The Main Message in The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe

The theme of the Black Cat is “Your actions can’t change you but the way you treat others will make an impact”. Edgar thought that if he drank he could change the way that other people look at him, he always felt like he had to make other people view him differently. The author of the Black Cat was Edgar himself which makes this story written in 1st person view. The genre of the Black Cat is Horror, Murder Mystery, and a Short Story.

Edgar was an Alcoholic which caused him to have really bad allusions. This whole story is describing Edgar’s life and the way he treated others the others being his cat. Edgar always took his actions out on other people or things. Edgar really loved his cat Pluto but since he was always drunk he began to not appreciate his cat more and more so then he started to abuse it because he didn't like the way he was being affectionate towards him. Edgar thought that if he drank people would consider him cool but it made his animals and friends hate him more since he was always getting himself into mischief. “I was especially fond of my animals, and was indulged by my parents of a great variety of pets.”

This quote is saying that Edgar had loved his pets so much Edgars drinking caused his allusions to get severe causing Edgar to hate his cats more and more each day. Edgar’s cat Pluto was one of Edgar’s favorite cats. Edgar use to appreciate his cats but his alcoholism caused him to have the worst allusions which ruined his and the cats bond between each other. Every time his cat did one thing that was a little annoying Edgar would punish or hurt him severely. “One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence. I seized him; when, in his fright at my violence, he inflicted a slight wound upon my hand and cleansed it with his teeth. ” This quote is saying that Edgar was out drinking and he may have drunk too much to the point that he got driven to frustration and gotten into a fight with something or someone. When Edgar got home Pluto probably noticed the cut on his hand and then tried to clean it for him so that it wouldn't get infected. Pluto cares about Edgar and he is always concerned about him when he gets hurt. When Edgar was constantly drinking it worried Pluto and he probably tried to get Edgar to seek for help but Edgar probably said no because he was drunk or he didn't want to get judged by someone else.

A question that a lot of people ask is why is Edgar always so hateful like was there an event that happened that caused him to want to drink? Edgar drank all the time he was just a person that hated the world and everyone in it. His cat was just trying to help him and then he got mad and started abusing him harshly. No matter how hard you try you are not going to be perfect. “Although I thus readily accounted to my reason, if not altogether to my conscience, for the startling fact just detailed, it did not the less fail to make a deep impression upon my fancy. For months I could not rid myself of the phantasm of the cat; and, during this period, there came back into my spirit a half-sentiment that seemed, but was not, remorse. I went so far as to regret the loss of the animal, and to look about me, among thevile haunts which I now habitually frequented, for another pet of the same species, and of somewhat similar appearance, with which to supply its place.”

This quote means that Edgar was feeling regretful about his life so he was trying to make it right by drinking. He thought that by drinking he would change his appearance to others but that didn't really work out for him that much. This quote relates to me because when my family moved to a new place it took me a long time to fit in. My parents and friends noticed that I was changing. I thought that I didn't fit in so I started hanging out with the wrong group of kids and I noticed myself starting to get into trouble a lot more and learning bad habits from others. As life went on I found the right group of friends and then started regretting the way that I acted when I had first moved. Your actions can't change you but the way you treat others will make an impact. No matter how hard you try you are not going to be perfect. Edgar was drinking and he changed who he was in a bad way and made a bad impression on himself. Edgar started to change his cat’s opinion on how he looked at him and on how he looked at other people in his life. How would you act if you had something in your life? Would you seek out help, or would you be like Edgar and try to change how people look at you by drinking or self harming yourself? A lesson that I learned from this whole story was don’t wait to take action or try to fix something yourself but seek out for help if needed.