Short Reading 2 - English

“And then came, as if to my final and irrevocable overthrow, the spirit of PERVERSENESS. Of this spirit philosophy takes no account. Yet I am not more sure that my soul lives, than I am that perverseness is one of the primitive impulses of the human heart—one of the indivisible primary faculties, or sentiments, which give direction to the character of Man” (Poe 80)."

Edgar Allan Poe includes the quote above in his disturbing short story, “The Black Cat” with some important lessons about human nature. Poe proposes people are innately curious and will commit wrongdoings merely because it’s frowned upon or viewed as immoral or wicked. Another idea the quote explores is how addictions can turn people into monsters. This notion is shown with the narrator who is aware of the consequences of his drinking, but chooses to disregard the hurt it inflicts on others. The narrator of the story struggles with alcohol addiction, unable to control his actions when he is under alcoholic influence. Poe himself had an alcohol problem and could possibly be reflecting on himself and his actions in his personal life with this short story.

One day the narrator experiences troubles with his drinking and the mistreatment of his wife and animals, except for a special cat named Pluto, until later. He had “grew, day by day, more moody, more irritable, more regardless of the feelings of others” (79). Not long after, he came home intoxicated and realized Pluto was avoiding him, so his anger got the best of him when, “the fury of a demon instantly possessed [him],” leading to the removal of one of Pluto’s eyes with his pocketknife. The next day he hardly feels guilty, choosing to ignore his malicious actions as he “drowned in wine all memory of the deed” (80). Eventually, one morning the narrator feels terrible enough about harming Pluto, that he decides to kill him by hanging him from a tree branch. He expresses, “with tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart… because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin” (80)—clearly stating he knew he was wrong for hurting Pluto, but he did so anyway.

After the murder of the first cat, the narrator had not yet learned his lesson when he met a second cat similar to Pluto. At first he was fond of the cat, but he quickly began feeling hatred toward the cat, reminded of the crime and torture he put Pluto through. When he finally has enough, he attempts to kill the second cat with an axe, when suddenly, his wife jumps in the way to protect the cat. The narrator shows not the slightest bit of remorse, but instead, immediately thinks of a way to hide the body.

There are two themes in this story that one can take away from the above quote. One is how humans are destructive at their own will, and the second is alcohol addiction, or any addiction for that matter, brings out the worst in people; perverseness in the narrator’s case. Throughout the entire story, the narrator continuously makes mistakes from the result of his drinking, purposely choosing not to refrain from alcohol, and acknowledging the alcohol has a negative impact on his behavior. This relates to the quote I’ve chosen about human nature and our inherent desire to do things we know we shouldn’t do. As postulated by Poe, “who has not, a hundred times, found himself committing a vile or a silly action, for no other reason than because he knows he should not?” (80). In this he is referring to his own alcoholic vices as he knowingly repeats his wrongful deeds several times.

Source:

1. "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. 1843.