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写哥特小说中的犯罪行为及其表达的内涵吧。
这个可以帮忙的，要求多少字呢
爱伦全家于1820年7月回到里士满，埃德加在当地私立学校继续学业。表现出学习拉丁文以及对戏剧表演和游泳的天赋。写双行体讽刺诗。诗稿除《哦，时代！哦，风尚！》一首外均已遗失。倾慕一位同学的母亲简·斯坦纳德，后来把她描写为“我心灵第一个纯理想的爱”，并把她作为1831年发表的《致海伦》一诗的灵感来源。爱伦的商行在连续两年经济不景气后于1824年倒闭，但1825年他叔叔之死又使他成了一名富人，他在市中心买下了一幢房子。埃德加不顾双方家庭的强烈反对与爱弥拉·罗伊斯特私定终身。1826进入（一年前由托马斯·杰斐逊创办的）弗吉尼亚大学，古典，语言及现代语言成绩出众。发现爱伦提供的生活费不够开销，常参加赌博并输掉2000美元。爱伦拒绝为他支付赌债，坡回到里士满，发现罗伊斯特夫妇已成功地废除了他与爱弥拉的婚约。1827抱怨爱伦无情，不顾弗朗西丝·爱伦的一再劝慰于三月离家出走。化名“亨利·勒伦内”乘船去波士顿。五月应募参加美国陆军，报称姓名“埃德加·A·佩里”，年龄22岁，职业“职员”，被分派到波士顿港独立要塞的一个海岸炮兵团。说服一名年轻的印刷商出版了他的第一本书《帖木儿及其它诗》，作者署名为“波士顿人”，这本薄薄的诗集没引起人们注意。11月坡所在部队移防到南卡罗来纳州的莫尔特雷要塞。1828—29在一连串提升之后，坡获得了士兵中的最高军衔军士长。怀着当职业军人的打算谋求约翰·爱伦帮助谋求进入西点军校的机会。爱伦夫人于1829年2月28日去世，坡从军队荣誉退伍，居住在巴尔的摩几位父系亲戚家。在等候西点军校答复期间写信求爱伦出钱资助第二本诗集的出版，信中说“我早已不再把拜伦当作楷模。”爱伦拒绝资助，但《阿尔阿拉夫、帖木儿及小诗》仍于1829年12月由巴尔的摩的哈奇及邓宁出版社出版，这次坡署上了他自己的姓名。包括修改后的《帖木儿》和六首新作的该书样本得到著名评论家约翰·尼尔的认可，他为此书写了一篇虽短但却不乏溢美之词的评论。1830—311830年5月入西点军校；语言学识过人，因写讽刺军官们的滑稽诗而在学员中深得人心。约翰·爱伦于1830年10月再次结婚，婚后不久读到坡以“A先生并非经常清醒”开篇的来信，因此立即与坡断绝了关系。坡故意“抗命”(缺课，不上教堂，不参加点名)以求离开军校，1831年1月受军事法庭审判并被开除。2月到纽约。用军校同学捐赠的钱与一出版商签约出版《诗集》第二版。该书被题献给“合众国士官生”，内容包括《致海伦》、《以色拉费》、以及他第一次发表的评论性文章，即作为序的《致XX先生的信》。在巴尔的摩与姨妈玛丽亚，克蒂姆和她八岁的女儿弗吉尼亚同住；住姨妈家的还有坡的哥哥威廉·亨利，他于8月病逝，此外还有坡的祖母伊丽莎白·凯恩斯·坡，她因亡夫在独立战争中的贡献而领取的一点抚恤金弥补了这个家庭收入之不足。送交五个短篇小说参加费城《星期六信使报》主办的征文比赛；小说无一中奖，但全部被《信使报》于次年发表。1832—33住姨妈家，教表妹弗吉尼亚念书。写出六个短篇小说，希望加上《信使报》发表的5篇以《对开本俱乐部的故事》为书名结集出版。1833年夏天送交这六篇小说参加由巴尔的摩《星期六游客报》举办的征文比赛。《瓶中手稿》赢得五十美元的头奖，同时《罗马大圆形竞技场》在诗歌比赛中名列第二。两篇获奖作品均于1833年10月由《游客报》刊登。
埃德加·爱伦坡（Edgar Allan Poe，1809—1849），美国小说家、诗人、批评家。提倡“为艺术而艺术”，宣扬唯美主义、神秘主义。受西欧尤其是法国资产阶级文学颓废派影响大。小说有《怪诞故事集》、《黑猫》、《莫格街谋杀案》等。论文有《写作的哲学》、《诗歌原理》等。 爱伦·坡被誉为“侦探小说的鼻祖”。《莫格街谋杀案》、《罗杰疑案》和《失窃的信》被奉为侦探小说的先河。《莫格街谋杀案》写密室凶杀，凶手居然是猩猩。《罗杰疑案》借新闻报道，纯粹用推理形式破案。《失窃的信》是对人类心理进行解剖与逻辑演示的范本。在这三篇小说中塑造了业余侦探杜宾的形象，将科学精神和诗意灵韵融于这个理想的侦探身上，可以说他是柯南道尔笔下福尔摩斯的前辈
写哥特小说中的犯罪行为及其表达的内涵吧。
这个可以帮忙的，要求多少字呢
埃德加·爱伦坡（Edgar Allan Poe，1809—1849），美国小说家、诗人、批评家。提倡“为艺术而艺术”，宣扬唯美主义、神秘主义。受西欧尤其是法国资产阶级文学颓废派影响大。小说有《怪诞故事集》、《黑猫》、《莫格街谋杀案》等。论文有《写作的哲学》、《诗歌原理》等。 爱伦·坡被誉为“侦探小说的鼻祖”。《莫格街谋杀案》、《罗杰疑案》和《失窃的信》被奉为侦探小说的先河。《莫格街谋杀案》写密室凶杀，凶手居然是猩猩。《罗杰疑案》借新闻报道，纯粹用推理形式破案。《失窃的信》是对人类心理进行解剖与逻辑演示的范本。在这三篇小说中塑造了业余侦探杜宾的形象，将科学精神和诗意灵韵融于这个理想的侦探身上，可以说他是柯南道尔笔下福尔摩斯的前辈
你和我写的差不多啊，去网上搜下，哥特文学的重要性。下面是我找的资料，你参考下吧。哥特文学现在已经成为英美文学研究中的一个重要领域。对哥特文学的认真研究开始于20 世纪二三十年代, 到70 年代以后, 由于新的学术思潮和文学批评观念的影响, 该研究出现了前所未有而且日趋高涨的热潮。根据在国际互联网上的搜索, 到2000 年9月为止, 英美等国的学者除发表了大量关于哥特文学的论文外, 还至少出版专著达184部, 其中1970 年以后为126 部, 仅90 年代就达59 部, 几乎占总数的三分之一。当然,近年来哥特文学研究的状况不仅在于研究成果迅速增加, 更重要的是它在深度和广度方面都大为拓展, 并且把哥特传统同英美乃至欧洲的历史、社会、文化和文学的总体发展结合起来。爱伦•坡被公认为是“第一个写出真正的哥特式小说精品的美国人．使哥特小说朝内在化方面发展最突出的作家。爱伦•坡的诸多短篇小说如：《厄舍古屋的倒塌》、《泄秘的心》、《黑猫》、《红死魔的面具》、《活埋》、《陷坑和钟摆》、《一桶白葡萄酒》等都含有浓郁的哥特意蕴。
