How does Poe create fear in The Black Cat?

Edgar Allan Poe was widely regarded as the master of Gothic fiction and wrote
many short stories in the early 1800s. He used the power of emotion to create
macabre and powerful characters. The story The Black Cat, first published in
1843, was very typical of this genre and era. Poes use of macabre symbolism
and vivid insight into a madmans psyche combine well to instil fear into the
reader.
Symbolism is a very powerful tool in establishing and intensifying fear. The
black cat, as in the title of the story, is a powerful symbol in itself being
connected to witchcraft and being thought of as evil in most parts of the world.
Poe leaves his narrator unnamed to maintain a sense of detachment from the
reader believing that theyre getting to know him. On the contrary, the specific
naming of the first cat as Pluto significantly reminds us of the Roman God of the
Underworld. Pluto the cat then symbolizes and foreshadows death. The
development of the white fur on the second cat also foreshadows the mans
death. It is also a reflection of the mans gradual consumption by insanity.
The development of the narrator is vital to the story. Without this, the
story wouldnt exist. When we are first introduced to him, he strongly declares
his own sanity. Is this the ranting of an insane man, or a moment of lucid sanity
of a rational man? As the story progresses, the actions of the narrator become
more and more disturbed and terrific. He also drinks more and more. This is
linked to the violence towards his wife and his animals. In face many of his
violent outbursts were probably caused because of the alcohol rather than the
black cat. The cat(s) character was also vividly developed. Very near the start of
the story, the narrator describes his then delightful pet. But slowly both
characters change. The cats, only distinguishable by the second having a white
spot, are exactly the same, which leaves the reader to question whether they are
one and the same.
Poes mix of disgust and fear in The Black Cat leave the reader shocked.
The narrators obvious struggle with alcoholism is a fundamental thought
throughout this. Were these events real or imagined? Was the man completely
insane, or were there moments of sober guilt.
Amalia Korakaki