Analysis Of Tuberculosis In The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe included experiences from his own life in his stories and poems: such as alcoholism, losses caused by tuberculosis, and self sabotage. The first connection to Poe’s life is his addiction to alcohol. In “The Black Cat”, Poe states, “But my disease grew upon me- for what disease is like Alcohol.” Poe had a disease just like the narrator, alcoholism. Poe’s terrible addiction to alcohol affected his daily life, and it kept him from doing his absolute best work. Throughout the story, the narrator’s addiction prevents from being the person he wants to be, just like it prevents Poe from being the professional he wants to be. As a result, many of Poe’s stories relate to his alcoholism, because it took a huge toll on his and could have
possibly caused his death. Secondly, Poe’s experiences with tuberculosis were present in many of his stories and poems.
In “The Masque of the Red Death”, “The “Red Death” had long devastated the country...There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution.” In this evidence, Poe is explaining the symptoms of a horrible
disease. Perhaps, the disease four of his close family died of, tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis can cause the victim to cough up blood, which explains the name of the story’s plague. Throughout the story, Poe keeps death as the main theme. Since it is all Poe can associate with tuberculosis, it make sense for him to have a story based on death. In short, the personal deaths Poe has experienced at the hands of tuberculosis explains the horrifying description of the “Red Death”. Lastly, Poe included his experiences of his own self-sabotage. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, ““Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed--tear up the planks!--here, here!--it is the beating of his hideous heart.” In this quote, a madman is on his way to getting away with murder. But, he ruins his chances as he hears the “beating’ of his victim’s heart, and he gives himself away. This example of self-sabotage might be much more terrifying than Poe’s experiences, but it still incorporates the idea. Poe somehow found ways to ruin a good situation for himself. For example, Poe had a interview for a government job. All was going good, and he was most likely going to get the job. But, he tried to sell magazine subscriptions to his
interviewer. Not only did he make this mistake, he also showed up drunk for an early interview. This is just one of the many times Poe ruined his good fortune. As shown, Poe’s stories include self-sabotage that is present in his everyday life. In all of Poe’s stories and poems, there are connections to his life. Therefore, Edgar Allan Poe used his own life experiences-including self-sabotage, tuberculosis caused tragedies, and alcoholism-to fuel his writing.