Death Over Life

            After reading the poem “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath one can see that Plath (the narrator) does not want to live and that her life is filled with suffering. She is constantly referring to suicide and death. She also uses many metaphors throughout the essay. Sylvia Plath is ready for death.

In "Lady Lazarus," Plath confesses her several attempts to commit suicide. In the second stanza, it seems like she kills herself and comes back to life. She can't explain how she's still alive, "A sort of walking miracle." Plath mentions her fight against life, she calls life her enemy, "O my enemy" something that won't let her die. Because every time she tries to commit suicide, she's being brought back to life by doctors. She mentions that she is like a cat "And like the cat I have nine times to die." She has no success in killing herself, but she looks forward to the ninth time, in which she'll die for good. Plath also seems to be celebrating the times she has died and she seems proud of it. “I do it exceptionally well.” She reveals that her suffering is life. “The sour breath/ I turn and burn.”

            In the poem it is clear that Plath resents the times she has been saved from death. One can see this in the lines “Comeback in broad day/To the same place, the same face the same brute.” She gives the reader an idea on how much she is trying to avoid life because her life is filled with suffering.

           

Plath also uses the symbol of Lazarus which is a biblical reference to the man named Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead. With the title of the poem being “Lady Lazarus” Plath is symbolizing that she is like Lazarus in the sense that she has risen from death on many separate occasions. She also uses the symbol of the phoenix, “Out of the ash/I rise with my red hair.” The phoenix is another symbol for something that rises from the dead because a phoenix is a mythological bird that when it died would set on fire and from the ashes a new bird would be born. 

Fordson

The film Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football and The American Dream was an eye opening film for me. I learned a lot about the Islamic faith and the culture Muslims have. The movie was about a community in Dearborn, MI that is predominately Arab-American and the local Fordson High Schools football team. The football team is preparing for their cross-town rivalry game that is during Ramadan.  This film opened my eyes to a culture that I really did not know that much about and I couldn’t help but compare and contrast the Catholic faith that I practice and Islam. Also as a football player I understood what the guys were going through.

            After watching this film I had a whole new perspective on the Islamic faith. I never knew how important family was to the Islamic faith. The film shows how important family is by showing how the families during Ramadan would always eat there only meal of the day together. I like that they do that because I believe that family is everything. I also was impressed with the commitment people had towards their faith because during Ramadan they do not eat all day until after sunset. This is incredible to me because I don’t know if I could ever do that for a solid month. While watching this film as a Catholic I started to think what period of time during the year I have to fast. I instantly thought about Lent and how a Catholics are not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. I realized that not eating meat on Fridays is not that bad because these people only eat one meal a day for about a whole month.

           

As a football player I was very impressed that even during practice for a huge rivalry game the Islamic players still did not drink water or anything. All I can say is wow. To not have water during practice would be an extremely hard thing for me and on top of that not having anything to eat the whole day would drive me crazy. To be that dedicated to your faith is a very honorable thing because as a person who has been in high school and played football it is easy to get caught up and feel like football is the center of your universe. But in all reality it is not. These kids in this film showed that even though football is a big part of their lives, there are still more important things then it. These kids showed how dedicated they are to their faith and family. Looking back at it I wish that I dedicated myself to my faith the way those kids do. 

Family Ties

When thinking of the word kindred, the words that come to mind are: intimate, personal, home.  Octavia Butler bases her novel, Kindred, on family in an interesting way.  Little does Dana know prior to escaping the present, she is sent back in time to tend to her ancestors.  Butler wisely chooses familial ties to be incorporated in the novel to demonstrate the hardships and struggles between black and white, and how Dana is to deal with what she believes to be wrong.  The story would be dramatically different if Dana was not sent to save Rufus, who is part of her bloodline, and more so every reason to keep him alive.

When Dana first saves Rufus, she is confused as to why she is sent and why her in particular.  When coming to the realization that Rufus’ last name is Weylin, she thinks to herself, “Was that why I was here?  Not only to ensure the survival of one accident-prone small boy, but to ensure my family’s survival, my own birth” (29).  It is clear to Dana that by changing the past, the future is in jeopardy.  Her thoughts soon lead to, “But this child needed special care.  If I was to live, if others were to live, he must live.  I didn’t care test the paradox” (29).  As much as Dana disagrees with Rufus at times, he is her part of her history—part of her own blood.  For that, she has a difficult time coping with the man that she is to save, yet wants to kill.  If Rufus had not been part of her family, I think Dana would have managed things much differently.  She would not feel a special connection as well as a desire to keep her and her family alive.

Dana and Rufus’ relationship grows in an interesting way.  She feels a sense of hatred toward him, yet goes on forgiving him time after time.  She thinks to herself, “However little sense it made, I cared.  I must have.  I kept forgiving him for things…” (180).  This is what family is all about.  Forgiveness.  When thinking about Rufus raping Alice, she thinks, “It was so hard to watch him hurting her—to know that he had to go on hurting her if my family was to exist at all” (180).  Dana is in a tough position because Rufus and Alice are to bear a child, a child that will confirm Dana’s existence.   If it had not depended on that, I think Dana would go about handling Rufus and Alice’s relationship in a completely different light.  She would have no reason to hold back because her life would not depend on it.

The section of “The Rope” is when the novel takes full turn.  Alice passes on from suicide or Rufus’ doing—we are not sure—and now that she is gone, Rufus makes a pass at Dana.  As he is holding her down she thinks to herself, “I could accept him as my ancestor, my brother, my friend, but not my master, and not as my lover” (260).  The moment Rufus seems farthest from family as possible is when Dana has the strength to put it all to an end.  She is aware that she can go on living without Rufus now that Hagar has been born and Alice is gone.

Kindred is such a powerful piece of literature that I found myself wanting more and more.  It is difficult to put the book down.  Butler thoughtfully chooses to tie in familial bonds to create a sense of indifference and internal struggle.  Dana feels at home on the plantation, for there are personal and intimate connections.  Fighting to save someone who is doing something morally wrong is a hardship one must decide in order to survive.

Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football

Cassandra McCulley

Dr. Sharon Oster

ENGL 130

Extra Credit: “Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football”

Rashid Ghazi’s film, “Fordson: Faith, Fasting, Football” was a film that captured the essence of a religion, culture, and sport in such a beautiful manner. Powerful messages were brought to light throughout the film by Ghazi and the Fordson High School football team. This film opened up my eyes not only about the Muslim faith and religion, but also about the way Muslim Arab Americans were viewed and treated after the tragedy of 9/11.

In his film, Ghazi features the Fordson High School football team from Dearborn, Michigan. The high school itself is about 3,340 students, with an estimated 95% Arabic population; the football team has an estimated 98% Arabic population. The film discusses the stereotype that most Arabs are accustomed to soccer, but in this particular community, fathers, sons, brothers, and cousins are all die hard football players and fans.

The film begins with an uplifting spirit and sets the mood for an inspirational story, however, Ghazi chose to incorporate the impact made on the school and its football team after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The school was continuously threatened, and the players were victims of discrimination. A particular quote from the movie stuck out to me that describes the Arab American community and the way they are treated as, “One day a respected neighbor, the next day a suspected enemy.” One player in particular, witnessed his own brother become a victim of discrimination. It amazed me that a football team of teenage boys were able to conduct themselves with poise and continue on their paths of self determination, even though they were constantly being discriminated against by the entire nation based on their religion and ethnicity. This raised questions to me. Why, as a nation, are we so quick to call ourselves victims of these terrorist attacks, while we ourselves have put our own brothers and sisters through hardships just as bad? Did we not bind up African Americans and use them as slaves? Did we not force Japanese Americans into refugee camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor? How can we call ourselves the land of the free and promote the American dream if we patronize various cultures and religions?

Despite the discrimination, the football players constantly practiced their Muslim religion. The religion, however, did pose a few hardships during season. Ramadan. The holy month of fasting. Each year, the Muslim faith participates in Ramadan, 30 days of fasting. Each day, members of the Muslim faith refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. But, for a teenage boy who wakes up every morning to go to school for seven hours, followed by another several hours of football practice. This particular film shows the football team preparing for their largest rivalry game while undergoing the fasting of Ramadan. I thought this was simply amazing. During all the intense exercise and workouts, these boys are unable to have a sip of water, yet they do not complain and even succeeded in beating their cross-town rivals. I found it particularly inspiring that coaches that did not practice the faith decided to take part in the fast as well, in order to see what their players were going through. At the end of the film, we learned that the head coach decided to hold over night practices during Ramadan so that the workouts were not so trying on the players.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and learned not only a lot about their culture, but I also was able to stop myself and break some stereotypes that have been planted. “We cannot defend freedom abroad, by deserting it at home.”

Kindred: What Would You Do?

In Octavia E. Butler's powerful novel, Kindred, an African American woman that lives in California in 1976 is involuntarily taken back in time to Maryland in 1815. The protagonist, Dana, realizes very early on in the novel that the place she keeps visiting in Maryland is in fact a plantation that her ancestors were slaves on before the Civil War. Dana knows that she cannot change the course of events in the 1800s or else she might cease to exist. Rufus Weylin, the slave master's son, is the reason Dana travels back and forth between the two times. When Rufus is near death, Dana returns to the 1800s, but when Dana's life is threatened on the plantation, she returns to 1976.

Dana is able to see first hand what her ancestors when through as slaves and she tries to teach some morality to the slave masters. However, Rufus began to turn on her and treat her as a slave. But Dana was faces with the problem that if she were to kill Rufus, the man that continuously beats her and holds her from her freedom, she would no longer exist because he is the man who bore Dana's great great grandmother (great grandmother?).

This novel brought up many questions and thoughts within me. What if I were to travel back in time and witness first hand what my predecessors had to endure? Although I am not of African American descent, I am Mexican. And although many people do not study or know this, Mexican American's were treated similarly to blacks. On the west coast, southwest, and into Texas, Mexican American's were lynched, beaten, and worked to the bone.

I did do research on the treatment and discrimination of my ancestors and came to find that when my great grandparents first came from Mexico, they worked in the field year round since they were six years old. The Texas Rangers were white men of power who would travel throughout Texas and beat Mexicans simply because they could. On several undocumented occasions, Mexican Americans were taken from their homes and lynched.

When my grandparents were growing up in Texas, my grandfather (a dark skinned Mexican) was discriminated against almost constantly. He was turned away from restaurants, he was treated unfairly, and was beaten up for no reasons at all; while my grandmother (a light skinned Mexican) was only discriminated against if she spoke, due to her heavy accent, otherwise simply based on the color of her skin, she was treated equally.

I couldn't imagine going through what Dana did, but I can only be thankful for what my predecessors have done for me. This novel opened up my eyes and really made me realize how blessed I am that because of what my ancestors endured, I can live my life with less worry.

Damaged Beyond Repair

http://astraldreamer.deviantart.com/

Cynthia Ozick’s, “The Shawl”, manages to evoke the cold horror in the heart of the Holocaust and the madness that essentially embodies those who have gone through such a tragic episode.  The narrator thoughtfully introduces the experience of adversity in different ways that will determine the future of three girls and the life they will live, or not.  Rosa, a mother, does everything in her power to protect her daughter, Magda.  A special shawl, viewed to possess magical qualities, is the very purpose of living.  It is the gateway to freedom, nurture, and survival.  The shawl functions symbolically in many ways and poses as different sources of life.  For Magda, the shawl represents shelter, food, and warmth, which are all necessities one would need to survive.  For Rosa, it represents possession, obsession, and her past.  Rosa’s niece, Stella, views the shawl as a way to escape the cold.  Ironically, she is viewed as “the coldness of Hell” (Ozrick 1) after taking the magical shawl that everyone seems to want control over.  Not having the same involvement of being a mother, Stella has a difficult time understanding Rosa’s stubbornness of clinging to the past.  After losing Magda, Rosa loses everything.  It is the shawl that enables her to hold on to her lost possessions.  Stella and Mr. Persky, a stranger who begins to break Rosa’s barriers, have a different view on the life that she is to live.

While Rosa remains broken and angry, Stella is able to move on and live her life.  Rosa’s madness and insane behavior makes perfect sense, but not to the ones around her, for “[her] Warsaw, isn’t [their] Warsaw” (19).  Readers may view Rosa to be crazy, insane, and downright mad!  She does not want to let go of the life she once lived.  It is her stubbornness that forces the people around her to become annoyed.  Rosa fails to see the support she does have and rather dwells in loneliness.  Her conversation with Mr. Persky demonstrates just that:

“I’ll walk you.”

