“Black Cat” and the “Tell-Tale Heart”
The writer of the stories-“The Black Cat” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” is referred to as Edger Poe. Poe uses narratives to provide common superstitious believes that, though appear harmless at the beginning, their ultimate results are disastrous to the believer. This fact is evidenced from his change of behavior from being caring and loving to be a senseless killer of the cat and the old man, although, the narrator was in deep love with these beings at the begining..
Superstitions form part and parcel of human nature because human life is characterized by high degree of formed opinions about life and its environment. Evidence of this claim is provided for in the story-“Black Cat” when the woman naturally had believed that black cat had some evil spirits in the house. Although her love for the cat was equal to that of the writer’s, she later became unresponsive to any form of fun that could be derived from being close to the cat.
Work’s doing
Therefore, Poe’s works, as presented in these stories, exposes disastrous nature of forming believes through human minds to a point of actualizing or letting them to control their lives. The main supportive evidence for this claim is when the narrator mentioned about his wife’s allusions to ancient notions regarding black cats (Poe (a) “para 4”). Another aspect accomplished by these episodes is the danger involved in the development of human anger, fury and displeasure in what affects our lives. For instance, from the story of the black cat, the narrator mentions that his early life was characterized by docility and humanity in his dispositions (Poe “para 2”). It is possible that this behavior highly contributed to his love for Pluto though not long did this last (Poe “para 5-6). That is to say, as time went by, his kindness and spirit of affection for the animal reduced to high level perverseness until such a time that he had to kill, not just one, but two different black cats (one after the other) ( Poe “para 9”).
A relevant example from the Heart story is when the narrator’s love for the old man (which was occasioned by special care and attention during night times) reduced to hate, displeasure and feeling of insecurity that arose from the man’s misconceived or superstitious mind regarding the old man’s evil eye (Poe (b) “para 4”). These illustrations imply that as human beings go on with their daily activities, it is imperative that their modes of actions be strictly controlled by rational thoughts rather than being guided by believes which have little or no basis.
Also, it is important for human beings to practice openness by sharing with close allies any disturbing thoughts that might have lodged in ones brain. Keeping issues in one’s heart, though terribly disturbing, never help but propagates the problem further to a point where self control can longer withstand pressure.
How his work does it
In order to achieve these roles, the narrator provides practical illustrations through continuous story telling on relevant issues related to superstitions and its effects on human emotional behavior. Poe’s objective to worn human race against the effects of superstition is achieved by providing the “Black Cat” and “Tell-Tale Heart” episodes in which after killing both cats and the old man, he remained terrified, confused, disgusted, disturbed and infuriated; conditions which he attributed to phantasm which completely changed his early-life character (Poe (a) “para 13,15”). Several incidences of real life experiences have s been shared in both stories in order to provide human beings with personal reflective tools that can help in gauging whether or not they might be affected by the same issues. Learning from the narrator’s first hand experiences is the best alternative provided to people so that effective control methods against misconceived thoughts can be applied at the earliest time possible.
The narrator’s work fulfills the other objective (danger of prolonged anger and bitterness) by giving results that were as a result of these behaviors. For example, the eye for the first black cat was deliberately cut off by the narrator after his fury grew wild (Poe (a) “para 7”). As though this was not enough, his anger developed further to a point when the narrator literally killed the black cat by hanging it under a tree (Poe “para 9”). It is possible that these instances are meant to help human being appreciate the fact their lives should not be guided by quick emotional instincts. In other words, learning and practicing self control is provides the best remedy for actions which might lead to regrettable actions or behaviors. From the “Tell-Tale Heart” story, a practical example of this case is provided (by the narrator) when he his action led to a life of fear and despair especially during night hours such that he had to keep remain awake due to silently disturbing voices that used to bother him (Poe “para 15-17”).
In conclusion, it is important for human beings to learn all aspects of their lives and factors around their environment. Although there exists several believes and explanations as to why certain aspects happen in life, it is important to measure these believes through rational thinking before accepting them as part of life as they highly determines human behavior patterns.
Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Black Cat.” Short story.” Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe: 320-29. Web. http://poestories.com/read/blackcat
Poe, Edgar Allan. The tell-tale heart. Random House LLC, 2004. Web. http://www.manythings.org/voa/stories/The_Tell-Tale_Heart_-_By_Edgar_Allan_Poe.html