Smith 1 Jasmine Smith Dr. Reginald Watson ENG 115 Introduction to Literature 8th September 2019 Delusional Omens During the 19th century Edgar Allan Poe an American writer penned some of Americas most important and influential works of literature. Mr. Poe was known for his profound poem's short stories and critical theories such as “The Raven” and “The Tell -Tale Heart”. Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts as Edgar Poe to English born actor Elizebeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and Actor David Poe Jr. It is said that Edgar Allen Poe invented what is known as the modern-day detective story. During his short mysterious drug addicted life Edgar managed to pen some of the most beautiful yet macabre short stories ever written. Edgar had a talent for writing stories that openly explained the torment and pain and sadness deep within the human soul that is often not shown to the world to expresses his deepest sorrows. I truly enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe’s work, “The Black Cat” because of the symbolism Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office User: poems Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office User: Poe Comment by Microsoft Office User: You need at least one more point. In the Black Cat Edgar Allan Poe purposefully named the cat Pluto who in ancient roman mythology was an evil and vile ruler over tormented souls in the underworld. The black cat thought to be an omen of bad luck by those who are superstitious brings evil, unrest and torment to the souls of those around them. By naming the cat Pluto it is suggested that the cat brings bad luck and misfortune into the narrator's life. The narrator feels as if he has been led down a path of insanity because of Pluto's presence. “In speaking of his intelligence, my wife, who at heart was a little tinctured with superstition…...... which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise” (Poe 137). In this instance the narrator believes he is justified in his unprovoked attack on Pluto for he is vexed or cursed and has brought evil, violence and delusional thoughts into his life. Comment by Microsoft Office User: Make it clear what symbolism you’re going to discuss. Comment by Microsoft Office User: Enclose short story title with quotation marks. Comment by Microsoft Office User: is Comment by Microsoft Office User: Poe, by naming the cat, Pluto, seems to suggest that the cat brings… Comment by Microsoft Office User: fragment Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma Edgar Allan Poe works of literature in some ways paralleled his own life with violence and death being his focus in many of his poems as well as his short stories. Even though the human mind can see and process its own deterioration it does not have the ability to take a step back or stop the process. In the Black Cat the narrator is continuously pointing out the contradictions in his mind, he realizes that he is changing and that there is no rhyme or .

1. Smith 1
Jasmine Smith
Dr. Reginald Watson
ENG 115 Introduction to Literature
8th September 2019
Delusional Omens
During the 19th century Edgar Allan Poe an American writer
penned some of Americas most important and influential works
of literature. Mr. Poe was known for his profound poem's short
stories and critical theories such as “The Raven” and “The Tell
-Tale Heart”. Born January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts
as Edgar Poe to English born actor Elizebeth Arnold Hopkins
Poe and Actor David Poe Jr. It is said that Edgar Allen Poe
invented what is known as the modern-day detective story.
During his short mysterious drug addicted life Edgar managed
to pen some of the most beautiful yet macabre short stories ever
written. Edgar had a talent for writing stories that openly
explained the torment and pain and sadness deep within the
human soul that is often not shown to the world to expresses his
deepest sorrows. I truly enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe’s work, “The
Black Cat” because of the symbolism Comment by Microsoft
Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma
Comment by Microsoft Office User: poems Comment by
Microsoft Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office
User: Poe Comment by Microsoft Office User: You need at least
one more point.
In the Black Cat Edgar Allan Poe purposefully named the cat
Pluto who in ancient roman mythology was an evil and vile
ruler over tormented souls in the underworld. The black cat
thought to be an omen of bad luck by those who are
superstitious brings evil, unrest and torment to the souls of

2. those around them. By naming the cat Pluto it is suggested that
the cat brings bad luck and misfortune into the narrator's life.
The narrator feels as if he has been led down a path of insanity
because of Pluto's presence. “In speaking of his intelligence, my
wife, who at heart was a little tinctured with superstition…......
which regarded all black cats as witches in disguise” (Poe 137).
In this instance the narrator believes he is justified in his
unprovoked attack on Pluto for he is vexed or cursed and has
brought evil, violence and delusional thoughts into his life.
Comment by Microsoft Office User: Make it clear what
symbolism you’re going to discuss. Comment by Microsoft
Office User: Enclose short story title with quotation marks.
Comment by Microsoft Office User: is Comment by
Microsoft Office User: Poe, by naming the cat, Pluto, seems to
suggest that the cat brings… Comment by Microsoft Office
User: fragment Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma
Edgar Allan Poe works of literature in some ways paralleled his
own life with violence and death being his focus in many of his
poems as well as his short stories. Even though the human mind
can see and process its own deterioration it does not have the
ability to take a step back or stop the process. In the Black Cat
the narrator is continuously pointing out the contradictions in
his mind, he realizes that he is changing and that there is no
rhyme or reason for his actions. He knows that he is hurting the
cat unprovoked, but he cannot stop himself once he become
angered. “Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where
my very own senses reject their evidence” (Poe 137). Edgar
Allen Poe was aware that he was delusional and stated that the
evidence was clear. The terror and dread he felt for Pluto were
not enough to stop him from harming him and possibly made
him want to hurt him more and take pleasure in doing it.
Although as he talked to himself and was consciences that it
was wrong, there was also a desire for him to harm the cat that
overwhelmed his rational way of thinking. Comment by
Microsoft Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office
User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma

3. Comment by Microsoft Office User: “The Black Cat”
Comment by Microsoft Office User: Comma splice
Comment by Microsoft Office User: comma Comment by
Microsoft Office User: fragment
Reading Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat was enjoyable
because the symbolism about Pluto was vivid and detailed. The
message of the human mind and its ability to watch itself
decline was clear throughout the short story. I gained an
appreciation for how the short story was written with a feeling
of anguish and the back and forth, tug of war tone. Throughout
life we have all had struggles within our self and had to
challenge our own mind to get some resolve within a conflict. I
would recommend the black cat because Comment by Microsoft
Office User: As I mentioned earlier, you need to revise your
thesis statement so that you’re discussing at least two points.
Comment by Microsoft Office User: You need to finish the
conclusion by making connections to current day
situations/personal experiences. Comment by Microsoft
Office User: comma Comment by Microsoft Office User:
ourselves Comment by Microsoft Office User: minds
Comments:
1. Good start, but you need to develop this paper by bringing in
at least another thesis point.
2. Based on the second paragraph in the body of the paper, it
would appear that you’re trying to discuss the psychological
state of the narrator. Perhaps, this is an adequate thesis point
that you can develop in connection with Poe’s own mental state
(you would need some critical sources to back this up).
Otherwise, I would suggest that you discuss the Gothic elements
and/or macabre details utilized in the story.
3. Grammar problems: You had a few fragments and at least one
comma splice.

4. Works Cited
Poe, Edgar. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.
City Name: Name of Publisher, Year. Type of Medium (e.g.
Print).
LastName, First, Middle. "Article Title." Journal Title (Year):
Pages From - To. Print.

5. ghuhjhgcg