“No, no, sometimes a person feels to be alone.”

“If you’re alone too much…you think too much.”

“Without a life…a person lives where they can.  If all they got is thoughts,
that's where they live."

“You ain’t got a life?”

“Thieves took it.” (27-28)

Rosa is comfortable being alone, for it is all she has known since coming to America.  She wants to “live in her thoughts” because she is able to access Magda by writing letters, ritualizing with the shawl, and reliving the memories.

By moving on from an event and merely forgetting the memories can seem cold, insensitive, and in Rosa’s case: vulgar.  She refers to Stella as “the Angel of Death” (15) and Mr. Pensky a thief, which parallels those who took her life.  I believe this to be a defense mechanism.  Rosa is creating a barrier and is reliving “the life before, the life during…” in her “life after”, as if creating her own concentration around her.  For what she has gone through, her insane behavior makes all the sense.  I can empathize with Rosa, for I too have lost a loved one.  Coping is very difficult, but I know that my dad would want me to live my life to the fullest and not hold back.  The memories will always be there to cherish.  Stella and Mr. Persky are indeed living their lives, and Rosa is living hers just the way she pleases.

Breaking Down "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath

Cassandra McCulley

Dr. Sharon Oster

March 25, 2012

Breaking Down “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath

            After reading Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Daddy” for the first time, I really didn’t know what to think. I wasn’t sure if the narrator was Sylvia herself, I wasn’t sure if the father being described was indeed a Nazi, and I had very little knowledge about Sylvia Plath’s background to begin with.

            Throughout the entire poem Plath, the narrator, describes things that she has been feeling her entire life. We know this because on line three she clearly states, “For thirty years…” (3). So now that she is grown and writing this poem, we realize she is reflecting on her childhood. Her style of writing seems almost childish, somewhat similar to the old nursery rhyme, “There was an old woman that lived in a shoe…” This connection suggests to me, as a reader, that she is unable to let go of her past. She also uses other childish words and language such as the word “daddy”, also showing that she is unable to let go of the things that happened to her as a child.

            We later realize that her father died when she was quite young. Plath writes, “Daddy, I have had to kill you./ You died before I had time—,” (6-7). When I read this line I had to think it over a few times. By saying that she had to kill her father, I translated that to she had to forget him, she had to kill her memories of him. When she said he died before she had time, I wonder what she meant. What wasn’t she able to do before he died? This is answered later in the poem.

            Continuing on in the poem, we realize that communication was a big problem for Plath. In lines 24 through 30 she writes, “I never could talk to you./ The tongue stuck in my jaw./ It stuck in a barb wire snare./ Ich, ich, ich, ich,/ I cold hardly speak./ I though every German was you./ And the language obscene.” (24-30). Here we begin to realize that Plath was unable to communicate with her father. She was so scared that she could hardly speak. We also begin to see Plath’s references to the Holocaust. She continues to compare her father to a Nazi, and herself to a Jew. She was a prisoner, helpless, unwanted, a weak oppressed victim of her father.

            Then Plath began to talk about her own brushes with death. “I was ten when they buried you./ At twenty I tried to die/ And get back, back, back to you.” (57-60). She is describing her own three attempts at suicide here in such a unique way. I didn’t know she had attempted to suicide, although I did know she eventually succeeded in doing so. This was an interesting way of sneakily incorporating her death experiences.

            Plath’s writing continued to stump me. “And I said I do, I do./ So daddy, I’m finally through./ The black telephone’s off at the root,/ The voices just can’t worm through. If I’ve killed one man I’ve killed two--/ The vampire who said he was you/ And drank my blood for a year,/ Seven years, if you want to know.” (67-74). It took me quite some time to realize that she indeed married a man just like her father, who like a vampire, sucked the life out of her. But like her father, she left her husband, and is trying to get rid of all memory of him. I love the way Plath wrote about her husband in this poem. I love the parallels she creates between her husband and her father, and how hard she is trying to convey the message that she wants to be free of them and the memory of them.

            Although the poem clearly says that Plath is through, she never can be truly through because this poem will live on forever since the moment she put it down on paper. I understand why Plath received so much criticism from people during the time period the poem was written because World War II and the Holocaust were fresh subjects and she was deemed somewhat disrespectful because she compared her father and childhood to the Holocaust. But I think it really was beautiful writing. She was trying to connect to people, and make the poem so dramatic in the sense that people would be able to understand and somewhat relate. Although it seems controversial, I think this is an overall beautiful piece and is very intricately written.

Emergence of Man

            Frederick Douglass narrative is aptly summed up in a single quote: “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (Douglass 107). The dual, negative effects of slavery upon both master and servant is a major subject in Douglass’ A Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.   However, the importance of religion alongside running motifs of humanization and dehumanization of people based on their actions are actually set up an interesting set of parallels within the story however: the more learned Douglass becomes and the closer he comes to achieving his desired freedom, the more the corrupting effects of slavery upon the master are made known to the reader.  Simply put, the more Douglass grows closer to becoming a man, his masters seem to become increasingly less monstrous.

            The further entrenched Douglass becomes in the slavery the more inhuman the owners appear to become.  Initially, Douglass is faced with the cruelties of Captain Anthony and is exposed to the dreadful natures of slavery.  The key moment occurs when Douglass witnesses the whipping of his Aunt Hester at the hands of Anthony, a horrid occurrence that is viscerally described by Douglass; and terms like “gory” “iron” and even the very tone of the passage serve as violent imagery for Anthony’s vile actions.  And while Douglass observes that Captain Anthony has a sick enjoyment of whipping slaves, he notes that Anthony’s heart had been “hardened by a long life of slaveholding” (51).  Douglass’ metaphor establishes the first of many instances in which good men and women are made cruel and those already wicked are made even more so.

