Analysis of The Black Cat by Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe wrote that unique effect was the most important aspect of a short story, and that everything must contribute to this effect. Poe's gothic tale "The Black Cat" was written trying to achieve the effect of shocking madness. In this first-person narrative, the narrator recounts his decline from sanity to madness, all because of an obsession with two (or perhaps one) black cats. These ebony creatures finally push him to kill his wife, whose death he tries in vain to hide. This short story easily achieved the effect Poe was looking for through the use of setting description, symbolism, plot development, diverse word choice, and detailed character development. In most cases, setting is generally indelible to a story, but “The Black Cat” relies little on this element. This story could have happened anywhere and be set in any time period. This makes the setting the weakest element of “The Black Cat.” Next, symbolism is always an integral part of any Poe story. The most obvious symbolic reference in this story is the cat's name, Pluto. He is the Roman god of the underworld. Pluto contributes to a strong feeling of hell and can even symbolize the devil himself. Another immensely symbolic element of “The Black Cat” is the title itself, as onyx cats have long connoted bad luck and misfortune. The most amazing thing about the symbolism in this or any other Poe story is that there are probably many symbols that only Poe himself knew were in his writings. Black cat. To imagine such a complex plot of perversity, alcoholism, murder, fire, resurrection and punishment is quite astonishing. This story contains almost every plot element you can imagine containing in a horror story. Who could have guessed, at the beginning of the story, that the narrator had killed his wife? The course of events in the plot of “The Black Cat” is incredibly insane in itself! Furthermore, the words of "The Black Cat" were precisely chosen to contribute to the effect of Poe's shocking madness. As the narrator writes them, he creates a wonderfully morbid picture of the plot. Perfectly chosen, sometimes sparse and often dark, his words create exactly the atmosphere he wanted in the story..