Theme Of Confinement In The Black Cat

Edgar Allan Poe Take Home Exam In Poe’s works which involve the theme of confinement, there is a main moral that Poe bases these stories off of: we cannot hide from or repress our own fears and emotions. If we do deny ourselves, these feelings will eventually catch up with us. We must face these things.
In the “The Black Cat,” and “The Tell Tale Heart,” Poe tells us of the repercussions of repressed guilt and remorse. In “The Black Cat,” confinement is used to represent the main character’s state of mind. When his life changes from good to bad, the physical space between the characters also shrink. This is a physical representation of the main character’s guilt slowly destroying him. When the narrator commits his first guilty act by cutting
Montresor is already confined at the start of the story by his grudge. Montresor wants to be free. To be free, he takes actions to his evil plan. Even though, Montresor successful seeks revenge to escape his confinement, he ironically becomes even more confined by his feelings of guilt. Montresor, appears to carry out most of his evil deeds with absolutely no feelings of guilt. He even seems to be relishing the experience. However, there is one moment when Montresor shows hesitancy, “For a brief moment I hesitated, I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess." As Fortunato’s screaming intensifies, Montresor’s sudden wavering feelings implies that his guilt is emerging. Another example, is when the dungeon becomes completely silent, Montresor claims " My heart grew sick"…"the dampness of the catacombs". Due to the abrupt change in the cave’s atmosphere it makes Montresor think and picture the dying Fortunato. His conscience is surfacing but he quickly suppresses it. A final confirmation of his confinement with guilt is that he chooses to confess his story as a way to unburden his