            The first step into breaking away from the notion of slavery is the attaining of knowledge and the ability to think freely.  When Douglass first begins to learn to read under the tutelage of Mrs. Auld, his lessons mark the first step away from enslavement. During this brief period in which Douglass pulls away from slavery his mistress is, for the most part, kindhearted and eager to help the young boy learn.  However, as Douglass observes: “the fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work.”  Douglass’ metaphor proves to be accurate foreshadowing of his friendship with Sophia Auld, as the mistress adopts the notions and ideals of her husband regarding teaching slaves.  Eventually, Mrs. Auld developed a penchant for restricting Douglass’ access to reading material, although this did very little to stop the now curious slave.  During this brief timeframe in which Douglass learned to read, Sophia Auld gradually learned the ways of slavery, another reinforcement of this interesting parallel.

            Ownership of Douglass is eventually passed onto the cruel slave-breaker Mr. Covey.  Douglass had been rebellious during his time as a slave: continuing to learn how to read and write and refusing orders of his current master.  However, Mr. Covey would prove to be an excruciatingly cruel master, and his introduction symbolically occurs alongside Douglass’ complete breaking as a slave.  When this occurs, his intellectual thinking is momentarily lost, as Douglass describes his leisure time being spent in “a beast-like stupor between sleep and wake”.  The reappearance of the word “beast” is an excellent choice of diction, and functions as a metaphor of Douglass’ temporarily lost intellect and broken soul.  Once again, it is under the hand of the cruelest slave owner that Douglass’ will is broken, and only through the ignition of his burning desire for freedom does his situation improve.

            It is during this state of rebellion that Douglass’ ownership once again changes hands, this time to Mr. Freeland.  Douglass also begins to instruct his fellow slaves in reading and writing, and eventually conspires to lead an escape attempt.  Douglass comes to relish the experience, but remarks with discontent his Sunday School’s treatment by the hands of religious owners.  In an interesting twist of irony, Douglass and the slaves attempt to educate themselves as grown men would, while the slave owners “rushed upon us [Douglass and the slaves] with sticks and stones and broke up our virtuous little Sabbath School at St. Michael’s–all calling themselves Christians!”  Douglass’ diction and tone help to bring the irony of the situation to light, and his exclamation and emphasis upon the word Christian is a prime highlight of his emotional protests.  Overall, Douglass’ rebelliousness and willingness to combat slavery seems to correlate with the condition of his master, culminating in achieving the greatest master of all: himself.

Nothings Perfect

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "The Birthmark", we find that no one and nothing is perfect. We are introduced to a perfectionist/mad scientist name Alymer. He is the one that sees Georgiana’s birthmark as an imperfection to the most beautiful girl in the world. Hawthorne shows us that nothing in this world is perfect and that searching for perfection can drive one mad. This is what happens to Alymer, he sees the one flaw in Georgiana and because he is a perfectionist he proceeds to try to get rid of that one flaw.

Alymer sees the birthmark as an imperfection and is willing to risk his wife’s life to get rid of it. The birthmark drives him mad and he even has a dream about him removing the birthmark. “Attempting an operation for the removal of the birthmark; but the deeper went the knife, the deeper sank the hand, until at length its tiny grasp appeared to have caught hold of Georgiana's heart; whence, however, her husband was inexorably resolved to cut or wrench it away.” (87) The idea of the birthmark is driving him so mad that in his dream he kills his wife trying to remove it. Alymer wants the birthmark removed from Georgiana’s face because that is the one thing in his opinion keeping her from perfection.

Even when Georgiana tells Alymer her concern over the removal of her birthmark Alymer still proceeds to convince her that if she lets him remove her birthmark that nothing will go wrong.  “I feel myself fully competent to render this dear cheek as faultless as its fellow; and then, most beloved, what will be my triumph when I shall have corrected what Nature left imperfect in her fairest work!” (88) is what Alymer tells his wife. He will be the triumph one once the birthmark is removed. But once Alymer removes the birthmark Georgiana dies and says “you have aimed loftily; you have done nobly. Do not repent that with so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the earth could offer. Aylmer, dearest Aylmer, I am dying!"(99) Alymer wanted the birthmark removed from Georgiana’s face that he did not think of the consequences of his actions. Sad thing is that the consequence in this story was the most beautiful girl in the world dying.

One thing this short story teaches us is that nothing in this world is perfect and you can never make anything perfect. To strive for perfection can drive one mad, just like it did to Alymer. Everyone and everything has a flaw, the perfect girl in the world Georgiana had one flaw and it was her birthmark.

Dehumanizing

To enslave people is one of the most dehumanizing things one can do as a human. After reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass I realized how dehumanizing it was for both sides of slavery. To force another human being into slavery is just as dehumanizing as it is for the person being enslaved. Slavery has been a sad part of human history and I feel very fortunate that our country no longer participates in it.

            One might argue that the only people being dehumanized in slavery are those who are being enslaved. Yes it is horrible to beat and whip people half to death, to treat someone like a piece of property, to treat them like livestock, to never let them taste freedom, and many more things. All that I have listed are awfully dehumanizing and to dehumanize a person is one of the worst things one could do to another human being. But for those who held the whip, which enslaved other people, were also being dehumanized. For a person to treat a human being the way slave traders and slave masters did is just has dehumanizing as being a slave. It is barbaric to take a whip and whip someone half to death.

            Before he commenced whipping Aunt Hester, he took her into the kitchen, and stripped her from neck to waist, leaving her neck, shoulder and back, entirely naked. He then told her to cross her hands, calling her at the same time a d---d b---h. after crossing her hands, he tied them with a strong rope, and led her to a stool under a large hook in the joist, put in for the purpose……… and after rolling up his sleeves, he commenced to lay on the heavy cow skin, and soon the warm, red blood came dripping to the floor. (52)

            This scene from the book shows how dehumanizing it was for both sides of slavery. Aunt Hester in this scene half naked and is whipped half to death in front of the other slaves. She is humiliated and she is not treated like a human being at all. Now for the slave master who is whipping her it is also dehumanizing for him. It is barbaric to beat someone half to death and to own another human being is outrages. How does forcing another human being to do your work humane at all? It is not.

