Blog Entry 13:Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism

The Black Cat is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, and was first published in the August 19, 1843. The narrator tells the story of himself who was originally friendly and an animal-lover, but turned into an alcoholic, and eventually a murderer. In order to interpret this story, I will use psychoanalytic criticism employed by Sigmund Freud. This approach helps explore the psyche of the author and the characters. Also there are symbols that convey the psychological concepts indirectly in the story.

According to the Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the personality has three component; Id, Ego, and Superego. Id is the primary component of the personally that is present from birth such as impulse. Ego is another component of personality which deals with reality. It ensures that the impulses of Id can be expressed in an acceptable manner in the society. Finally Superego is what makes the balance between Id and Ego, resulting in perfect behaviors. These components are shown in narrator’s personality throughout the story and they help uncover the conscious and unconscious mind of the narrator.

The narrator begins his story by admitting his guilty and his feeling of horror and madness. He says he is going to die (meaning he is going to be executed) tomorrow and he would unburden his soul by telling the events which made him terrified and destroyed his life before he dies. However, he says that his nature was originally noted as “docility,” and “humanity” from his infancy. He was also happy with his marriage life and loved his wife and his pets, especially a large black cat named Pluto. Up until here, we can see that his superego was responsible suppressing his unacceptable urges of his Id and helped to develop his ego.

After several years of his happy time, however, the balance of the narrator’s personality starts breaking down. He begins to suffer from violent mood heavily influenced by alcohol. He starts mistreating his wife and his cat and later he gouges out the cat’s eye. The narrator regrets what he had done to his cat, but later he would be irritated by the cat again and finally hangs it on the tree. As time passed, he finds another cat which looked very similar to his old cat, even the missing an eye was the same. He takes it home and takes care of it with love, but soon he begins to hate it again and tries to avoid it to prevent himself from physically abusing it. The narrator confesses that his disease of alcoholism made him difficult to grasp on reality and caused mood swing. He often struggles suppressing his negative urges of violence and hostility. The issue of alcoholism is significant because the author, Edgar Allan Poe also suffered from it throughout his lifetime. This tells us that a particular character within a literary work projects the author’s psyche according to the psychoanalytic literary criticism.

One day when narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new house, the cat follows them and gets under his feet, which makes him almost fall down the stairs. The man gets horrified and grabs an axe to kill it, but stopped by his wife. In anger by the interference, he kills his wife instead with the axe, blowing it down on her head. To hide his crime, he puts the body under the wall. When he turns to the cat, it is missing and he felt satisfied that everything was finished and he no longer had to feel burden by his crime. Up until now, he does not feel guilty and does not realize his anger controlled over his conscious mind. We can come to the conclusion that it is not just his alcohol issue but he is actually suffering from mental illness because no normal human would feel free after killing one’s own family.

Four days after the assassination, a group of the police comes to his house to investigate, they cannot find the dead body and the narrator feels relief. On the last day of investigation, the police officers hear the sound of cry from the wall where the narrator buried the corpse of his wife. They break the wall; find the body and the black cat sitting on top of its head. The story ends by the narrator shouting, "I had walled the monster up within the tomb!" The ending of the story reveals his crime and he also realizes that the cat is still alive. The overall story is a pretty realistic except for the black cat which seems to have supernatural power. After the narrator killed his wife and buried her under the wall, it was four days after the policemen found the body and the cat. It is hard to believe that the cat was still alive in such extreme environment.

The major symbols in this narrative are the Cat named Pluto, black, eyes, wall, alcohol. These symbols are closely linked to the conscious and unconscious minds of the narrative.

Cats are one of the main characters in this story. Especially, from its color, the black cat is associated with darkness and death (Cirlot, 39). Interestingly, the narrative’s two cats are black and are missing an eye. This repetition of symbolic figures emphasizes the dark side of the author’s mind. Moreover, the image of the black cat evokes various superstitions, including the idea of the narrator's wife who said “they are all witches in disguise.” In the middle age, the cat was blamed for a multitude of sin and encouraging human to do bad things (essortment). In the story, the narrative actually blamed his cat for encouraging him to commit such a crime and destroyed his life.

Eyes are often used as a symbol of intelligence and spirit. Depends on its number, eye(s) could be interpreted differently. The possession of two eyes conveys physical normality and its spiritual equivalent. On the other hand, the single eye signifies ambivalence (Cirlot, 100). By definition, ambivalence is a state of contradicting feelings or attitudes toward an object (Merriam Webster). It is interesting that the narrative chose to cut only one eye of the cat and later found a different cat that was missing an eye.

A wall also has various symbolic meanings. The wall enclosing a space has a notion of the impossibility of reaching the outside. It expresses the ideas of incapacity, delay, resistance, or a limiting situation. The wall seen from within as an enclosure has a secondary implication of protection. The narrative used the wall to hide the dead body of his wife and to conceal his crime. Psychoanalysts frequently classify it as a mother-symbol. It represents the feminine element of mankind (Cirlot, 362).