英美文学方向的选题太多了啊，网上一搜一大堆，选一个你自己喜欢并感兴趣的就行了。1、 透过《傲慢与偏见》看现代社会爱情观2、生与死的抗争--《厄舍古厦的倒塌》主题解读3、浅谈“欧·亨利式结尾”及其文学影响4、从宗教角度解读简爱的多重性格5、从女权主义角度剖析《小妇人》中的乔6、 “英雄”的陨落--悲剧美学角度分析《老人与海》7、 从《菊花》中看女主人公Elisa实现自我价值的障碍8、奉献与宽容---浅析《双城记》中的仁爱精神9、 《格列佛游记》中对理性的反思与批判10、浅析《警察和赞美诗》的戏剧化特色11、一场失败革命的反思---论《动物庄园》中所表现的象征意义12、论詹姆斯·乔伊斯《阿拉比》的精神顿悟13、从后印象主义角度解读《到灯塔去》中的双性同体观14、 从中西方道德观差异谈《伊利亚特》与《封神演义》人物品德15、 韦伯《猫》中的女性主义16、 浅析《儿子与情人》中的心理冲突17、浅析中西方喜剧文化---以《武林外传》和《老友记》为例18、从女性主义看《傲慢与偏见》中的女性形象19、《瓦尔登湖》中自然主义的现实意义20、 从男性角色解读《简爱》中的女性反抗意识21、论《荆棘鸟》中的女性意识22、 论劳伦斯《虹》中的异化23、《罗密欧与朱丽叶》与《梁祝》悲剧结局所体现的中西文化差异24、从《在路上》看五六十年代美国社会价值观25、 评希思克利夫被扭曲的心路历程26、试论马克·吐温短篇小说的幽默特色27、惠特曼的死亡哲学28、 论《呼啸山庄》--原始古朴与文明理性的交错色彩29、 论《了不起的盖茨比》中“二元主角”手法的运用30、透过小说《威廉·威尔逊》和《黑猫》看艾伦·坡的善恶观
爱伦全家于1820年7月回到里士满，埃德加在当地私立学校继续学业。表现出学习拉丁文以及对戏剧表演和游泳的天赋。写双行体讽刺诗。诗稿除《哦，时代！哦，风尚！》一首外均已遗失。倾慕一位同学的母亲简·斯坦纳德，后来把她描写为“我心灵第一个纯理想的爱”，并把她作为1831年发表的《致海伦》一诗的灵感来源。爱伦的商行在连续两年经济不景气后于1824年倒闭，但1825年他叔叔之死又使他成了一名富人，他在市中心买下了一幢房子。埃德加不顾双方家庭的强烈反对与爱弥拉·罗伊斯特私定终身。1826进入（一年前由托马斯·杰斐逊创办的）弗吉尼亚大学，古典，语言及现代语言成绩出众。发现爱伦提供的生活费不够开销，常参加赌博并输掉2000美元。爱伦拒绝为他支付赌债，坡回到里士满，发现罗伊斯特夫妇已成功地废除了他与爱弥拉的婚约。1827抱怨爱伦无情，不顾弗朗西丝·爱伦的一再劝慰于三月离家出走。化名“亨利·勒伦内”乘船去波士顿。五月应募参加美国陆军，报称姓名“埃德加·A·佩里”，年龄22岁，职业“职员”，被分派到波士顿港独立要塞的一个海岸炮兵团。说服一名年轻的印刷商出版了他的第一本书《帖木儿及其它诗》，作者署名为“波士顿人”，这本薄薄的诗集没引起人们注意。11月坡所在部队移防到南卡罗来纳州的莫尔特雷要塞。1828—29在一连串提升之后，坡获得了士兵中的最高军衔军士长。怀着当职业军人的打算谋求约翰·爱伦帮助谋求进入西点军校的机会。爱伦夫人于1829年2月28日去世，坡从军队荣誉退伍，居住在巴尔的摩几位父系亲戚家。在等候西点军校答复期间写信求爱伦出钱资助第二本诗集的出版，信中说“我早已不再把拜伦当作楷模。”爱伦拒绝资助，但《阿尔阿拉夫、帖木儿及小诗》仍于1829年12月由巴尔的摩的哈奇及邓宁出版社出版，这次坡署上了他自己的姓名。包括修改后的《帖木儿》和六首新作的该书样本得到著名评论家约翰·尼尔的认可，他为此书写了一篇虽短但却不乏溢美之词的评论。1830—311830年5月入西点军校；语言学识过人，因写讽刺军官们的滑稽诗而在学员中深得人心。约翰·爱伦于1830年10月再次结婚，婚后不久读到坡以“A先生并非经常清醒”开篇的来信，因此立即与坡断绝了关系。坡故意“抗命”(缺课，不上教堂，不参加点名)以求离开军校，1831年1月受军事法庭审判并被开除。2月到纽约。用军校同学捐赠的钱与一出版商签约出版《诗集》第二版。该书被题献给“合众国士官生”，内容包括《致海伦》、《以色拉费》、以及他第一次发表的评论性文章，即作为序的《致XX先生的信》。在巴尔的摩与姨妈玛丽亚，克蒂姆和她八岁的女儿弗吉尼亚同住；住姨妈家的还有坡的哥哥威廉·亨利，他于8月病逝，此外还有坡的祖母伊丽莎白·凯恩斯·坡，她因亡夫在独立战争中的贡献而领取的一点抚恤金弥补了这个家庭收入之不足。送交五个短篇小说参加费城《星期六信使报》主办的征文比赛；小说无一中奖，但全部被《信使报》于次年发表。1832—33住姨妈家，教表妹弗吉尼亚念书。写出六个短篇小说，希望加上《信使报》发表的5篇以《对开本俱乐部的故事》为书名结集出版。1833年夏天送交这六篇小说参加由巴尔的摩《星期六游客报》举办的征文比赛。《瓶中手稿》赢得五十美元的头奖，同时《罗马大圆形竞技场》在诗歌比赛中名列第二。两篇获奖作品均于1833年10月由《游客报》刊登。
噗。我也有书。我向神说，赐所有人一个GOOGLE吧，再不济咱用YAHOO.COM。= =|||
"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart".[1] In both, a murderer carefully conceals his crime and believes himself unassailable, but eventually breaks down and reveals himself, impelled by a nagging reminder of his guilt. The story is presented as a first-person narrative using an unreliable narrator. The narrator tells us that from an early age he has loved animals. He and his wife have many pets, including a large black cat named Pluto. This cat is especially fond of the narrator and vice versa. Their mutual friendship lasts for several years, until the narrator becomes an alcoholic. One night, after coming home intoxicated, he believes the cat is avoiding him. When he tries to seize it, the panicked cat bites the narrator, and in a fit of rage, he seizes the animal, pulls a pen-knife from his pocket, and