            In the book there are multiple examples of whites becoming dehumanized while participating in slavery. One example is Mrs. Auld she went from a women who never had a slave her life to a women who was just as ruthless as a person raised with slaves. She at first tries to teach Douglass how to read and is kind to Douglass and treats him nicely. But as she becomes accustomed to having a slave she becomes brutal and almost the complete opposite of how she started. She became just as barbaric as the people that owned slaves there whole life. Another example is when Mr. Gore shoots a slave named Demby and kills him. But as Douglass describes Mr. Gore doing so he talks about how Mr. Gore showed no remorse. After reading that scene of the book I felt like Mr. Gore treated the death of Demby as if he was just an animal. He shot him as if he was not a human.

            Slavery is a dark pass for the human race as a whole. It was dehumanizing in every way. It is astonishing that we treated human beings that way back then. I am glad that we no longer have slavery. Slavery is one of the worst acts in human history and I hope that we never have to experience it in any way again. 

Reflection on the Physical and Mental Hardships of Enslavement

Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is an extraordinary and touching piece of writing.  The wording, imagery, and poetic rhythm captivate me.  I want to focus primarily on the first chapter.  This particular section of the narrative is thoroughly engaging.  Here, Douglass explains how a man becomes a slave.  From not knowing one’s identity, to being beaten, lashed, and stripped of merely everything is what we, as readers, are immediately thrown into.  To put oneself back in such a time is heart wrenching, but learning the history and triumph is a humbling experience.

“The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest.  He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin” (51).

The way Douglass describes his first witness is moving.  Without even going into great detail just yet, I can still place myself at the scene.  The fact that he describes someone being beaten, rather than himself, engages the reader in visualizing through Douglass’ eyes.  I reread this quote many times, for there is a rhythm that I find poetic.  The beat is like that of the whip, which has a great impact on the connection with the text.  When explaining his first witness, Douglass explains, “It struck me with awful force”, (51) which correlates to the lash of the whip.  This is the first of many beatings that Douglass observes in his lifetime, but it is this particular scene that leads the path for what is to come.

Growing up deprived of an identity, such as a name or family history, seems to be unsettling for Douglass.  He states, “A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood” (47).  Not having the privilege of being an individual would be horrifying, for there is no way to differentiate oneself from another. 

Throughout the narrative, Douglass remains devoted to separate the slave from the man.  He succeeds by gaining the power of knowledge and recognizing that freedom is attainable.  Douglass, like the other slaves, was stripped of simply everything, yet educating himself led him to freedom.

Imperfection: Merely Superficial

            Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark” is a tale that showcases a thematic discussion of perfection versus imperfection, and the natural versus the unnatural.  The crux of the story’s narrative revolves around Aylmer, a scientist, and his wife Georgiana.  Georgiana is described as a picture of beauty by most, a picture only lightly tarnished by a small birthmark upon her face.  Unfortunately for Georgiana, Aylmer is unable to look past this slight imperfection, and seeks to concoct a formula that will remove the mark from her face permanently.  Aylmer’s efforts grow towards borderline obsession, and his ultimately bitter success offers an interesting perspective upon the motifs of perfection and imperfection.  Aylmer becomes more and more absorbed in perfecting his wife by removing the birthmark, but is unable to understand that the mark itself grants a semblance of natural perfection. 

            The most important aspect of the birthmark is the strangely polarizing descriptions made by Aylmer and those of other men.  When the birthmark is first discussed, the narrator explains how Georgiana’s previous lovers would playfully claim the birthmark was created when a “fairy at her birth hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek, and left this impress there in token of the magic endowments that were to give her such sway over all hearts” (85).  The metaphor utilized by Hawthorne paints the origins of the birthmark in a positive light, as though its creation were a gift from a spirit of the supernatural.  The diction is crucial to the metaphor, especially the words “fairy,” and “token.”  The word “token” implies that the birthmark is a gift rather than a scar and the term “fairy” hints that this gift was granted by a kindly, otherworldly being.

            On the other hand, Aylmer tends to assume the opposite view.  Rather than viewing the birthmark The scientist describes the birthmark on several occasions as being a “bloody hand” or even a “fatal hand” and views the mark as the sole permanent marring of Georgiana’s perfection.  Aylmer’s quest to remove the mark progresses to near obsession however, as the scientist slowly comes to believe that the imperfections created by the mark have grown more than skin deep.  In a telling moment,  Aylmer displays the corrosive effects of an acid and upon being asked by Georgiana if this solution is intended for her, Aylmer replies that the solution was “merely superficial” and that Georgiana’s “case demands a remedy that shall go deeper” (93).  The word “remedy” indicates that Aylmer perceives the birthmark in the same vein as a disease or plague that must be cured.  When coupled with the words “merely superficial” however, imply that Aylmer believes this imperfection has grown beyond a mere birthmark and become a figurative scar upon Georgiana’s soul.  The foreshadowing of Aylmer’s remedy displays his desire to cleanse not only his wife’s face, but her very spirit through unnatural means.

            The ultimate irony at the end of the tale is stated by the narrator: Aylmer had “failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present” (99). In becoming so consumed with removing this twinge of perceived imperfection from his wife’s body, the narrator concludes that Aylmer failed to realize that it is only through accepting these natural imperfections that humans are capable of understanding the true, natural perfection that lies beyond, or is perhaps even augmented by these birthmark-like blemishes.  Instead, Aylmer’s intent to remove the mark by unnatural, scientific means results in Georgiana’s death, a sign that the very imperfections she possessed were the only link to the living world.

The Power of the Written Word: A Frederick Douglass Reflection

This week, we began to read "Frederick Douglass: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave". This book, as I read it intently, has had great impacts on me. Not only was his story powerful, but the way he wrote it (in my eyes) seemed as close as perfection as one could get. The words that he chose not created imagery and rather than just informing the readers of how things were, his words evoked emotions within me.

The first thing that caught my eye and attention was the second sentence of his story. "I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it." (47) At first glance, you continue to read, because the generally the second sentence in a story is still part of the introduction, but you are stopped, almost forced to commit a double take. Wait, what? He doesn't even know his date of birth? Almost every biography, or story about one's life begins with a birthdate, thus showing the reader from the very beginning that his story is not like any other you've read about.

The next thing that is very interesting about his story is the imagery and emotions that he creates in his story. My attention was drawn to page 51.

