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.