American Literture

Symbols abound in works of fiction and are used by authors to convey their message or produce a certain effect on the reader . In the horror genre , master story teller Edgar Allan Poe uses negative as well as ordinary symbols to evoke dread , revulsion , and fear that gradually and inevitably lead to a terrifying climax . Poe manipulates symbols to suit his purpose - to frighten and horrify - and he does it gradually and almost imperceptibly . In his The Black Cat and The Fall of the House of Usher - two classic tales of Gothic horror

- Poe uses negative symbols out of the commonplace as a surrealist painter draws seemingly bizarre shapes out of ordinary things to create an eerie , haunting atmosphere which grips the reader inescapably as the story unfolds

Poe creates sharp contrasts doubtless to make the transition from light to sombre to horrible more appalling . He begins The Black Cat by a distraught rambling statement about something that has left him terrified , tortured and destroyed . Thus , the reader immediately is put on guard about something sinister to follow . But in the next paragraphs the pall dissolves for a moment as the narrator recalls the past where he was known for his docility and humanity ' of disposition . The foreboding air quickly returns as Poe proceeds to transform the cat 's master from a gentle animal-loving person to a homicidal maniac . The cat , although remarkably good-looking is depicted as an ordinary house pet , doted upon by its master . It does not cause...