his tribulations with animals, cats in particular with this work. The short story starts out with the narrator telling

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat”

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    The presence of the two cats in the tale allows the narrator to see himself for who he truly is. In the beginning the narrator explains that his “tenderness of heart made him the jest of his companions”. (251) He also speaks of his love for animals that has remained with him from childhood into manhood. However, Poe contradicts this description of the narrator when he seems to become annoyed with the cat that he claims to love so much. While under the influence of alcohol the narrator is “fancied that the cat avoided his presence”(250) and as a result decides to brutally attack the cat. This black cat symbolizes the cruelty received by slaves from whites. The narrator not only “deliberately cuts one of the cats eyes from the sockets” (250) but he also goes on to hang the cat. Once the narrator successfully hangs the cat the tale begins to take a very dark and gothic-like turn. The racism and guilt of the narrator continues to haunt him once he has killed the black cat. Th...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Witch Trials In The Crucible

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    “livestock die because of witchcraft, family members turn against each other because of witchcradt, servants defy masters because of witchcraft. For every ill in Salem, witchcraft is the scapegoat.’ (56)

    Read More

  • The Black Cat

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    Black cats have historically represented witchcraft, bad luck, and death in many parts of the world. In “The Black Cat”, Pluto held the place of one of the narrator’s most beloved pets until the animal grows frightened. The narrator ends up cutting Pluto’s eye out causing him to become half blind, and eventually kills Pluto. Shortly after this, the narrator becomes haunted by a feline that looks similar to Pluto. The only difference between Pluto and the second cat is the second feline has a white mark on his neck. In “The Black Cat”, the feline Pluto represents the underworld, narcissism, and mental instability.

    Read More

  • Critical Interpretations of Poe's The Black Cat

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the staples of Poe's writing is the dramatic effect it has on the reader. Poe is known for his masterful use of grotesque, and often morbid, story lines and for his self-destructive characters and their ill-fated intentions. "The Black Cat" is no different from any of his other stories, and thus a Pragmatic/Rhetorial interpretation is obviously very fitting. If Pragmatic/Rhetorical criticism focuses on the effect of a work on its audience, then "The Black Cat" serves as a model for all other horror stories. One of the most intriguing aspects Poe introduces into the story is the black cat itself. The main character initially confesses a partiality toward domestic pets, especially his cat. Most readers can identify with an animal lover, even if they themselves are not. It is not long though before the reader learns of the disease that plagues the main character - alcoholism. Again, the reader can identify with this ailment, but it is hard to imagine that alcoholism could be responsible for the heinous actions made by the main character. In a drunken rage the main character cuts out one of the cat's eyes with a pen knife, and act at which he even shudders. Then, only after the cat's slow recovery from that attack, does the man hang the cat from the limb of a tree. ...

    Read More

  • Superstitions speech

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Superstitions, what are they and where did they come from? Are they true are they false or is there some sort of reasoning behind them? Or are they simply just a whole lot of mumbo jumbo. I mean ….. awww man (meeoow) there goes a black cat man talk about bad luck it just took off with any luck that I had, (gosh darn – click fingers well lets see if its true…Mrs Maslen whadda ya reckon am I gonna get an A for this or what? C’mon c’mon you can tell me. Damn you cat (shake fist meeooow). Where did that superstition come from? For heavens sake how pathetic is it! Anyways for most people these are simply old wives tales and silly misconstrued stories, happenings and events. But for others these are real, they believe every word of these.

    Read More

More about The Negative Influence Of Black Cats In Today's Culture

Open Document