Alcohol is another important symbol in the story. In general, it has consistent effect in human body when it is consumed; it inhibits the correct perception (Dictionary of Symbolism). In The Black Cat, alcohol symbolizes destruction or failure caused the misleading of unconscious minds. There were transition in the narrative’s personality and alcohol mainly evoked his violent nature.


Works Cited

Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism. Wikipediea. Web. May 2010.

Cherry, Kendra. The Id, Ego, and Superego; The structural Model of Personality. About.com 2010. Web. 17 May 2010.

Cirlot, J.E. Jack Sage. Trans. A Dictionary of Symbols. 2nd Ed. New York; Philosophical Library, 1971. Print.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Web. 2001. Web. May, 2010.


Poe, Edgar. The Black Cat. Jalic Inc, 2004. The Literarture Network. Web. May 2010.

Blog Entry 11 My Chosen Story

The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe


I chose a short story called “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe. Its genre is horror and was written in 1843. I have read this story several times and I would like to use this story for my next essay because it illustrates a human’s evil mind that leads to a murder. Although this story was written long time ago, its theme seems to apply in many current societies. The story is presented by a narrator who, in the beginning had a good time with his wife and his loving pets including a large black cat named Pluto. Several years after his happy time, however, becomes an alcoholic. He starts torturing his cat and later gouges out the cat’s eye. The narrator regrets what he had done to his cat, but later he would be irritated with the cat again and finally hangs it on the tree. As time passed, he finds another cat which looked very similar to his old cat, even a missing eye was the same. He takes it home, but soon begins to hate it again. One day when narrator and his wife are visiting the cellar in their new house, the cat gets under his feet and makes him almost fall down the stairs. The man gets horrified and grabs an axe to kill it and his wife tries to stop him. In anger, he kills his wife instead with the axe. To hide the corpse of his wife, he replaces the body in the wall. When the police come to his house to investigate, they cannot find the dead body and the narrator feels relief. On the last day of investigation, the police officers hear the sound of cry from the wall where the narrator put his wife's corpse. They break the wall, find the body and the black cat on top.

In order to interpret “The Black Cat,” I will use psychoanalysis criticism begun by Sigmund Freud. This approach was used to explore the psyche of authors and characters, and to explain narrative mysteries (Wikipedia). I found this approach useful because another story by Edgar Allen Poe was interpreted by Freud also. Since the narrator of the story had problems of alcoholism and anxiety which led him to commit such a cruel crime, it would be helpful to use psychoanalysis criticism to study the psyche of the author and the narrator in the story.


Here is an entry for "The Black Cat"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Cat_(short_story)

You can also read the entire story from this link,
http://www.online-literature.com/poe/24/

Information about Psychoanalysis Criticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalytic_literary_criticism

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aubrey_Beardsley_-_Edgar_Poe_2.jpg

Blog Entry 10: Reflection

Over the last few weeks, I studied the Monomyth and learned how it can be applied to most stories or tales of heroes. Although the term itself was unfamiliar to me at first, its content seemed to be something that I had known before. I think it is because I have seen and heard many heroic stories that had a similar pattern of the hero’s journey. Watching Spirited Away in class and writing an essay on a film of my choice were great activities to study the Monomyth. Also, by watching Joseph Campbell’s interview, I was amazed by how he identified and organized those stages of the Monomyth which are founded in many narratives from different cultures around the world. This is something that I was not conscious of when I watched films or read books about heroes; however after studying about it, I easily acknowledged the main stages of the hero’s journey while I was watching a movie. Moreover, the Monomyth helps me to understand the lessons from the narratives of heroes because it reveals how an ordinary person becomes a hero and what makes him or her to achieve such a great task. I will keep this in mind from now on whenever I observe lives of heroes.

Blog Entry 9 Hero's quest and film

Howl's Moving Castle: A Journey of Sophie

Howl's Moving Castle is a Japanese animated fantasy film both written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was first released in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2004. I was able to indentify the main stages of "Monomyth," the hero's journey (departure, initiation, and return) in this film.

The first stage of the Monomyth is “Departure” in which the hero from the ordinary world receives a call to go to the mysterious world with given tasks and special powers. “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a Japanese animated film begins in a fantastical European nation suggestive of the World War II. The main character, Sophie is a young girl who works in her father’s hat shop. When she was one the way to meet her sister, she meets a wizard Howl. Sophie begins to like this mysterious good-looking wizard. Witch of the Waste who has been seeking Howl’s heart catches their relationship and turns Sophie into 90 years old. Sophie’s first “Call to Adventure” is when she decides to run away from her house and find Howl. Although she is very shocked by the sudden change in her appearance, she accepts her situation and calms herself down. On the way, Sophie gets Supernatural Aid: she rescues scarecrow and names him Turnip Head; as appreciation, he helps Sophie to find Howl’s Castle. Sophie crosses the “the First Threshold” by entering Howl’s moving castle. This castle turns out to be a “Belly of the Whale.” The fire demon called Calcifer moves this castle and the entrance door is connected to different places. She announces that she would become a new cleaning lady and adjust her life in this new place.

