Short story analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short story analysis - Essay Example The Black Cat, after its diabolical murder, is resurrected and is hungry for vengeance and destroys the narrator psychologically. Stunning insanity Cat symbolizes misfortune as per Western traditions. Black cat in the story of Edgar Poe is the cause of double misfortune, when it lives and on its death. Cat’s mysterious gaze has the guile and is the pointer to uncertainties and in Celtic lore they are considered evil and sacrificial animals. They have the ability to see at night (darkness) which represents negativities and thus they are part of the underworld. Symbolically the veil of night shifts one’s perception of reality. The story highlights the effect of stunning insanity. The narrator tells how sanity turns to madness, the reason being obsession with the black cat. Evil has seized him; cruelty to animals becomes his way of life and finally drives him to take the life of his wife and the subsequent sin of trying to conceal her death. That he is alcoholic makes the characterization even more diabolic. Pluto, God of the underworld. Symbolically, the Black Cat is Pluto, the Roman God of the underworld. Pluto controls the hell and symbolizes the devil. ... The narrator’s action in gorging out the eye of his pet animal, the black cat, is mind-boggling. It amounts to torture of the ultimate level. To conceal his guilt, the narrator commits another senseless act. He hangs the cat in the backyard but the evil strikes back. The cat resurrects and itches for revenge, the narrator’s house is on fire and burns to the ground and he observes the image of a large black cat originating through the fire on the only wall that was still intact. He can still see the rope tied to its neck. After the fire, the narrator sees a black cat resembling Pluto, in a bar and takes it home. He observes next morning that the second cat is without one eye, which reminds him of his dark deeds. Conclusion The narrator does not lead the readers on a wild goose chase and is sane enough to understand the reactions of the readers for his insane acts. The details given in the story are not by a dreamer, but the one who knows the consequences of his ill-bodin g quests. He does not expect sympathy or rejection by the readers and his intentions about story-telling are deliberate. His psyche drives him to the point of insanity and at that stage he just cannot help acting diabolically. He expects them to think about the unthinkable and believe the unbelievable and respect the

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in APA Style Essay

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in APA Style - Essay Example Plato founded the Academy (approximately in 385 b.c.) in Akademeia, Greece where Aristotle studied. Plato used Socrates as a character in many of his dialogue writings. There is an issue known as the "Socratic problem" as it is not known in Plato's dialogue writings how much of the content is from the point of view of Socrates or from Plato since Socrates was not a writer. Plato was greatly influenced by Socrates' teachings and ideas so many of his dialogues were most likely borrowed or adapted for these teachings. Aristotle was a student of Plato. He taught what he knew to Alexander the Great. Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates were the three most well known influential ancient Greek philosophers. They laid the foundations of Western philosophy. Aristotle wrote on subjects such as poetry, physics, logic, government, ethics, zoology, politics, etc. Currently, the fields of mathematics, computer science, and law are more likely considered as branches of logic. (Wikipedia, Last Modified 2006.) The definition also includes "As a formal science, logic investigates and classifies the structure of statements and arguments, both through the study of formal systems of inference and through the study of arguments in natural language. The scope of logic can, therefore, be very large, ranging from core topics such as the study of fallacies and paradoxes to specialized analyses of reasoning such as probability, correct reasoning and arguments involving causality. Logic has been known as a set of rules that mak e up correct thinking. Logic is also commonly used today in argumentation theory." There have been many disputes regarding the true nature of logic. As there are many different philosophies, there are many discussions relating to this topic and because philosophies have many different views, arguments usually arise. An argument is defined as "a connected series of statements or propositions, some of which are intended to provide support, justification or evidence for the truth of another statement or proposition.  Ã‚