Pet Sematary Essay

Thesis: Refusal to accept the truth, whether out of guilt or “blindness,” leads to the same outcome- insanity, a bottomless void emphasized with a deep crimson red. In The Black Cat, the narrator lives out on a cruel and violent existence, which he ultimately blames on a poor innocent cat. In The Black Cat, it’s a lot more than just the title of the story, there are important symbols and key points that come out in the story. The protagonist’s narration of The Black Cat exhibits delusional behavior with brief interruptions of reality where he discloses his demented behavior by stating the consequences of his atrocious actions. Despite his awareness of his criminal actions, the man still blames the cat and refuses to hold himself accountable
even during his brief encounters with reality. The narrator is constantly in denial with himself because he goes back and forth from self-delusion to reality and it just becomes a cycle that cannot be prevented. The narrator displays the nature of the human condition known as denial, while he willingly fails to see the obsessive pattern in which he attributes to the cursed cat. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is in a prison, where his mind is entangled in a mass of confusion and unreality way long before he was discovered for his crimes dealing with murders against animals and humanity. At first, the narrator moves from an animal loving, happily married man, to a cat loving, hard drinking, relentless man. “Our friendship lasted, in this manner, for several years, during which my general temperament and character -- through the instrumentality of the Fiend Intemperance -- had (I blush to confess it) experienced a radical alteration for the worse.” (Poe Web.) He is very intemperate, being excessive in behavior. From the day he is born, he is mild, and kind for the most part. He loves animals and has lots of them. As the narrator grows older, he gets more attached and these qualities grow stronger. “Pluto -- this was the cat's name -- was my favorite pet and playmate. I alone fed him, and he attended me wherever I went about the house. It was even with difficulty that I could prevent him from following me through the streets.” (Poe Web.) Taking care of pets and hanging out with them was one of his favorite roles. Later on in the story, when the second cat comes along, it won’t leave him alone throughout the day or even at night. If the narrator ever falls asleep, he’ll have bad dreams and he’ll wake up with the cat sitting on his chest, breathing right on top of his face. Eventually, the narrator stops sleeping, which later on leads to sleep-deprivation. The narrator describes the cat as a nightmare because the black cat is everywhere. As with all his other problems, the narrator blames the whole situation on the cat. In his older cat-loving days, he considered the fact that the cat’s snuggling was a sign of affection, and the cat becomes a victim of his rage all the time. He always feels guilty, but thinks it’s a sign of menace. His friendship lasted several years with the cat, however, Pluto began to experience the effects of the narrator’s illness and the cat, consequently, became peevish. The narrator ironically indicates the wisdom he himself needs both to see life clearly and to not give in to the irrationality of drinking or violent behavior. Whatever decent human qualities this man possessed have been erased from his heart by a combination of violent hallucinations compounded by strong drinks, which is a terrible combination all in all. “Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” is a study in self-delusion, in which the narrator’s mind acts as a distorting prism, casting reality into forms which satisfy his self-image, his need for self-justification, and his desire to abrogate responsibility for his actions.” (Reeder Web.) Certainly, this man could have a somewhat normal decent life, had he not been blinded himself with his own pride, and instead tried to seek help from the great positive people around him, rather than seek some kind of comfort from a bottle that truly has no meaning, but for the narrator, it has plenty of meaning to him. The narrator is constantly dealing with self-knowledge and self-deception in the story because he is always in denial, which puts him into a dilemma. The narrator ironically indicates the wisdom he himself needs to both see life clearly and to not give in to the irrationality of drinking and violent behavior. The unselfish and self-sacrificing love of a brute goes directly to the heart no matter what the circumstance may be. The self-indulgence and self-loving represents the universal need to find a way to compensate. The narrator has obsessive habits that he sometimes has no control over. It is the inability to recognize guilt and/or the fallen truth. “At this stage in the developing psychological conflict, the narrator introduces a new rationalization into his increasingly weak attempts to explain his behavior. He justifies his expression of irrational impulses by the existence of the “spirit of Perverseness”: “This spirit of perverseness, I say, came to my final overthrow.” (Reeder Web.) The Black Cat is in many ways a moral tale that deals with the tension between love and hate and that warns of the dangers of alcohol, a substance to which Poe himself was addicted for much of his life. In a somewhat parallel way, Pet Sematary is a study in traditional values which are held as truths, thus making resurrection a blind consequence of a self-delusional and hopeful mind.
In Pet Sematary, the main focus is to concentrate on a major theme in the world’s mythologies and in traditional horror dealing with burial and resurrection. In Pet Sematary, the director concentrates on a major theme in traditional horror because it’s good to have change and a combination of traditional horror. Pet Sematary is a scalp tingling horror movie of the supernatural. Resurrection occurs often in the movie from the burial. “Pet Sematary is a not only a film about death’s brutality and finality, but on the lasting impact it has on the living, and how those who cannot accept it can be driven mad by grief and denial.” (La Vigna Web.) After moving to a wonderful home in the countryside, life seems perfect for the Creed family, but not for so long. Louis and Rachel Creed and their two young children settle into a house that sits next door to a pet cemetery that is built on an ancient Indian burial ground. Key characters rush against time and space to prevent disaster. Visionary children who are usually victims, sometimes they are the victimizers. A normal American family life that decomposes into the paranormal or
deviant. In a purely fictional way, the story alludes to some real events in person’s life. The end of someone means a lifelong void in other people. “The road will be a source of misery for the Creed family, as it is frequented by barreling trucks that go back and forth at all hours of the day and night. However, the baby is saved at the last minute by Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), a kindly neighbor from across the road, who then strikes up a friendship with Louis. It’s a friendship that will lead to poor, and deadly, decisions.” (Evangelista Web.) Consequently, it can sometimes lead to a questionable state of mind. In Pet Sematary, there is a dual- nature of terror in which the flawed characters must always be aware and vigilant in any way, shape or form. In Pet Sematary, the terror lurks on the outside of the cemetery, then works its ways into the lives of the people who reside nearby, therefore one must always be aware and cautious. Pet Sematary’s way of approaching death makes it particularly chilling and effective. “In slasher films, it’s not the death that’s really scary; it’s that lead-up to the death, as a character flees in terror, trying with all his or her might to just hold on to life a little bit longer.” (Evangelista Web.) The allure of crimson red adds the perfect touch to the outcome at the very end- insanity, blood and horror. “The color red is an intense color that is packed with emotion ranging from passionate, intense love to anger and violence — representing both cupid and the devil.” (Bourn Web.) In Pet Sematary, the color crimson red correlates with the movie from the same reasons as in The Black Cat- insanity, blood, and horror. “Too much red causes loss of temper, agitation, anger, and overbearing, demanding, and oppressive behaviors. Too little red causes lethargic, cautious, whiny, and manipulative feelings.” (Bourn Web.) Crimson red conveys blood, horror, fear, and shock when it’s being converted by the two genres. It’s often considered the color of fresh blood (blood red), a dark crimson close to maroon. Color has a huge impact on our emotions, our perceptions,, and our spiritual physical well being.