deliberately gouges out the cat's eye.From that moment onward, the cat flees in terror at his master's approach. At first, the narrator is remorseful and regrets his cruelty. "But this feeling soon gave place to irritation. And then came, as if to my final and irrevocable overthrow, the spirit of PERVERSENESS." He takes the cat out in the garden one morning and hangs it from a tree, where it dies. That very night, his house mysteriously catches on fire forcing the narrator, his wife and their servant to flee.The next day, the narrator returns to the ruins of his home to find, imprinted on the single wall that survived the fire, the figure of a gigantic cat, hanging by its neck from a rope.At first, this image terrifies the narrator, but gradually he determines a logical explanation for it, that someone outside had thrown the dead cat into the bedroom to wake him up during the fire, and begins to miss Pluto. Some time later, he finds a similar cat in a tavern. It is the same size and color as the original and is even missing an eye. The only difference is a large white patch on the animal's chest. The narrator takes it home, but soon begins to loathe, even fear the creature. After a time, the white patch of fur begins to take shape and, to the narrator, forms the shape of the gallows.Then, one day when the narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new home, the cat gets under its master's feet and nearly trips him down the stairs. In a fury, the man grabs an axe and tries to kill the cat but is stopped by his wife. Enraged, he kills her with the axe instead. To conceal her body he removes bricks from a protrusion in the wall, places her body there, and repairs the hole. When the police came to investigate, they find nothing and the narrator goes free. The cat, which he intended to kill as well, has gone missing.On the last day of the investigation, the narrator accompanies the police into the cellar. There, completely confident in his own safety, the narrator comments on the sturdiness of the building and raps upon the wall he had built around his wife's body. A wailing sound fills the room. The alarmed police tear down the wall and find the wife's corpse, and on her head, to the horror of the narrator, is the screeching black cat. As he words it: "I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" Like the narrator in Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", the narrator of "The Black Cat" has questionable sanity. Near the beginning of the tale, the narrator says he would be "mad indeed" if he should expect a reader to believe the story, implying that he has already been accused of madness.[2]One of Poe's darkest tales, "The Black Cat" includes his strongest denouncement of alcohol. The narrator's perverse actions are brought on by his alcoholism, a "disease" and "fiend" which also destroys his personality.