"The louder she screamed, the harder he whipped; and where the blood ran fastest, there he whipped longest. He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush; and not until overcome by fatigue, would he cease to swing the blood-clotted cowskin. I remember the first time I ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. I was quite a child, but I well remember it. I never shall forget it whilst I remember any thing. It was the first of a long series of such outrages, of which I was doomed to be a witness and a participant. It struck me with awful force. It was the blood-stained gate, the entrance to the hell of slavery, through which i was about to pass. It was a most terrible spectacle. I wish I could commit to paper the feelings with which I beheld it."


This passage was one of the most powerful to me.  Because it really made me stop and think, this isn't just a story, this is what happened in real life, not only to Douglass but to so many people, in my country, this was real. The last sentence when he says that he wishes he could say in words how this horrible experience made him feel shows just how strong it was. The part about the "entrance to the hell of slavery" was so incredibly written. He could have easily just written about the experience and that it was horrible, but he makes the readers think about how severe it was, it wasn't just what they endured, it was indeed the worst experience he had had at that moment in his life. I felt astonished, which was odd considering we have always been taught about slavery and I've known that they endured this. It was just a matter of the past, it was history to me. But he made me feel legitimately sorrowful, and disgusted, fearful for him and the other slaves that had to go through this.

Another passage that had a great impact on me was when he described the slaves singing. "Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears." (58) This just makes my heart sink, and although the content is depressing, it is so beautifully written. He puts things into perspective for his readers, he wants to make them understand how he's feeling, not just what is happening. Overall this story has shown me how the written word can have an actual affect on the reader, and this writing, although evoking many sorrow-like emotions, is beautiful.

Beyond Skin Deep

“…he failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all eternity, to find the perfect future in the present”

Although Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Birthmark, was written during the Romanticism era, it is a piece that is relatable to the modern time in which we live.  The theme of this short story is the representation of the beauty of nature, which is far more powerful than science.  Aylmer, who’s arrogant confidence gets in the way of his lovely infatuation for his wife, Georgiana, fails to see the beauty of life.  Due to his magical abilities in the laboratory, this scientist is one who strives to correct any imperfection.  Aylmer becomes repulsive toward Georgiana’s single flaw, which is the tiny birthmark of a handprint resting on her cheek.  Like many people today, it is Aylmer’s goal to reach the impossible: perfection.

Georgiana is a charming woman who enchants everyone around her.  Men find the birthmark she possesses to enhance her loveliness, while woman despise her for the all around beauty and the flaw that makes her unique.  Aylmer finds this “visible mark of earthly imperfection” (85) to be a defect that separates Georgiana from the ideal.  This obsession is one that many possess today.  It is the obsession that imperfectability is for some reason not accepted, therefore people go to great lengths to achieve the impossible.  Measures such as plastic surgery, wealth, and even medication have people preoccupied.  People, such like Aylmer, are blinded by the beauty of nature itself, which is far more powerful than any enhancement, for once one goal is reached another is to be attained.  It is a never-ending cycle of reaching perfectibility, and it often time leads to death.

While Aylmer’s mania grows deeper throughout the story, Georgiana’s birthmark embeds deeper into her being and is no longer superficial.  It becomes part of her, and without this pure and honest flaw, she is nothing.  Hawthorne reuses the word “fatal” many times when referring to the birthmark.  This word is powerful in the sense that perfectibility is met after death, when there is no social class.  Georgiana’s birthmark is what differentiates her from anyone else.  It’s fatality lies in the hands of who wishes to rid of it. 

I find the irony Aylmer speaks to be quite amusing.  He replies to Georgiana’s thought of death by exclaiming, “You are fit for heaven without tasting death!” (97).  Little does he know, the elixir, which he has concocted, is a deadly potion that cannot compete with nature.  Once it has been finished and the goal has been met, Aylmer accomplishes his utmost passion and desire, but Georgiana begins to lighten away.  The birthmark becomes more faint and is described as “the stain of the rainbow fading out of the sky” (98).  I think that Hawthorne selected this correlation very thoughtfully.  As the birthmark disappears, nature and mortality itself begins to dwindle.


The Birthmark exemplifies what many people struggle with today.  The feelings of insecurity and acceptance lead to an obsession that can be quite the battle.  Trying to reach perfection is killing what nature has made true, which is what I think Hawthorne is trying to portray.  The theme in which science cannot measure up to that of nature shows how beautiful imperfection can be, for it is what makes us mortal.

The Strive for Perfection

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story, "The Birthmark", we are immediately introduced to a very unusual character. The protagonist, Aylmer, is portrayed as an obsessive mad scientist, that is constantly striving for perfection. His wife, Georgiana, seems to the surrounding world, to be perfect. One simple flaw, however, is what holds Georgiana from achieving perfection (in Aylmer's eyes). The birthmark is described consistently throughout the story.

"[In] the centre of Georgiana's left cheek there was a singular mark, deeply interwoven, a sit were, with the texture and substance of her face. In the usual state of her complexion--a healthy though delicate bloom--the mark wore a tint of deeper crimson, which imperfectly defined its shape amid the surrounding rosiness... Its shape bore not a little similarity to the human hand, though of the smallest pygmy size. Georgiana's lovers were wont to say that some fairy at her birth hour had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek, and left this impress there in token of the magic endowments that were to give her such sway over all hearts." (85)

Hawthorne later implies that the crimson handprint upon Georgiana's face is what makes her like the rest of the "brutes" on earth, the only thing that separates her from the angels. Although it would have been a good story if it focused on Georgiana's life and how this enchanting birthmark affects her life, we are faced with a more interesting plot. Aylmer, Georgiana's husband, and his obsession to not only be perfect, but to rid Georgiana of her imperfection. Aylmer grows addicted to devoting his scientific work to concocting a potion that would erase the crimson handprint. Aylmer's assistant, Aminadab, is then introduced into the story.

Aminadab, although loyal to Aylmer, makes it apparent that if Georgiana was his wife he would never try to rid her of the birthmark. In this sense, I feel like Aminadab somewhat represents nature. Not only is he accepting of the natural birthmark that has planted itself upon Georgiana's face, but he finds beauty in the birthmark, and wishes that nobody would try to change her natural beauty.

The more Aylmer's desperation for Georgiana's perfection grows, the more Georgiana realizes that she does not have a problem with risking her life in order to perfect the imperfection, to make her husband happy. She speaks as though she would rather die than to remain imperfect in the eyes of the man she loves.

