What Is The Theme Of Alcohol Abuse In The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe

Another very present theme in Edgar Allan Poe’s life and in his writing is alcohol abuse. There are several examples of this throughout Poe’s writing but it is especially evident in The Black Cat and The Cask of Amontillado. In the Black Cat the narrator is a very severe alcoholic and this factor drives the whole story. The fact that he is so often drunk in the story causes him to mistreat his wife and beloved animals. The narrator says he; “Sat, half stupified, in a den more than infamy” which shows us that his drinking was a major problem. In addition to the Black Cat, the Cask of Amontillado shows the theme of alcohol abuse very clearly. In this story a man named Montresor takes his drunken enemy, Fortunato down into the catacombs to show
him this “rare cask of amontillado”. But really there is no Amontillado and Montresor just wants to murder Fortunato. The way alcohol abuse is involved in through Fortunato. Montressor is constantly giving Fortunato more to drink so that he stays drunk and doesn’t question Montresor's motives. As well as Fortunato being Montresor's way of bringing alcohol abuse into the story, the character of Fortunato brought alcohol abuse into the story. In the Cask of Amontillado Fortunato prides himself with his connoisseurship in wine. Montresor uses this to motivate him into the catacombs by saying that he will go to another wine taster in Fortunato doesn’t want to come. Because of this, Fortunato is trying to prove himself to Montresor, which connects Fortunato’s character to the author, seeing as the author was constantly trying to prove himself. Fortunato is always drunk, which suggests that he has a big problem with alcohol abuse. Always drunk and trying to prove himself, sound like anyone we know, perhaps Edgar Allan Poe?