[3] The use of the black cat evokes various superstitions, including the idea voiced by the narrator's wife that they are all witches in disguise. The titular cat is named Pluto after the Roman god of the Underworld. Publication history"The Black Cat" was first published in the August 19, 1843 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. At the time, the publication was using the temporary title United States Saturday Post.[4] Readers immediately responded favorably to the story, spawning parodies including Thomas Dunn English's "The Ghost of the Grey Tadpole".[5][edit] Adaptations [edit] In film "The Black Cat" was adapted into a film starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in 1934 and another with Lugosi and Basil Rathbone in 1941, although neither version bears much resemblance to the original story.[5] Many other adaptations exist but the most faithful to the original is the middle segment of Roger Corman's trilogy film Tales of Terror in 1962.[5] Although the overall film was cast with Vincent Price as the lead, in this segment, he was in a supporting role with Peter Lorre as the main character. The 1934 film Maniac also loosely adapts the story. This version follows a former vaudeville actor who kills a doctor and takes the doctor's place to hide his crime. "The Black Cat" was also adapted into a film of the same name by Italian horror director Lucio Fulci in 1981. Film director Dario Argento presented his own loose adaptation of the story in the 1990 anthology film Two Evil Eyes.[edit] In television "The Black Cat" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Masters of Horror. The plot essentially retells the short story in a semi-autobiographical manner, with Poe himself undergoing a series of events involving a black cat which he used to inspire the story of the same name.[edit] Recordings In 1997, a compilation of Poe's work was released on a double CD entitled Closed on Account of Rabies, with various celebrities lending their voices to the tales. The Black Cat was read by avant-garde performer Diamanda Galás.[edit] References in literary works In 1970, Czech writer Ludvík Vaculík made many references to "A Descent into the Maelstr�0�2m" as well as "The Black Cat" in his novel The Guinea Pigs.[edit] References in art In 1910-11 Futurist artist Gino Severini painted "The Black Cat" in direct reference to Poe's short story. An illustration and description can be found at this site