The crimson hand upon Georgiana's cheek is not only a trademark of her general appearance, but rather it has a grasp on her being, reaching beneath the surface, it is the fatal hand at the core of her being. In the end of the story, Aylmer's magical concoction kills Georgiana. "The fatal hand had grappled with the mystery of life, and was the bond by which an angelic spirit kept itself in union with a mortal frame."(99) This showed me that the birthmark was the bond by which the angelic is attached to the human, what keeps this angel from resorting to heaven, which graces the human race with her soul and spirit. The handprint that marked her cheek was holding on to her soul.

"[He] failed to look beyond the shadowy scope of time, and, living once for all in eternity, to find the perfect future in the present." (99) This passage is discussing Aylmer and his actions. I believe that Hawthorne is trying to say that rather than enjoying this angelic woman while he had her, he only focused on the future, when she would be without imperfection. He failed to remove his focus from time (mastering time) and didn't realize that his time with Georgiana is what was really important.

I thoroughly enjoyed this short story. The obsessive husband/mad scientist and the angelic human were all tied together in a very capturing way. I believe that even though Hawthorne probably didn't intend for this story to hold a cliche meaning, he created a question for the reader: Is perfection really worth the pain? And when we reach perfection, will we be able to enjoy it? Hawthorne definitely succeeded in showing his readers that beauty and vivaciousness lie within the acceptance of the imperfections.

Does Rational=Moral?

In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Black Cat",  many questions are raised as a result of the narration. Poe decided to compose this story using a first-person narration rather than using a third-person narration. The first-person narrator provides a much more appealing point of view to the story. Seeing the story through the eyes of the narrator, and hearing the story through his words, creates a larger sense of mystery. If the story had been told in third-person, the reader would not be left with questions unanswered, which I believe is part of the mystery that Poe intended for the reader.

An example of this mystery and failure to understand exactly what is happening is when the Poe writes, "My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, ginnurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame." (231) This particular quote was in response to the black cat, biting the narrator. Using first-person makes the reader feel like maybe they missed something, and begin to wonder whether or not this man is indeed insane for his reaction to a cat bite.

Later on in the story, the protagonist commits a series of vicious crimes in which he never fully takes the responsibility, but rather finds ways to avoid taking the responsibility while grasping any opportunity to blame the crimes on someone (or something) else. In my personal opinion, I believe this story is a confession, told in a defensive way. "When reason returned with the morning--when I had slept off the fumes of the night's debauch--I experienced a sentiment half of horror, half of remorse, for the crime of which I had been guilty; but it was, at best, a feeble and equivocal feeling, and the soul remained untouched." (231-232)  The first part of this quote seems like a confession, but as soon as the word "but" is included, it becomes a defense.

"...I aimed a blow at the animal which, of course, would have proved instantly fatal had it descended as I wished. But this blow was arrested by the hand of my wife. Goaded, by the interference into a rage more than demoniacal, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain. She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan. This hideous murder accomplished, I set myself forthwith, and with entire deliberation, to the task of concealing the body." (236) This is another example of confession versus defense. He is willingly telling the reader that he is intending to commit the crime of killing the cat but instead kills his wife. But, instead of showing remorse over her death, he immediately attempts to conceal the crime he committed, to defend himself.

Throughout the story, the narrator tries to justify his crimes. Although he writes that he is somewhat remorseful, his actions prove otherwise. He knows that it is morally correct to show remorse for such a heinous crime, but his words do not prove to be sincere. I think Poe is somewhat trying to illustrate the "actions speak louder than words" theory, and does a good job of doing so.

Drunkenness Killed the Cat and Wife

            In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Black Cat” the narrator who is on the eve of his death by hanging is explain the reason for doing such atrocious crimes. The narrator explains that his pet cat “Pluto” was his “favorite pet and playmate” (231). The narrator then describes how he soon became addicted to alcohol and becomes very violent and ill-tempered towards his wife and pets but “still retained sufficient regard to restrain [himself] from maltreating [Pluto]” (231). After a night of drinking he comes home and sees “Pluto” and becomes angry because the cat avoids him. In his anger he seizes the cat and the cat then bites him. This angers the narrator more and causes him to cut the cat’s eye out with a knife. He then proceeds later in the story by hanging the cat from a tree and the next day having to leave his home because it was burnt down. He later finds a new cat that treats him like “Pluto” use to. The cat would follow the narrator everywhere, but the narrator quickly started to hate this cat for doing so. This hatred then leads to the narrator murdering his wife and concealing her into the wall of the house. The second cat also goes missing after the murder and the narrator becomes happy about its disappearance. Of course the sudden disappearance of his wife causes questioning around the town and eventually brings people to search the narrator’s house. As the people search the house they go to the area where the wife is concealed within the wall and a sudden screeching noise comes from the wall. The cat is the cause of the noise and the cat is the reason the narrator gets caught for the murder of his wife.

            This narrator is very irrational in his actions. He first cuts his cats eye out because it bit him. If you ask me no matter how much I am under the influence and one of my pets bit me especially one that I love so dearly, I would never have the urge to cut its eye out. While the narrator is describing the scene of hanging his cat he sounds very irrational. “One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree;-hung it with tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart.” (232) This scene is very irrational; while he is hanging his cat he is crying and saying how much he loves this cat. That just doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone in their right mind kill something they love? Let alone cut out its eye and then hang it.

            Later in the story with the murder of his wife the narrator explains how he is going to kill the second cat. But while doing so in his drunken rage his wife grabs his hand and tries to stop him. “Goaded, by the interference, into a rage more then demoniacal, I withdrew my arm from her grasp and buried the axe in her brain. She fell dead upon the spot, without a groan” (236). What rational person would kill his wife while she tried to stop him? The narrator is so irrational that as soon as he kills his wife he immediately thinks about getting rid of her body and where the hell the second cat went. “My next step was to look to the beast which had been the cause of so much wretchedness; for I had, at length, firmly resolved to put it to death.” Also what rational person hates his pet so much that he feels the urge to kill it? Why not just get rid of it? Clearly this narrator has many problems, especially with dealing with situations rationally. 

