The Effects of Alcoholism and Illness as Depicted in The Black Cat

The world is packed with evil people, but their driving force is often unclear. Usually people have an outside influence that drives them to perform these actions of uncontrolled harm. This is what happened in the short story, “The Black Cat”, as protagonist develops a drinking problem, which progressively causes him to start abusing his pets and eventually his wife. The author Edgar Allan Poe explores the theme of a human wickedness caused by drinking and illness through his use of first person point of view, imagery, and figurative language.

The first person point of view in “The Black Cat” allows the reader to better understand the narrator’s motives and actions by getting a feel in his shoes and understanding the thought process behind the murder of the protagonist’s cat. In the short story, The Black Cat the narrator says, “But my disease grew upon me -- for what disease is like Alcohol ! -- and at length even Pluto, who was now becoming old, and consequently somewhat peevish -- even Pluto began to experience the effects of my ill temper”. As the story progresses, the protagonist is telling us that he is growing sick due to his alcohol addiction, and that his temperament towards his wife and his pets are changing. This is causing him is growing more irritable, and more importantly is causing him to affect his most beloved pet, Pluto, in the process. It is often common for addicted individuals to have outbursts related to explosive and uncontrolled anger. It demonstrates that the narrator is being affected negatively by alcohol and is causing him to think unlike himself and contributing to his “ill temper.” The fact that heavy drinking is the force that causes the narrator to act wickedly is confirmed by this action.

Secondly, the use of imagery by Poe provides the reader with an insightful view of what the narrator is experiencing and provides the reader with a better view of the narrator’s necessity to kill his cat and his wife. The narrator provides clear descriptions of the scene as, “I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket! I blush, I burn, I shudder, while I pen the damnable atrocity”. After coming home heavily intoxicated by alcohol, the narrator is using his pen-knife to cut out Pluto’s eye while strangling the cat. A pen-knife is small and not very sharp and so the very thought of cutting free an eyeball would be far more violent and gruesome than if a standard-sized knife were used. There is a forced vividness to this scene of a man practically strangling a cat while working for at least a minute or two to cut its beautiful eyes away from its body. Equally intense is the ability to feel sorry for the blushing and shuddering he feels in retrospect. From this point on, the reader also sees the narrator differently. Similarly, when the narrator describes the scene after the burning of the house, “The falling of other walls had compressed the victim of my cruelty into the substance of the freshly-spread plaster; the lime of which, with the flames, and ammonia from the carcass, and then accomplished the portraiture as I saw it”. The protagonists had just killed his beloved cat, Pluto, due to his alcohol addiction and now he is feeling and explaining his view of the burning house. The imagery helps the reader not only see the situation but it also helps the reader to understand how the guilt and shame the protagonist feels after hanging Pluto.

Finally, The use of figurative language in 'The Black Cat' intensifies the action of the story and reflects the intentions of the protagonist. The figurative language in story provides better descriptions of the intentions of the protagonist as, “The fury of a demon instantly possessed me”. At this point of the story, the protagonist comes home drunk and is not in control of himself and feels as if he is possessed by an outer force. This hyperbole reveals that this force causes him to cut the cat’s eye out. This source is understood to be alcohol when he tells us that his actions were not intentional. The hyperbole, which acts as an explanation of motivation gives the reader a better view of the author’s intentions while intensifying the action. Later in the story the author uses a metaphor to describe his wife as,“I had walled the monster up within the tomb!”. Poe is using a metaphor to tell us that the protagonist has put his wife, which he refers to as monster, in the wall. The protagonist performs this action to prevent himself from being caught by the police as he is guilty of murder. This action of murdering his wife is justified by the protagonist when it is taken that the protagonist was controlled by this monster, that wouldn’t let him feel himself. The metaphor, which is a provided reason of murder by the protagonist gives the reader the clear idea that the protagonist views his wife as a monster. This is different from his previous view of his wife as loving and caring. This metaphor reveals that the protagonist’s alcohol addiction is causing his view of the world to change.

The effects of chronic alcoholism and illness is clearly revealed through Poe’s use of first person point of view, imagery, and figurative language. The effects of alcoholism and illness can completely change a person’s view of the world. This distress changes and evolves in fury and hate and can cause a person to do things that may be immoral or unjust. So, is the loss that comes with alcoholism really worth it?