爱伦·坡有一篇侦探小说《黑猫》，写的是一个人由于酗酒从善良变得暴躁，将他原本珍爱的黑猫普路托剜去了眼睛，黑猫从此对他敬而远之，在这里爱伦·坡有一段话是这样的：“我毕竟天良未泯，因此最初看见过去如此热爱我的畜生竟这样嫌恶我，不免感到伤心。但是这股伤心之感一下子就变为恼怒了。到后来，那股邪念又上升了，终于害得我一发不可收拾。关于这种邪念，哲学上并没有重视。不过我深信不疑，这种邪念是人心本能的一股冲动，是一种微乎其微的原始功能，或者说是情绪，人类性格就由它来决定。谁没有在无意中多次干下坏事或蠢事呢？而且这样干时无缘无故，心里明知干不得而偏要干。哪怕我们明知这样干犯法，我们不是还会无视自己看到的后果，有股拼命想去以身试法的邪念吗？”然后，此人将黑猫吊死在树枝上，当晚，这人家里起火，烧得家财散尽，只有一面白墙壁不倒，上面有一层浅浮雕，赫然是一只猫，脖子上还挂着绳索。他虽然用科学向自己解释了一通，但还是心存害怕，后来又从酒吧带回了一只与普路托相似的猫，这猫被带回家的第二天就不知被谁剜掉了一只眼睛，这使得他对这猫又深恶痛绝又害怕。一天他失手杀死了自己的妻子，然后想出了一个绝妙的隐藏尸体的方法——把尸体砌进墙壁。之后他发现黑猫竟同时不见了，心里充满了恐惧，在警察搜查他的家时，墙壁里发出了猫叫，原来他在慌乱中将猫与尸体一起砌进了墙壁。之所以如此详细地讲述情节是因为这篇小说写出了一连贯的潜意识，由于酗酒而暴躁，由暴躁而愧疚，由愧疚而恼怒，由恼怒而恶向胆边生，而后又由于愧疚而恐惧，由于恐惧而又暴躁，总之心理描写层层推进，丝丝入扣。
你的论文准备往什么方向写，选题老师审核通过了没，有没有列个大纲让老师看一下写作方向？ 老师有没有和你说论文往哪个方向写比较好？写论文之前，一定要写个大纲，这样老师，好确定了框架，避免以后论文修改过程中出现大改的情况！！学校的格式要求、写作规范要注意，否则很可能发回来重新改，你要还有什么不明白或不懂可以问我，希望你能够顺利毕业，迈向新的人生。1、论文题目：要求准确、简练、醒目、新颖。2、目录：目录是论文中主要段落的简表。（短篇论文不必列目录）3、提要：是文章主要内容的摘录，要求短、精、完整。字数少可几十字，多不超过三百字为宜。4、关键词或主题词：关键词是从论文的题名、提要和正文中选取出来的，是对表述论文的中心内容有实质意义的词汇。关键词是用作机系统标引论文内容特征的词语，便于信息系统汇集，以供读者检索。 每篇论文一般选取3-8个词汇作为关键词，另起一行，排在“提要”的左下方。主题词是经过规范化的词，在确定主题词时，要对论文进行主题，依照标引和组配规则转换成主题词表中的规范词语。5、论文正文：（1）引言：引言又称前言、序言和导言，用在论文的开头。 引言一般要概括地写出作者意图，说明选题的目的和意义, 并指出论文写作的范围。引言要短小精悍、紧扣主题。〈2）论文正文：正文是论文的主体，正文应包括论点、论据、 论证过程和结论。主体部分包括以下内容：a.提出-论点；b.分析问题-论据和论证；c.解决问题-论证与步骤；d.结论。6、一篇论文的参考文献是将论文在和写作中可参考或引证的主要文献资料，列于论文的末尾。参考文献应另起一页，标注方式按《GB7714-87文后参考文献著录规则》进行。中文：标题--作者--出版物信息（版地、版者、版期）：作者--标题--出版物信息所列参考文献的要求是：（1）所列参考文献应是正式出版物，以便读者考证。（2）所列举的参考文献要标明序号、著作或文章的标题、作者、出版物信息。
埃德加·爱伦坡（Edgar Allan Poe，1809—1849），美国小说家、诗人、批评家。提倡“为艺术而艺术”，宣扬唯美主义、神秘主义。受西欧尤其是法国资产阶级文学颓废派影响大。小说有《怪诞故事集》、《黑猫》、《莫格街谋杀案》等。论文有《写作的哲学》、《诗歌原理》等。 爱伦·坡被誉为“侦探小说的鼻祖”。《莫格街谋杀案》、《罗杰疑案》和《失窃的信》被奉为侦探小说的先河。《莫格街谋杀案》写密室凶杀，凶手居然是猩猩。《罗杰疑案》借新闻报道，纯粹用推理形式破案。《失窃的信》是对人类心理进行解剖与逻辑演示的范本。在这三篇小说中塑造了业余侦探杜宾的形象，将科学精神和诗意灵韵融于这个理想的侦探身上，可以说他是柯南道尔笔下福尔摩斯的前辈
推荐你看 《哥特之魂》，您绝对会受益匪浅的，相信我。。。我也正在写哥特的论文，虽然是 in English的><
埃德加·爱伦坡（Edgar Allan Poe，1809—1849），美国小说家、诗人、批评家。提倡“为艺术而艺术”，宣扬唯美主义、神秘主义。受西欧尤其是法国资产阶级文学颓废派影响大。小说有《怪诞故事集》、《黑猫》、《莫格街谋杀案》等。论文有《写作的哲学》、《诗歌原理》等。 爱伦·坡被誉为“侦探小说的鼻祖”。《莫格街谋杀案》、《罗杰疑案》和《失窃的信》被奉为侦探小说的先河。《莫格街谋杀案》写密室凶杀，凶手居然是猩猩。《罗杰疑案》借新闻报道，纯粹用推理形式破案。《失窃的信》是对人类心理进行解剖与逻辑演示的范本。在这三篇小说中塑造了业余侦探杜宾的形象，将科学精神和诗意灵韵融于这个理想的侦探身上，可以说他是柯南道尔笔下福尔摩斯的前辈
"The Black Cat" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. It was first published in the August 19, 1843, edition of The Saturday Evening Post. It is a study of the psychology of guilt, often paired in analysis with Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart".[1] In both, a murderer carefully conceals his crime and believes himself unassailable, but eventually breaks down and reveals himself, impelled by a nagging reminder of his guilt. The story is presented as a first-person narrative using an unreliable narrator. The narrator tells us that from an early age he has loved animals. He and his wife have many pets, including a large black cat named Pluto. This cat is especially fond of the narrator and vice versa. Their mutual friendship lasts for several years, until the narrator becomes an alcoholic. One