In second stage, “Initiation,” the hero experiences the new world, and undergoes different trials and tasks. Sophie has to go through “The Road of Trials.” Howl is asked to fight in the war by King but he asks Sophie to decline his order. Her task is to pretend to be a Howl's mother and to tell the king that Howl cannot fight in the war. He gives her a magical ring that would guide her safely. At the palace, Sophie meets Madame Suliman (Women as Temptress)who is an advisor of the king, and is told that if Howl does not fight in the war, he would become an evil. Sophie also finds out that Howl can transform into a bird to interfere in the war and he is often wounded by enemies. Howl's is a male form of "Goddess" whom Sophie falls in love. Sophie tries her best to break Howl’s spell more than to solve her own spell. In order to do so, she has to take Howl’s heart from Calcifer and put it back in Howl. Unfortunately, the Witch of the Waste discovers Howl’s heart in Calcifer’s flam and grabs it. To save the Witch from buring, Sophie puts water on the Witch and Calcifer. As a result, the castle breaks apart and Sophie falls into a cliff. Sophie regrets what she has done because she believes that she has killed both Calcifer and Howl. While she is crying, her ring points to the remaining door of the castle. Sophie enters through it and sees Howl’s past. She finds out how Calcifer and Howl became interconnected. Sophie comes back to present before she tells Howl to find her in the future. Sophie finds Howl and takes Howl's heart from the Witch of the Waste who has stolen it from Calcifer and puts it back in his chest. Howl returns back to his original form and recovers from the scars. Sophie also kisses Turnip Head and transforms him back into missing Prince Justine. Therefore she achieves her quest by breaking the spells in people (The Ultimate Boon) and the war finally ends.

The final stage, “Return” is where the hero returns to the ordinary life but as a different person from the beginning. Now the hero becomes a master of the two worlds and gains true freedom of life. Continuing with the movie, Sophie is competent both in ordinary and magical world. She crosses the "Return Threshold" by getting her youth back except for her gray hairs and she is now free to live. Howl and Sophie find true love in each other and get on a new, moving castle. Sophie does not quiet return back to her ordinary life. From this perspective, "Refusal of the Return," "The Magic Flight," and "Rescue from Without" are not founded in this film. The hero continues her journey with her lover.

There are several symbols and archetypes in this film. The ring that Howl gave to Sophie symbolizes eternity, life, and power (Dictionary of Symbolism). Throughout the film, this ring helps Sophie to find the places where she has never gone before. By receiving this ring from Howl, Sophie actually gained strength. The door of the Castle is another important symbol in the film. It connects two different places, or states. Passing the door means abandoning the old and embracing the new according to the Dictionary of Symbolism. Sophie actually travels from the normal world to an unknown world and from the past to the future by entering the door. Moreover, the film shows the archetypes of witch, and wizard who have magical power and control over humans such as Madamn Suliman and the Witch of the Waste.

While I was identifying major stages of Monomyth in Howl’s Moving Castle, it was very interesting to see how a Joseph Cambell’s basic pattern of the hero’s journey can be found in all different kinds of narratives. Monomyth reveals that an ordinary person can become a hero by overcoming series of trials and difficulties and ultimately by achieving given tasks. It is interesting that the hero was originally a very weak and lacking person. This person changes the world and people who were in a danger, yet transforms him/herself more than anyone else. Particularly in this film, Sophie initially had very low self-esteem and did not seek for success. However, once she became an old woman and crossed the threshold, she proved herself as a confident, strong-minded person.

Lastly, Joseph Campbell explores how the universal myths influence our lives on daily basis in his essay called “Myths to Live By.” From this Japanese story, viewers can understand universal faiths such as love, friendship, and peace. These faiths are what most humans are trying to pursue not withes or wizards or animals. Moreover, the director of the film is trying to tell us a lesson that we should find our capability to overcome our limits. Although Sophie received supernatural aids from others, she also perceived herself different from the beginning in order to fulfill her goal. She did not think she was beautiful nor succesful but later she thrived herself on her love with courage. In this way, she could break her spell and discovers her power.

Works Cited

Howl's Moving Castle. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. 20 Nov. 2004. Toho. Film.

Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. Web. April 30, 2010.

Monomyth. Wikipedia. Web. 30 April , 2010.

“Myths to Live By.” Joseph Campbell Foundation. 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 1 May, 2010.

*picture from http://witchgirl117.wordpress.com/