Morality, Rationality, and Pluto

     Edgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat" is a short story that highlights the differences between rationality and morality and the atrocious result that is created when morality vanishes entirely.  The tale's narrator, now a prisoner awaiting his execution, recounts a series of events to the reader in order to "unburden his soul" (230).  Though these words imply a guilt-filled confession of a morbid deed, the narrator's diction, morose imagery, and peculiar tone throughout the course of the story are juxtaposed with one another to reveal the gruesome reality of the tale: a man with frightening lack of morality and slowly diminishing, though meticulous rationale.
     The narrator begins by describing the series of events as a simple "ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects" (230).  The word "natural" is most apparent of group, and is meant to imply that the events that befell the narrator were a mere series of ordinary coincidences.  Yet, this word stands in stark contrast to an earlier passage, in which the narrator claims the events of the story had "terrified" "tortured" and "destroyed me" (230).  The tone with which the words are spoken is clearly one of abruptness and fearfulness.  Therefore conflict posed between these two sets of words is confusing, for how could a natural event appear to instill such supernatural dread?  This problem presents a sort of foreshadowing into the tale, as the narrator often deems many of the story's happenings to be purely circumstantial.
     The narrator, an alcoholic, subjects his many pets to various kinds of abuse.  The lone creature exempt from his wrath is Pluto, a black cat and his favorite pet.  This safety is not permanent however, and an encounter between the narrator and his pet ends with violence.  As the narrator describes, with vivid detail, the gouging out of Pluto's eye, he remarks: "I blush, I burn, I shudder and I pen the damnable atrocity" (231).  While the words "blush" and "shudder" represent reasonable feelings of shock and shame, the term "burn" implies anger.  However, this anger is perhaps not directed towards the narrator, but rather towards Pluto.  This begins the recurring motif of the narrator feeling inappropriate emotions: the narrator essentially feels the hatred of his drunken stupor at the mere memory of Pluto.
     Pluto is eventually murdered by his owner in a gruesome manner: hanging.  The narrator then returns to bed, only to be awoken by a blazing fire.  The narrator escapes, but the cause of the blaze is left unknown.  In the ruins of his house however, the narrator discovers the impression of a "gigantic cat" burnt into the plaster of the ruins (233).  The narrator describes the cat as an "apparition" and this is all the more fitting given the name of the cat (233). Pluto's name, an allusion to the Roman god of death (and Greek god Hades) goes hand in hand with the circumstances following Pluto's death.  The blaze that awakens the sleeping narrator, the "apparition," and Pluto's look-alike are undoubtedly references to the spirits of Underworld, and death itself.  Even more startling is the narrator, who is capable of sleeping soundly after killing Pluto (233).
     The narrator's murder of his wife is the culmination of the tale and showcases the final show of strange emotion.  The narrator, intending to kill Pluto's look-alike with an axe, is stopped by his wife.  With little thought, the narrator turns on his wife and "buried the axe into her brain." (236).  The description of the act is spoken in a cold, calculating tone, as the narrator apparently cares little for the murder.  In fact, there is no real emotional reaction from the narrator, who immediately busies himself with hiding the body.  In showing no reaction, the narrator's reveals his absence of morality.  The narrator's meticulousness and rationality of thought is revealed in his detailed thought processes, particularly when discussing how best to hide the body.  The culmination of the tale, after the body is hidden in a cellar wall, sees the narrator boasting pridefully of his actions, only for his boasting to reveal the body's location to a pair of officers.  Having been outed, the narrator then angrily brands the cat as a "hideous beast whose craft seduced me to murder, and whose informing voice consigned me to the hangman" (237).  In short, the remnants of the narrator's rationality vanish once his pride has been crushed by the discovery of the two policemen.

Why Pluto is No Longer a Planet

Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat” is ultimately a confession in which the narrator explains, as well as acknowledges, the crimes committed leading up to the death of his wife.  Poe’s story includes the annoying black cat, Pluto, and its assumed ghost.  With a confession being a disclosure of sin and a defense meaning resisting attack or protecting oneself, it is obvious that the narrator is not protecting himself from anyone or anything.  Due to the excessive drinking of alcohol, especially, one can argue that drunks are highly inclined to be violent and easily set off.  Now, in his right state of mind, the narrator opens his mind to tell the readers his story.  In this case, the narrator is confessing and is aware of his sin and actions.  He is completely honest (assumedly, since he confesses so much in great detail) in terms of his thoughts, feelings, and actions and expresses this through a confession to the readers.

After the killing of Pluto, Poe explains the narrator  “again plunged into excess, and soon drowned in wine all memory of the deed” (232).  Obviously, the narrator is feeling guilty of the action performed, and any remembrance of it shall be washed away.  This leads to the heavily drinking that follows.  After ridding of the cat, a second one appears.  A ghost perhaps?  Poe describes the feelings toward this cat as “…disgusted and annoyed…rose into the bitterness of hatred…I came to look upon it with unutterable loathing” (234).   There is no defense in the words used to describe the emotions the narrator has toward the cat.  It is apparent that he wants this cat gone, caput, and out with a hiss as one might say. 

While attempting to kill the cat that has the narrator in shambles and disgust, the hand of his wife gets in the way.  With the disturbance of this hand comes a fatal misfortune.  In fact, Poe writes, “This hideous murder accomplished, I set myself forthwith, and with entire deliberation, to the task of concealing the body” (236).  There is no ‘oops, wife got in the way of my crime, I’ll kill her instead.’  Here, the narrator is admitting to the crime.  Absolutely no blame nor shame, and he feels accomplished!  Like killing your wife is something to be proud of?  Let’s just mount her on the wall like a trophy. (Trophy wife, get it?)  Finally, now, he can rest.  The deed has been done and he has rid of the animals and wife he had once loved.  The narrator exclaims, “…and thus for one night at least, since its introduction to the house, I soundly and tranquilly slept; aye, slept even with the burden of murder upon my soul!”  Tormenting and committing murder must be exhausting!  Without the perturbing Pluto, the ghost, and wife, the narrator is at once at ease. 

Now with the questioning of the authorities, one would think the narrator would defend himself.  Wrong!  He is so proud of his accomplishments that he goes as far as confessing where he put the body.  Poe starts off the “Black Cat” with, “But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul” (230).  Now, as he lie on death row, he must now with a conscious mind confess to his readers the reasoning of the fallible deaths of those he had once loved.