The Black Cat

My Thoughts

This short story was hard for me to read due to my love for animals, and especially cats. When it comes to humans I have no problem with violence in fiction, but when an animal is involved I despise it. As a personal goal to read every story and poem written by Edgar Allan Poe, I struggled through the abhorrent evils that the protagonist placed upon his beloved cat in order to make it to the end. I thought the end was wonderfully done. I really enjoyed the "revenge" aspect that the cat brings upon the disgusting protagonist.

A lot of people compare the protagonist of this story to the one in the Tell-Tale Heart, but I found very little similarities. The protagonist in this story isn't exactly insane though he does have some extreme emotional issues. Perhaps he suffers from a bipolar disorder. He exclaims his deep regret a few times throughout the story for the pain he inflicted upon his cat. The protagonist in the Tell-Tale Heart is purely an insane psychopath that thought of himself as oh so clever without showing any remorse.

In the Tell-Tale Heart, the main character confesses due to the imagined a cacophony of beats that drives him insane. In the Black Cat, the main character doesn't confess but is only caught when the cat unwittingly alerts the police of the position of the body.

My Rating

I rate this story a 3.8 out of 5. The ending was great, but the harm to his beloved pet cat, who only showed him affection and love, was hard to read.