The First Reading. Expectations Confirmed.

I knew that stories written by Edgar Allan Poe were of gloomy atmosphere, but I didn’t expect that this one would influence me that deeply though my considerations about the plot turned out to be quite right.

In fact, “The Black Cat” can awake the feeling of, so to say, discomfort in an inexperienced reader, because it is not an easy story to perceive and comprehend. For many people who are mentally healthy it may seem to be the delirium of a madman. However, it’s not a mistaken idea, I might say, because the narrator (who is also the main character) creates an impression of a person whose actions sometimes lack motives, logics and, generally, common sense. He is driven by the “logics” of an alcoholic and it’s vividly presented throughout the story.

Now I’d like to say about the things I like in the story. Several crucial points may be distinguished here:

1.      The atmosphere is created in the best traditions of gothic style (which I adore).

2.      The ending of the story is clear, but still many things remain between the lines or even “behind the scenes”. The remaining mystery gives food for thoughts.

3.      The absence of judgments what is good or bad is also the thing I like. So, the author shows but does not impose his conclusions on a reader. It makes the narrative more objective.

As for the drawbacks of the story, they are the following:

- The usage of ornate vocabulary and constructions makes a reader consult the dictionary for almost every word. Though, on the other hand, this very peculiarity also creates a specific charm so that Poe’s style is felt in each sentence.

- The story contains the description of cruelty towards animals (a cat in this case) and the scene of murder. But if they were omitted the story would lose a lot of its singularity.

The distinguished pros and cons are totally subjective, contradictive and do not lay claim to be an absolute truth.

On the whole, I don’t regret my choice and think that “The Black Cat” is worth analyzing, because there are a lot of things which suggest discussions. 

                                    BEWARE! THE BLACK CAT IS WATCHING YOU!

Let's get it started!

At last, I'm able to learn online. It has been quite easy to create this blog and I think it's a helpful tool for students and lecturers to cooperate and communicate. Here I'm going to cope with my project on English stylistics. I'll do it step by step posting once a week and try to present the detailed stylistic analysis of the chosen story in the end. 

The story I've chosen is written by Edgar Allan Poe whose works are well-known among those people who appreciate everything which is in a way gothic, mysterious and unexplained. The title of the chosen story is "The Black Cat". Judging by the title, one may give a lot of predictions, because the title itself is quite symbolic. Everybody knows that a black cat usually symbolises misfortunes or evil power. That's why the story promises to be about superstitions and probably will dwell on the unsolved mystery where the black cat is an active participant and a cause of many strange or even horrible events. In time, I will find out whether my expectations coincide with the plot...

P.S. For those who are interested in the story I supply a direct link - so that you can read it HERE.

The information about Edgar Allan Poe is available HERE.