摘 要

埃德加·爱伦·坡作为十九世纪美国著名的诗人、小说家和文学批评家，是现代侦探小说和科幻小说先驱之一。坡的作品《黑猫》是一本短篇小说，也是他的代表作之一。《黑猫》讲述了邪恶的主人公杀猫弑妻，并且毫无愧疚地藏匿妻子尸体，最终罪行暴露的故事。他在这部小说中运用了多种写作手法，而象征手法就是其中较为突出的一种。本文将通过分析这篇小说中黑猫、猫眼、主人公、妻子、火、墙等事物的象征意义，揭露作者所提出并质疑的扭曲的人性，以此来解读埃德加·爱伦·坡作品中对人性中善与恶毒的呈现和争辩，从而进一步理解坡的小说创作。

关键词：埃德加·爱伦·坡，《黑猫》，象征意义，人性

Contents

1. Introduction................................................................................................................1

2. Demonstration............................................................................................................2

2.1 The Symbolic Meanings of the Black Cats..............................................................2

2.1.1 The cat Pluto..........................................................................................................2

2.1.2 The Second Cat.....................................................................................................3

2.1.3 The Cats’ Eyes ......................................................................................................4

2.2 The Symbolic Meanings of the Characters..............................................................5

2.2.1 The Protagonist.....................................................................................................5

2.2.2 The Wife................................................................................................................6

2.3. The Symbolic Meanings of Other Things...............................................................7

2.3.1 The Fire.................................................................................................................7

2.3.2 The Walls...............................................................................................................7

3. Conclusion..................................................................................................................8

An Analysis of the Symbolic Meanings in The Black Cat

----- On the Distortion of Human Nature

1. Introduction

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) is a famous American poet, short storyist and literary critic. His short stories embody the highest achievement of his writings. Most of them are detective reasoning stories and horror thriller stories. The horror thriller stories are mainly on the theme of death. The charm of horror in Poe's short stories is reflected by exotic theme, ingenious ideas and scary shocking effects. The Black Cat is such a classic. The whole story shows the terror of death theme and reflects the human nature of good or evil. The basic plot is full of appalling atmosphere.

The Black Cat is a story about how the protagonist loses his human nature step by step. The protagonist is kind at first. He begins to hit the bottle and become easily irritable. He gouges out his favorite cat’s eye and hangs the cat alive on the branches. He finds another black cat similar to the former one later on in a tavern. But the cat makes him more and more frightened. At last, he does the inexcusable crime--he kills his wife by accident and hides the corpse in the wall. Finally, the crime falls through and stands exposed because of the cat’s cry.

The studies on The Black Cat have gained great achievements both at home and abroad. Till now, the overseas study on The Black Cat can be divided into three aspects. The first aspect is about characterization. Academics analyze the work according to Poe’s antecedents and character. The second aspect is about the theme. Academics study the message carried by the work. The third aspect is about language. Academics focus on language used in the story to analyze the cultural and social connotations. While domestic studies are mainly about Gothic features, character analysis and thematic concern. The domestic studies still remain a plain surface. According to the date collected, studies on symbolism are inadequate. It is still necessary to make a further study on it. Symbolism is a literary technique used in literary creation which often applies specific concrete images to express similar concept, ideas, and feelings.