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LaToya Spraggins

 Miss Riley

 English 1302

 March 28, 2019

 Demonic Entity

Could it be that Alcohol is indeed a secret potion derived from the pits of hell disguised as a legal intoxicating drink that should be used responsibly?  

Edgar Allen Poe, The black Cat.  

A psychologist can find some worthy explanations when reading “A Black Cat” in regards to insanity, manipulation, and the love for murder.  Looking deeply into the narrators disregard for animals and humanity, it is extremely clear that alcoholics are completely honest with their actions; however the alcohol intensifies the rectitude.  

This theory is a Psychological/Psychoanalytical Criticism. The idea is to explore the mind of the main character to find a purpose or meaning in the text.  When dealing with reads such as these, it can be quite difficult to navigate through the mind of the character simply because the character could have gone mad, or doesn’t have a worthy explanation for their actions. Sometimes pure evil is just that.

In the short story “The Black Cat” narrated by a man who has several pets, and a dear wife, likes to drink heavily to the point where the character becomes an angry drunk.  Committing great atrocities, the odd individual continues to drink and the atrocities become much more.  

A Fair conclusion would be to assume that the main character is battling with demonic forces, witchcraft, and an evil temperament.  The disposition of this man is always uneasy and there is no peace for his soul or mind.  The theory of this short story would be nonetheless that he is possessed. Only an evil force could persuade you to harm an animal or to kill your wife.  The discussion will consist of behaviors that are consistent with demonic activity.  Both the story and the history of witchcraft will categorize together.

As we get a clear view of the narrator, we revisit his childhood in the text.  The character describes a normal childhood with a lot of pets.  “ I was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets” (Edgar Allen Poe, The Black Cat).  So far the character is helping readers to in visualize a standard childhood that could be compared to any other child’s experience. As the character gets back to present day, he talks about his intoxication and how being drunk completely changes him. He transforms to a different person and is easily angered.  This transformation also suggests possession of the mind.  Wickedness consumes him, and he without feeling gouges the cat’s eye out. Demonic possession is believed to be the process by which some individuals are possessed by malevolent demons. Results of demonic possession compared with the main character line up accordingly. Examples are a spirit of committing bodily harm to oneself or another, a spirit of extreme anger, a spirit of satisfaction only through another’s pain and suffering, and a spirt of murder!

The character suffers with rejection.  He was upset because his cat refused him.  A normal cautious mind would be okay with rejection. A vengeful and drunk mind would not be okay with rejection and in this case proceeds with an act of retaliation. The cat is missing an eye, Pluto returns back to his normal state.  The owner of the cat is remorseful while sober.  He is back to his sane self and is deeply saddened by his actions.  Soon deciding to rid the cat of its misery he ties a noose around the cat’s neck and then he hangs the cat.  Fire enrages the character’s home, and he sees the cat still hanging.  

The superstition of a black cat as the wife is privy to explains that these cats are indeed bad luck. There is a certain witchcraft suggesting that if a black cat crosses a person’s path from right to left it is a bad omen.  Black cats have played a major part in folklore and mythology.  When the character replaces the cat with one similar to the one he had killed there is an underlying tone that indicates perhaps the new cat was resurrected from the dead and reincarnated into a new form.  The cat looks like Pluto, but has a white fur on his  breastplate. He attacks this cat and when going for the cat, he accidentally kills his wife.  He decides to put her dead corpse behind the new walls of his house that was rebuilt by the fire.  

“Upon the fourth day of the assassination, a party of the police came, very unexpectedly, into the house, and proceeded again to make rigorous investigation of the premises. Secure, however, in the inscrutability of my place of concealment, I felt no embarrassment whatever” (Edgar Allen Poe, The Black Cat).  The evil spirit that has captivated the main character has deceived him and has made him believe that he can indeed get away with his murder.  He becomes arrogant and suddenly feels a sense of freedom because the police cannot solve his wife’s murder.  This is an indication that he is heavily influenced with an evil spirit disguised as alcoholism considering his lack of concern and his lack of empathy.  

 As the police are investigating and are left with absolutely no evidence, the character is intense with adrenaline and an evil joy fills his heart.  Suddenly there is a loud screeching noise that fills the house and alarms the police as they are exiting the home.  When the police are alarmed they come back inside the home and begin to investigate more.  They peel the plaster from the walls to find a corpse with the new black cat sitting upon the head.  The wife’s body is discovered and the narrator is arrested.  

To prove further argument, one could suggest that when comparing demonic activity with alcoholism it is important to pay close attention to detail.  You would need to understand both the history of how satanic rituals work together with influence of alcohol and other drug substances.  Satan’s purpose is to capture the mind so he can imprison the soul. This causes humans under the influence to robotically carry out the assignments that Satan has for all.  Being born with an evil nature, naturally individuals tend to do what is wrong opposed to what is right.  Biblically speaking this is why souls must be born again. In the bible the scriptures describe that one must repent of all wrong doing whether it is in the mind or it has transpired from the mind to an action.  God understands that we are evil in nature which is why Jesus was sent to die on the cross and shed precious blood for all sins.  He was a perfect human flesh that was sacrificed and able to wash away all evil and doesn’t remind individuals of their past by throwing it into the deepest parts of the sea.  

In conclusion one can assume that the character in the text struggled with his actions attached to alcohol.  The character did not deal well with rejection, and had no real psychological explanation for his exertions.  This can easily be written off as a diabolical summary on how satanic actions can be a relying factor for murder and other inhumane activities.  In a situation where God would allow a person to fall short at the enemy’s hand, first capture the mind, then embody the soul, last destroy the flesh.