night, after coming home intoxicated, he believes the cat is avoiding him. When he tries to seize it, the panicked cat bites the narrator, and in a fit of rage, he seizes the animal, pulls a pen-knife from his pocket, and deliberately gouges out the cat's eye.From that moment onward, the cat flees in terror at his master's approach. At first, the narrator is remorseful and regrets his cruelty. "But this feeling soon gave place to irritation. And then came, as if to my final and irrevocable overthrow, the spirit of PERVERSENESS." He takes the cat out in the garden one morning and hangs it from a tree, where it dies. That very night, his house mysteriously catches on fire forcing the narrator, his wife and their servant to flee.The next day, the narrator returns to the ruins of his home to find, imprinted on the single wall that survived the fire, the figure of a gigantic cat, hanging by its neck from a rope.At first, this image terrifies the narrator, but gradually he determines a logical explanation for it, that someone outside had thrown the dead cat into the bedroom to wake him up during the fire, and begins to miss Pluto. Some time later, he finds a similar cat in a tavern. It is the same size and color as the original and is even missing an eye. The only difference is a large white patch on the animal's chest. The narrator takes it home, but soon begins to loathe, even fear the creature. After a time, the white patch of fur begins to take shape and, to the narrator, forms the shape of the gallows.Then, one day when the narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new home, the cat gets under its master's feet and nearly trips him down the stairs. In a fury, the man grabs an axe and tries to kill the cat but is stopped by his wife. Enraged, he kills her with the axe instead. To conceal her body he removes bricks from a protrusion in the wall, places her body there, and repairs the hole. When the police came to investigate, they find nothing and the narrator goes free. The cat, which he intended to kill as well, has gone missing.On the last day of the investigation, the narrator accompanies the police into the cellar. There, completely confident in his own safety, the narrator comments on the sturdiness of the building and raps upon the wall he had built around his wife's body. A wailing sound fills the room. The alarmed police tear down the wall and find the wife's corpse, and on her head, to the horror of the narrator, is the screeching black cat. As he words it: "I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" Like the narrator in Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", the narrator of "The Black Cat" has questionable sanity. Near the beginning of the tale, the narrator says he would be "mad indeed" if he should expect a reader to believe the story, implying that he has already been accused of madness.[2]One of Poe's darkest tales, "The Black Cat" includes his strongest denouncement of alcohol. The narrator's perverse actions are brought on by his alcoholism, a "disease" and "fiend" which also destroys his personality.[3] The use of the black cat evokes various superstitions, including the idea voiced by the narrator's wife that they are all witches in disguise. The titular cat is named Pluto after the Roman god of the Underworld. Publication history"The Black Cat" was first published in the August 19, 1843 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. At the time, the publication was using the temporary title United States Saturday Post.[4] Readers immediately responded favorably to the story, spawning parodies including Thomas Dunn English's "The Ghost of the Grey Tadpole".[5][edit] Adaptations [edit] In film "The Black Cat" was adapted into a film starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in 1934 and another with Lugosi and Basil Rathbone in 1941, although neither version bears much resemblance to the original story.[5] Many other adaptations exist but the most faithful to the original is the middle segment of Roger Corman's trilogy film Tales of Terror in 1962.[5] Although the overall film was cast with Vincent Price as the lead, in this segment, he was in a supporting role with Peter Lorre as the main character. The 1934 film Maniac also loosely adapts the story. This version follows a former vaudeville actor who kills a doctor and takes the doctor's place to hide his crime. "The Black Cat" was also adapted into a film of the same name by Italian horror director Lucio Fulci in 1981. Film director Dario Argento presented his own loose adaptation of the story in the 1990 anthology film Two Evil Eyes.[edit] In television "The Black Cat" is the eleventh episode of the second season of Masters of Horror. The plot essentially retells the short story in a semi-autobiographical manner, with Poe himself undergoing a series of events involving a black cat which he used to inspire the story of the same name.[edit] Recordings In 1997, a compilation of Poe's work was released on a double CD entitled Closed on Account of Rabies, with various celebrities lending their voices to the tales. The Black Cat was read by avant-garde performer Diamanda Galás.[edit] References in literary works In 1970, Czech writer Ludvík Vaculík made many references to "A Descent into the Maelstr�0�2m" as well as "The Black Cat" in his novel The Guinea Pigs.[edit] References in art In 1910-11 Futurist artist Gino Severini painted "The Black Cat" in direct reference to Poe's short story. An illustration and description can be found at this site